BLINDS: 500/1,000
IN THE POCKET: 3-3
We took a disciplined approach to this tournament, and it worked to our advantage. We didn't win a pot for more than an hour, and that first one actually was a split. Yet we reached the first break after 90 minutes on the "plus side," at 17,000 chips. Now we're in the Small Blind, and no one's raising at a full table. We call; about half the players are in.
ON THE FLOP: 9-3-8
A perfectly well-disguised three of a kind for us! So we lay low and check. Trouble is, everyone checks.
ON THE TURN: 10
Sitting first in line to act, part of us wants to bet now - but we decide to check again. Sure enough, someone jumps in - as a man across the table who's showing a bit of an attitude bets 2,000. He gets called.
"Raise - 5,000," we say quietly. That man calls; the other players step aside.
ON THE RIVER: 7
That card may smell like trouble (as in a straight), but we're not looking at it that way. We want to make a big move, so we bet 10,000 (about half our remaining stack). Our opponent calls.
"I've got two pair," he says - showing 10-8. (He also was on a flush draw, which he missed.)
"Abdul-Jabbars," we like to say of 3-3. Our opponent looks pained, as we claim a huge pot.
As we recall, that put our chip stack at 72,000 - enough to reach the final table on a night with two full ones. Weak cards hurt after that, until we went all in for 23,000 with A-10. The board displayed two pair, Q's and 7's - and our Ace kicker allowed us to jump to 101,000!
"Bet you didn't expect that to happen," a man across from us said. Indeed, he was right. And we had another low tide in chips later - but playing tightly and carefully allowed us to hang on and reach the money!
Three players were paid on this night - and as better cards came, our chip stack reached a match-high 291,000. At that point, a man across from us proposed splitting the prize money. We had the lead and could have claimed $82 for first place, but we agreed to a three-way split: $53 per player, with $1 extra for a dealer tip.
"You wore me out," one of the finalists said as the night ended. It turned out to be a four-hour contest, and we played with only about three hours of sleep. But caffeine and M&M's can work wonders - along with blessings from God, of course.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Since it was Christmas Eve night, the holiday came up in the discussion. "I can't wait for the 26th, for the carols to end," the dealer admitted.
"What gets me," we admitted to the table, "is how some people demand you say 'Merry Christmas.' I want to tell them: Show me in the Bible where someone says 'Merry Christmas'."
Uh-oh - did that comment surprise you? Perhaps you expect a blog about a poker-playing Christian to wholeheartedly endorse Christmas. But the fact that we went to a poker room instead of a "Midnight Mass" should have tipped you off right away that our view is different.
In fact, we'll throw our challenge out to you. Can you find a place in the Bible where someone says, "Merry Christmas" - or even "Happy Holidays"? If you can, please leave a comment and let us know. If you can't, consider these words....
Every word of God is flawless.... Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. - Proverbs 30:5-6
A lot of people have added to the words of God, probably without even realizing it. We think one example of that is the "War on Christmas" - going to great lengths to fight for a holiday which is never specifically mentioned in Scripture.
This admittedly puts us in a camp with atheists - but we'd rather be true to what God says, than add myths and fables which give people wrong ideas. Yes, we're thankful for Jesus Christ and all He does for us. But we try to do that in a way which upholds the Biblical example. After all, that's what Jesus left for us to follow.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 173 final tables in 459 games (37.7%) - 31 cashes. This makes a record six cash wins in live tournaments this year, plus one online at National League of Poker. Our total earnings for 2015 now are above $1,200!
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