BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-2 offsuit
"It's my big blind," the young man to our right says as the cards are dealt. He's the man who said poker is about lying. In this case, that's what he's doing -- because he's second in line to act.
"You're bluffing even before the cards are dealt," we say with a joking scold.
But we're in need of some good cards. A few early entries have fallen flat, at a table where one woman already has admitted she's drunk and a man says he's had "seven beers." Since all we're drinking is a bottle of cola, you might think we have the advantage against them. But we realize tipsy players sometimes still can have brain power to win a hand. So we limp in, and no one raises. (The "Joker" to our right folds.)
ON THE FLOP: A-K-7
The top pair comes -- but we realize something else: our "kicker" card is dreadful. The seven-beer man leads off the betting, by tossing out 300. A man across from us calls. We do the same, thankful that no one is going bigger.
ON THE TURN: 2
The second pair comes! And now we want that beer-filled man to make another bet. But after a moment, he checks. So does the player between us. Now it's time to move.
"Pat Robertson bet," we say; "700 Club."
That's 100 for each beer, for the man to our left. He calls. The man across from us thinks about it a while, then calls as well.
"I'm all in," chimes in the liar to our right. No - he folded pre-flop.
"You're out of the hand, yet you're still bluffing," we say in pretend shock. But enough of the comedy relief....
ON THE RIVER: 9
At this point we're privately puzzled about what the other players have. Is someone holding an Ace, with a higher second pair? The players ahead of us check, and we decide we've been daring enough. We check as well.
"Acey-ducey," we say as we show our cards. And that's good enough to win the pot! One man shows Q-J, which means he missed a straight draw. The man with seven beers never shows his hand.
We won an even bigger pot in the first hour with A-Q, when the beer-filled man tried to run us off a Queen on the flop with big bets despite only having King high. That led us to the one-hour break at 12,000 chips. Then in Hour 2, he lured us down an expensive path with K-J. We went all-in on the turn with no pair, but were saved by a Jack on the river.
After another save when running cards came to bring us a straight, we had 7,000 chips left at the two-hour mark. That was barely enough for a 10,000-chip Big Blind, after a "color up" of low-value chips. And of course, our turn for that came seconds before the Tournament Director made the "final table" call.
We were forced in with K-4, and the board didn't pair. A man with a 9 hit the flop, eliminating the beer-filled man along with us. Despite finishing in a tie for eighth place (ninth in points), we missed the final table.
MINISTRY MOMENT: As we walked to the bar to leave a tip for our soda, we passed a man who told us, "It's all good."
"What is all good?" we asked him.
The man named John proceeded to give an inspirational testimony unlike any we've heard at local churches recently. John says he's been homeless five months, and thought about committing suicide after losing several relatives to death in a six-month span. But now he tries to think on the positive side.
"I wake up every day. I have food to eat." (He didn't say how, and we didn't ask.) "No one took my stuff. And every night before I go to bed, I thank the Lord for helping me through another day."
John pulled out of his rear pocket a booklet written by TV preacher Kenneth Copeland. John says he reads it every day, and is growing to believe God more and more -- including taking time to attend church each weekend.
But one of John's motives for living sounded curious. "I still have people I want to p**s off," he told us -- as in people who apparently wish "I wasn't around anymore."
We suggested an ever better way for John to make people upset -- to do kind acts toward them. That's actually the Biblical approach:
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. - Proverbs 25:21-22
We've heard people scoff at such an approach -- and sadly, the scoffers have included a Christian minister or two. But Jesus stated clearly....
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.... - Matthew 5:44
Or as the apostle Paul put it later....
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:21
John says even though he's homeless, he doesn't ask people for money. Yet he told us God provides his needs, and he hopes to get out of his homeless situation soon.
We promised John we'd pray for him, and we ask you to join us in that. There's nothing better in easing the pain of a missed final table than meeting a man who looks on the bright side -- even if you might not see a reason for him to do it.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 136 final tables in 392 games (34.7%) - 20 cashes.
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