Poker Night 303: Chasing Rainbows

Many people across the U.S. are dreaming tonight of winning a world-record $540 million lottery jackpot.  But many poker players dream of striking it rich several times a night -- hitting big cards to grab huge pots.  And with odds far better than the 1:176,000,000 of Mega Millions, you can understand why.  Here's an example from Lil Kim's Cove tonight....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: Ace of diamonds - 4 of hearts

We're dealing the cards, and the woman in the small blind openly admits she's displeased with what we dealt her.  We don't bother mentioning ours are only fair-to-middlin'.  Starting the hand with about 7,900 chips, we're pleased when no one at the nearly-full table raises.  Most players call, and we join in.

ON THE FLOP: 9h-2d-Jd

This may not look like much -- but with two diamonds showing, we're thinking about a possible flush.  A player bets 500.  Thinking big and hopeful, we call.  About four players remain in the hand.

ON THE TURN: 10d

We're halfway (or is that 80-percent?!) there.  But now the heat rises.  The "small blind" woman to our left bets 1,000.  A man on the opposite side raises to 2,000.  We know from doing the math at home we have  a 19-percent chance of catching a diamond on the river, to make the flush.  Adding a bit of "daring" to our big and hopeful, we call.  The woman to our left calls as well.

ON THE RIVER: 3c

Ouch -- we swung and missed!  The table checks in front of us, so we still have hope.  But we decide not to bet on that hope, and check as well.

"I hit a flush," the small blind says.  She proves it by turning over 6d-5d.  The small suited connectors she didn't like turned into a big winner.  (No, she didn't "tip the dealer" to thank us.)

Our chasing stopped for the most part, after that substantial loss.  We eased our way to the one-hour break with 3,900 chips.  But then another second-hour rally started for us.  A real flush came for us on the river from Ac-Jc, helping us recover to 10,000.  Another pot came minutes came when a 10 turned into a winning two pair, and we stood at 18,000.

But after a loss of two, we faced a moment of truth with 9,500 chips left and rising blinds.  A man across from us went all-in pre-flop with a massive stack.  We had J-J, and dared to call -- only to see our opponent throw down A-A with authority.  He was rewarded with A-A on the turn and river!  If we had to lose, we might as well lose to something huge -- as quads kicked us out in 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "What's with the nail, man?" a man asked as he dealt the cards tonight.  We reprised the card protector from Monday night.

"It's to remind me of something big," we explained; "the crucifixion of Christ."  We noted many people will remember that momentous event next week.  Then we asked, "Do you believe the crucifixion happened?"

The dealer didn't answer.  So we ask you, the reader: do you believe it happened?  It's an event so noteworthy that it was prophesied in the Old Testament:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5

Jesus the Son of God endured a painful death -- not only being crucified, but facing insults and spit in His face (Matthew 27:29-30).  In 2012, some people would call this police brutality.  And it was done to a "suspect" who committed no sin at all (II Corinthians 5:21).  Why would God in heaven allow such a thing?  The prophecy of Isaiah even answers that question....

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and thought the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. - Isaiah 53:10

Translation: Jesus paid the "guilt offering" of death for our sins (Romans 6:23) -- and the Son of God eventually was resurrected, to see other "sons of God" be developed who would accept Jesus's sacrifice.  That's how Jesus Christ is our Savior, if you're willing to accept Him in that title.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 108 final tables in 303 nights (35.6%) - 17 cashes.  Uh-oh, we've missed six final tables in a row.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 203 point wins in 864 games (23.5%), 68 final tables, 7 cashes.  We qualified for the monthly NLOP Senior Championship again, but had to miss Tuesday night's tournament because of a work-related road trip.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $71,332, up $600.