No kidding - the female dealer had shades covering her eyes. She took them off once the tournament began. We have a pair of sunglasses, but find we have trouble reading the cards when we wear them. So instead of looking "poker cool," we focused on trying to win....
BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: A-9 offsuit
The first few minutes of this game haven't been the greatest for us. We lost one pot when our two pair were outkicked. This likes a good hand for attempting a comeback -- and with no one raising pre-flop, we can play rather inexpensively.
ON THE FLOP: K-9-3
It's middle pair and top kicker, but nothing to make us overconfident. A man to our right tosses out 500 nonchalantly. We're led to think he's chasing something, so we call. A young woman across the table who's rather new at the game calls as well; everyone else folds.
ON THE TURN: 5
A card which probably didn't help anyone. That man to the right tosses out 500 again. Now we're even more convinced he's chasing; we call again, as does that young woman.
ON THE RIVER: 3
This pairs the board, and gives us two pair. The man to the right makes another 500-chip toss. Enough of that, we say to ourselves.
"Raise - 1,500," we say.
This is a "bully bet" on our part, trying to seize the pot by indicating we have something big. The young woman ponders this for a moment -- then calls. Uh-oh; that's probably trouble.
The man calls as well. He shows 9-4 - much as we suspected. Our Ace has his two pair outkicked. But the young woman turns over A-K. She had the high card, but let everyone else bet in front of her. A good move on her part, to take the part.
That loss plus a continual dearth of quality cards put us in a deep hole. We limped to the break at 5,000 chips. But then things changed. A desperation all-in with A-10 led to two more 10's on the board, and we stayed alive with 10,000 chips. Then A-K brought a winning King on the flop, and we escaped again. Then we pushed with 10-10, gained a third 10 on the river, and suddenly had 40,000 chips!
But with the final table nearing, the odds finally turned against us. We went all in with A-9 and received an Ace on the flop (as best we remember), but lost to a man with A-10. We're thankful for a great rally, even though we fell short by finishing 11th/
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Is that a candle?!" the dealer asked about our card protector. Yes, it was - a small green one that we haven't used in years.
"I brought it to remind me," we said, "that I should be a light for Christ."
This led to a discussion about whether God wants people to play poker. We'd looked at that topic before, and we probably will again. But what we found most noteworthy about the candle came later, when a man to our left looked closely at it.
"Do you plan to use that again? It doesn't have much of a wick."
We admitted we haven't been able to use it in recent years for that very reason. And that leads us to an important point about candles.
For you will light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. - Psalm 18:28 (KJV)A church or dining table can have the nicest-looking candlestick known to man. But something has to light it, or it has no real value. King David in this psalm refers to the Lord as the one who lights his candle (see verses 1-2). But you have to be the wick - willing to let God enlighten you.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick: and it gives light to all that are in the house. - Matthew 5:15 (KJV)A covered-up candle loses oxygen and expires in a short time. Are you willing to let God light your candle - perhaps ignited by His Holy Spirit through a study of the Bible? Then are you willing to openly display that light, by letting the Spirit work in your mind and life?
If you're willing, God is able - and you might find you can burn brightly for Him for a long time.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 151 final tables in 426 games (35.4%) - 25 cashes.
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