Learning Right From Wrong

Today marks our tenth anniversary of blogging!  This poker blog started in 2008, after we wrote another one  about events in the city where we live.

Blogging and poker-playing have a few things in common.  You can make mistakes -- and discover people are ready to tell you so.  Take an online hand the other day, where we made a minimum bet of 200 on the river holding Ace high with a pair on the board.  Two players called, and we didn't win....


janitor3:  really
Dealer:  mommykim wins Main Pot ($3,480) with Two pair, fives and fours
janitor3:  why would u bet at
Me:  Trying to run people off
Me:  Clearly it failed. :-(

There are times when a strong well-timed bet can scare people out of pots and allow you to win.  In this case. Mommykim had a second pair.  But the chat goes on:

janitor3:  200 no 1 going any where

Me:  Well, one of three folded

janitor3:  so

Me:  So it still failed. 

janitor3:  horrible bet

Me:  Thank you.

How would you have responded to that sort of instant criticism?

We could have pointed out Janitor3 called our bet, also holding an Ace high (nearly the same hand we had) -- so he lost as well.  We could have told him to "shut up" and called him names.  Instead we decided to take our lumps, along with our loss.  By doing it, we applied Biblical advice.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. - Proverbs 12:1

Talk about blunt words!  But they're true -- because if we're honest with ourselves, no one is perfect.  We've yet to see a player win a poker tournament with a "clean sweep," capturing every hand.  So when mistakes happen, it's important to learn lessons from them.

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult.... Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. - Proverbs 9:7, 9

Which title applies to you when someone corrects your approach to a hand - the mocker or the wise man?  We think if you take the correction like a wise man, you're more likely to gain in the long run -- and that's true beyond the poker room.

Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.  Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.  For what son is not disciplined by his father? - Hebrews 12:6-7

Does it feel like God is correcting you in some aspect of your life?  Pay attention to clues you may be getting from other people or life's circumstances.  Review God's Bible with an open mind and heart, to see if the correction is justified.  Then make changes where they're necessary, to turn failures into success.