Poker Night 304: Slaying the Thousands

After a week away from live poker, we returned to The Red Barn tonight.  Players around us were buying round after round to recharge failing chip stacks -- but that's not what we do.  We normally buy one soda for bonus chips, and try to make it last.  The right cards can help with that....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: Ace of clubs - Ace of diamonds

Yes, indeed -- the right cards can help.  At a table of seven players with no early gains on our part from a 7,000-chip start, we're ready to roll.  Sitting about fourth in betting order, we raise to 600.  Two players call.

ON THE FLOP: 4h-Kh-7h

Top pair -- bad-looking suit.  But we sit in "button" position.  The first player in line checks.  The second (to our immediate right) tosses in 1,000.  We're willing to call; so is player 1.  But of course, we hope no more hearts show up.

ON THE TURN: 10c

That looks better for us -- yet the betting matches the prior round.  The man to our immediate right throws in another 1,000; we call along with player 1.

ON THE RIVER: 4d

OK, the board paired -- but did someone hit the "love-ly" jackpot flush on the flop?  We're bound to find out now, with no more hearts showing.  Instead of checking as before, the first player now tries 1,000.  Player 2 folds, apparently missing some kind of draw.  But we still have an overpair, so we call.

"Pair of kings," our remaining opponent says.  He shows K-Q -- but we show our Aces, and gain several thousand chips.

A bigger challenge from Player 2 came later in the first hour.  He kept betting thousands with Q-J-J showing on the board, then put us all-in for 2,075 when an Ace appeared on the river.  We dared to call and asked if he had a third Jack.  Thankfully, he didn't -- showing K-9, while we had a Queen to score a big double-up to more than 21,000!

But sadly, that was the last hand we won tonight.  Few quality cards came, our stack was drained -- and when we finally pushed with 6-6 and 5,000 chips left, a Queen on the flop gave another man a higher pair.  We came awfully close to the final table, but finished in tenth place.

 MINISTRY MOMENT: "You brought a cracker?!?!?" a man asked when we pulled the evening's "card protector" out of our pocket.

"What are you trying to say, man?" said another stumped player.
"What I'm trying to say," we explained, "is that these are the Days of Unleavened Bread."  It actually was a broken-off piece of matzo (smaller than our illustration).  We told the table about a seven-day festival mentioned several times in the Old Testament, but also in the New....

Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. - I Corinthians 5:8 (NASB)

"So you're Jewish, then," a man across the table speculated.

"No, I'm Christian," we answered.  Then we had to explain our clinching point a couple of times, because one man didn't quite hear it.  "I believe that Jesus is the bread of life."  After all, He said so:

"I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." - John 6:51 (NASB)

"Do you believe Jesus is the bread of life?" we asked the man who had trouble hearing that phrase.

"No, not really," he responded.  "But I'm here to play poker."  So we didn't go on to ask who or what he thinks Jesus is.  We hope you reach the conclusion Jesus's disciples reached after the resurrection....

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"  Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed?  Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." - John 20:28-29 (NASB)

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD:  108 final tables in 304 nights (35.5%) - 17 cashes.  Our next live poker tournament is to be announced, but it will come before Thursday's usual night at Lil Kim's Cove.  We'll update our online action after that game.