If You're Slumping

So you say you're about ready to give up on poker.  You've played some tournaments and sat down at some cash games, only to leave with an empty wallet and a burned feeling.  The bad beats are beating you up and wearing you down.

Well, we can relate to that.  We've had runs over the years where we missed final tables for months at a time, and failed to win money for even longer.  Yet we still play when we're able and time permits.

If you're mired in a big poker losing streak, there are several things you can do:

1. Stop the bleeding and leave.  It's possible poker is not the right pastime or career move for you.  After all, a wise man once wrote....

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles.... Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?.... But eagerly desire the greater gifts. - I Corinthians 12:28-31

The apostle Paul writes here about a group of believers called a "church."  There are top-ranking positions (at least that's how some read these words) - but not everyone can attain them.  It's good to desire them, but not everyone will in this life.

If you don't have the "gift" (for lack of a better word) of playing winning poker, God may have given you a gift in some other area - perhaps an area where you can accomplish much more:

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit to another miraculous powers.... - I Corinthians 12:8-10

2. Learn and grow.  We heard a speaker at church this weekend urge us to turn bad experiences into good ones.  Analyze where you went wrong at the table, then figure out how you can change things for the better.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves...  - II Corinthians 13:5

These words again are written in a spiritual context - whether you're in sync with God and Jesus Christ.  But examining your actions in a hand is the best way to determine whether you handled things properly, and what could be done differently to bring a more successful result.


(NOTE: We'll have more on this topic in an upcoming post.)