Up to now, the sports bar awarded cash prizes to the top two players -- and anyone who walked in and sat down had a chance to win the money. But the tournament director received a big surprise from the management Monday. The bar still will let anyone play for free -- but from now on....
- You have to pay a ten-dollar buy-in to be eligible for the prize money. (If a "freeroller" wins, he/she gets nothing.)
- Only first place gets the money.
- "The money" comes to only 25 percent of the total buy-in. Your $10 bill gets you a five-dollar voucher for food and drink that evening; $2.50 more goes into that night's jackpot, while the other $2.50 goes into a prize pool for a "major tournament" every couple of months.
This sudden change spoiled the mood at The Sports Page Monday night. It certainly changed our approach to the tournament; we didn't carry ten dollars with us, so we couldn't win a dime. And several people grumbled this effectively will mean the end of poker nights at the sports bar.
We don't know if the "end is near" there -- but it reminded us that many people are more comfortable when the rules are consistent. Texas Hold 'em works that way, after all; a flush beats a straight today every bit as much as it did 50 years ago.
The original "rule book" for mankind works the same way. God gave us a set of foundational laws long ago....
Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant -- the Ten Commandments. - Exodus 34:28
Some people think Jesus changed the rules of life's game when He came to Earth. But He said otherwise:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. - Matthew 5:17
Read all of Matthew 5 and you'll find Jesus actually expanded the interpretation of one of the commandments (adultery), as well as other rules given to Moses. And the Lord went on to say....
"If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" -- Matthew 19:17-18
Countries around the world still consider some of these commandments the settled law of the land today. But sadly, some places have abolished or ignored several of them.
The place where you play poker might change the "house rules" tonight or next week. But we can be thankful God's basic rules have not -- and obeying them is a way we can show love for our Creator (I John 5:3).
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