Poker Night 308: A Suite Result

The Tournament Director who predicted poker at The Sports Page would die after its rules change seems to be right.  But as of tonight, there's a new place in our city to play Texas Hold 'em on Monday nights.  "The Suite" is a new bar and grill in a nice strip mall -- and the managers have not changed the location's history of being a nice Mediterranean restaurant.  (At least one player was annoyed by the fact a burger and fries cost $10; the Director promised to work on developing specials.)

Opening night drew enough players to fill four tables -- and a relative lack of special items for gaining massive amounts of poker chips gave us hope of having an even chance of success....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: Jack of diamonds - Jack of spades

We won a pot a couple of hands before this one, by making three of a kind.  Now we're second in line to play, at a table with a couple of devil-may-care bettors.  So we limp to see if anyone jumps.  Sorry, no one does.  Most of the table is in.

(We actually knew without looking we had Jd.  It had a tattered corner before the game began, making it a "marked card" -- but the Director wanted players to use that deck as long as they could.)

ON THE FLOP: 9c-7s-6c

We missed -- or did we?!  We have a hidden "overpair."  When the play checks to us, we try to exploit it by betting 400.  About half the table calls.

ON THE TURN: 7h

Now we have two pair, with only one showing.  The play checks to us again, and we turn up the heat a little with a bet of 500.  As best we recall, no one folds.  Is someone hiding a big hand here?

ON THE RIVER: 7c

A third seven gives us a full house.  It also could give someone else quads, but we don't really think of that.  We've set the tempo to this point and see no reason to change.  The play checks to us again, and we bet 1,500 -- a move which frustrates several opponents.

"There's no way I can call, with three sevens out there!" a man says as he folds.  Everyone else folds as well, so we make a nice gain of several thousand chips.

"I had a straight on the flop," the man's girlfriend across the table admits.  She was letting us do all the dirty work, but she inadvertently let us top her.

"I was gonna get you on the river," the man reveals afterward.  He had two clubs, but a third one on the river forced him to freeze.  It was the perfect club for us.

We walked a tightrope after winning that pot, as our stack dwindled and the blinds rose.  An all-in bet in the second hour with A-10 brought an Ace on the flop, which kept us in.  Then at a semifinal table, an all-in move with two diamonds brought a winning flush on the river.  Then after the two-hour break, when we were about to be forced all-in again for the Big Blind, we heard two very comforting words: "Final table!"

There was another successful push at the final table as well.  With the Big Blind near again, we went all-in with A-3 of diamonds.  A man called with A-4 -- but we hit a 3 on the turn to jump from 10,000 to 35,000!  Other players' pushes didn't work so well, and the field dwindled to six.  When we dealt ourselves 7-7, we felt good about pushing again.  Low cards kept showing, which helped -- but a 9 on the river gave another player a winning hand.

He knocked out another man along with us.  But we went home thankful and satisfied.  Our 11-night drought of making final tables ended.  And we finished tied for fifth place, giving us our highest place on the ladder since the end of December.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Word is you're going to win tonight," a man said to us in a joking manner at the one-hour break.

"I don't know who that word is, so I don't believe him," we answered.  But then a thought came to us: "In the beginning was the Word.... that's the One I believe."

The man seemed to know what we meant.  But perhaps you might not....

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1

"Wait a minute," you may be saying.  "Wasn't there only God in the beginning?"  Well, let's check the Bible record....

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." - Genesis 1:1, 26

Yes, God was creating at the beginning -- but who or what is this "us" later in creation week?  Is it connected with the Word?  And who or what is that Word, anyway?  Offer a comment here if you have an explanation; we'll offer our own answers in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 109 final tables in 308 nights (35.4%) - 17 cashes.