Sunday, August 16, 2015

Poker's 11

The ultimate goal in a poker tournament is to play "heads-up." If you only have one opponent, it's easier to plan your strategy -- and probably easier to figure out what he/she has.  And if you're heads-up at the end of a tournament, that means you're in the final two. That's likely to mean good money. That happened to us last Sunday at Prairie Band Casino.

But to get there, we had a starter table unlike any we'd faced before.  There were 11 players crowded around one table.  We're used to a maximum of ten.  But apparently this tournament had 31 entries, and the directors decided against having someone waiting in the wings.  (Why they didn't have four tables of seven or eight, we have no idea.)

Ten may seem like the perfect number for a table -- as well as other things.  For instance, the U.S. Bill of Rights had ten original points.  And it's a number that comes up a lot in the Bible....
Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant - the Ten Commandments. - Exodus 34:28


Some religious groups count those ten differently than others -- but the Bible shows there are supposed to be ten.  Jesus also had some "ten counts"....
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lambs and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. - Matthew 25:1-2


Some believers make a big deal about "Bible numbers." They look for tens and sevens in Scripture more than some poker players look for 10's and 7's to make straights.  But in the end, we think a smaller number matters more...
There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Ephesians 4:4-6


The winning number here is one - believing the one God, one Lord Jesus Christ and one Holy Spirit.  Read the Bible carefully to get in line with those "aces," and you can be united with God for all eternity.

We did our own study into Biblical numbers; we invite you to review it and offer your thoughts. In the meantime, how many players do you prefer to have at your poker table - and why?

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