BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: A-8 offsuit
A-7 worked well for us a few hands ago; both cards paired on the flop, and we won with a 2,000-chip bet. Now we've recovered to about 7,200 chips, and we join several players in calling.
ON THE FLOP: A-8-6
Looking familiar -- and good. We bet 700 with top two pair. A woman sitting to our immediate left who's marking her birthday calls. Two players across the table call as well.
ON THE TURN: J
We still feel confident about things, so turn up the pressure with a bet of 1,400. But we're not running off anyone: the woman calls. A man next in line goes all-in, with only 1,125 left. The other man calls as well.
ON THE RIVER: 9
The man across the table from us checks. We aim at him, with a bet of 1,000 more. The man who went all-in holds out his cards, like he's already lost and ready to surrender.
"I raise - 10,000." HUH!?!?! This surprise comes from the woman to our left - a woman we forgot was still in the hand. What led her to do this?
"I don't have 10,000," we admit as we ponder. Did she hit three of a kind, and let us bet into her all this time? Does she have a smaller two pair? After a moment, we decide on another explanation. She's won a lot of hands, built a big stack of chips -- and now she's bluffing to claim a huge pot. At least we hope so.
"I'll call," we decide with our last 3,800 or so.
"I've got a straight," she says quietly -- and shows 5-7! We're left flabbergasted. We never saw that coming -- and now we're going. The birthday girl takes out two players, and we finish our final trip to The Red Barn tied for 12th.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The other man eliminated by that birthday girl has the name Diallo. At least that's how she said it. But then she made a twist.
"'Diablo' means devil, you know," she pointed out.
"I wouldn't want to be called a devil," we tried to tell her -- although we're not sure she heard us.
Would any right-thinking person want to be called a devil? Yet believe it or not, Jesus at one point almost was accused of that....
Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.... But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." - Matthew 12:22, 24
Why did the Pharisees reach this conclusion? We're led to think it was really a verbal slap out of jealousy -- a bit like a losing poker player declaring, "I had you beat on the flop." Jesus was eroding their following, through His miracles and teaching. The Lord's response was based on logic:
"If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out?.... But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." - Matthew 12:26-28
Demons fled from Jesus's presence on several occasions -- because they knew who Jesus was, far better than the Pharisees did.
"What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" - Matthew 8:29
Demons recognized 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Do you recognize Him that way today -- and move toward Him in acceptance and worship, instead of running away in fright?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 138 final tables in 402 nights (34.3%) - 21 cashes. Our next post will finalize our record in the "Columbus era," and explain where we're going from here.
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