Better Early Than Late?

It's World Series of Poker season in Las Vegas - and the first big event of the year is a record setter.  More than 6,300 players are entered in the "Millionaire Maker" tournament, with a $1,500 buy-in leading to a million-dollar top prize.

Based on the newspaper article we read, apparently players were allowed to enter after the official starting time.  Admittedly that's always irked us a bit -- people showing up as much as 45 minutes late, yet being allowed to sit down and start playing as if nothing has happened.

Perhaps because of our background in broadcasting, we try to be on time for everything we do -- including poker games.  We're happy to be rewarded at some establishments with extra chips for an "on-time bonus."  But it seems to us that's what everybody should be doing. Yet we're reminded of a parable from Jesus:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." - Matthew 20:1-4

The following verses describe the landowner rounding up more workers during the course of the day - even at the 11th hour of a 12-hour day.  Yet when the payoff came at day's end, look at what happened....

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each one of them also received a denarius. - Matthew 20:9-10

Does that seem fair to you?  Verses 11-12 show the "early birds" didn't think so, and they grumbled about it.

But he answered one of them, "Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?" - Matthew 20:13

Read the "contract details" from verse 2, and that's absolutely correct.

"Take your pay and go.  I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you." - Matthew 20:14

In poker terms: the player who walks into a 12:00 noon game at 12:50 p.m. still could win the first-place money.

"Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?  Or are you envious because I am generous?" - Matthew 20:15

This landowner erred on the side of generosity -- on the side of giving.  When you look at things from his perspective, it's hard to fault that.

We can see advantages to being at a poker table on time.  For example, you can build a big chip stack while the blinds are small.  Latecomers may be given the same number of starting chips, but have less margin for error because of bigger blinds.  But in some poker rooms, latecomers actually have their starting count reduced to reflect missing rounds of blinds.

Which player do you think has an edge in this situation?  Leave a comment with your thoughts.  And we should note this parable has implications far beyond the poker room; we'll address those in a future post.