Poker Day 425: Grade A-Plus

"King-anything" was one man's announced strategy today at Winners Cardroom.  Any King pre-flop would get him in a hand,  On the other hand, we played a little bit tighter.-- which sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-10 offsuit

We had a slight early loss, and start this hand with the Dealer button and about 10,500 chips.  These are nice high starter cards, but we don't want to rush into anything.  So we call, and about half of the full table is in.

ON THE FLOP: A-K-5

It's top pair and good "button" position.  A man to our immediate right bets 1,100.  We see no harm in calling that.  Everyone else vacates.

ON THE TURN: 10

Two pair make things even better.  Now our opponent bets 1,500.  If he's trying to scare us away, this won't do it.  We call again.

ON THE RIVER: 6

Probably a harmless card.  Yet our opponent fires a third barrel, with a bet of 2,000.  This is a case of what poker players call being "pot-committed."  We can't run now after betting so much, so we call in hope.

"Kings and 5's," our opponent says.  Whew -- no A-K!

Our two pair beat his.  He led at the flop, but we won the race at the turn and jump to more than 20,000 chips.

We stayed comfortable with chips most of the day -- especially helped when Q-J of hearts turned into a winning flush when we went all-in.  We made the final table on a day with about 22 players, then mostly watched as others fell away.

With four players remaining, we were dealt 9-9.  This worked for us last Monday at Hollywood Casino - and with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and only 60,000 left, we had little choice but to go all-in.  A man to our left called with K-9.  He gained a helpful Q-J on the flop -- and then a 10 on the river to make a winning straight.  A good run for us ended with a fourth-place finish, and only first paying in the Sunday freeroll.

MINISTRY MOMENT: An oldies radio station played in the background during our tournament - and at one point, we noticed the George Harrison tune My Sweet Lord playing.

"That's such a mixed-up song," we said to the man next to us.  "It starts out singing about God, but then turns into Hare Krishna.  God isn't supposed to be combined with Hare Krishna.  He's supposed to be combined with Jesus Christ."

The man nodded, hopefully understanding what we said.  But he would ask: have you ever stopped to listen carefully to songs like that?

Not every song which sounds "godly" really is.  It's something we think Jesus recognized:

To what can I compare this generation?  They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn." - Matthew 11:16-17

Does this mean God and Jesus are against dancing?  We don't think so, since other Bible verses show there's "a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:4).  We suspect Jesus realized the people claiming to do things in His name really were not doing that.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. - Mark 7:7-8

Have you "let go" of God's commands, thinking that's what modern-day Christians are supposed to do? The Bible actually shows there are still commands to be followed and rules to be kept.

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.  The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. - I John 2:3-4

If you haven't opened a Bible in a while, we suggest going through the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and noting what Jesus actually says and teaches.  Don't believe what preachers say, or even what popular songs say.  They could equally be wrong.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 151 final tables in 425 games (35.5%) - 25 cashes.  We've now entered eight live tournaments this year, with six final table finishes and three "top fives."