Poker Night 315: Show and Tell

Wednesday began for us with a strong morning jog, and ended with a strong finish in live poker.  Thursday began with an even strong morning jog, topping two miles non-stop.  Could the day end with an even stronger showing tonight at Lil Kim's Cove?  Some timely cards certainly couldn't hurt....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: J-J

We won an early pot when 4-2 of diamonds turned into a flush.  Now we're "under the gun" -- first to act with a high pocket pair and about 8,900 chips.  But we know how other people at the table love to raise pre-flop, so we limp in.  We're a little disappointed when everyone else in the hand does the same thing, with no one raising.

ON THE FLOP: 2-2-K

That face clearly is a concern -- so when the play checks to us, we offer a "feeler" bet of 250.  Most of the table doesn't like that, and folds.  But the Big Blind immediately to our right calls.  We're heads-up.

ON THE TURN: 2

Three x 2 = full house for us.  The Big Blind checks again, and we hope to run him off by betting 600.  But that's where it gets weird.

"Why are we messing with this?" our opponent asks -- and he turns over one of his cards.  It's a King!  He calls -- and without realizing it, he does us a big favor.  We're topped, but we say (and show) nothing.

ON THE RIVER: 6

The man with a King checks.

"You win," we say as we check and show our losing pocket pair.  "You saved me some money.  Thank you!"

Let's face it -- that sort of early card-flip would never ever happen in a major-league tournament.  That low river card probably would have brought a third bet from us.  So his "tell" (done because he thought we also had a King) saved us from walking into a big loss.

If we won any more hands after that, they weren't memorable ones.  We had 6,550 chips at the one-hour break.  But then we bet heavily early in Hour 2 with a Jack in our hand and top pair on the flop -- losing to a  player with two pair.  Then forced a push with A-5, which brought no pair and a loss to two pair.  Our "big move" wound up toward the rail, as we finished in 16th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our little battery brought another curious question, even before the tournament began.  We explained it reminded us of the power of the Holy Spirit.  "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" we asked the man.

"Oh yes," he answered.  "Very powerful force."

"What has the Holy Spirit done in your life lately?"

The man thought for a moment, then began listing his blessings.  "A roof over my head, good health, food on the table, money to buy cigarettes...."

Wait - what?!  "I'm not so sure those cigarettes will keep you in good health," we told the man.

He indicated he somehow "needed" those smokes.  But unlike the marijuana discussions we've had elsewhere, we're unaware of any medicinal benefits from smoking cigarettes.  Instead, the Bible reminds us....

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from  God?  You are not your own; you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor God with your body. - I Corinthians 6:19-20

The context of these verses actually involves "sexual immorality" (verse 18), but we think the principle still applies to smoking.  Medical studies by the truckload have shown the harm tobacco can do, at least to your lungs.  And we can smell enough odor on our shirts after an evening at the poker room to know we're getting some "secondhand smoke."

We pray that smoke isn't harming us -- and you know, our morning jogs are a good test of that.  We're thankful to God that we're doing well so far.

Christ gives me the strength to face anything. - Philippians 4:13 (CEV)

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 111 final tables in 315 nights (35.2%) - 17 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments- 225 point wins in 947 games (23.8%), 73 final tables, 7 cashes plus 1 other win.  No-River Hold 'em - 5 point wins in 25 games (20%), 4 final tables, 1 win.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $76,846, down $4,965.  Suffice to say: a bad week there.