We traveled today to Ameristar Casino and Hotel - a complex that reminds you of a "grand hotel" and rail station of the 1930s. The HPT is holding a series of events there over 11 days. We did not enter the Main Event tournament, since it started on Saturday; it has more than 300 players, including (reportedly) WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer.
Instead, we settled for the final Sunday tournament - which had our steepest buy-in fee ever: $150. With that much on the line, we wanted to play well.... so did we?
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: Q-Q
We're thrilled to say we won an HPT hand! It was before this one, as a bet on the flop with King high chased other players away. Now we find a big pocket pair in the Big Blind, and the second player in line at this table of nine already has raised to 250.
"I want to raise," we say on sight. Up we go to 750. Two players call, including the man who raised first.
ON THE FLOP: 3-4-8 (offsuits)
This seems harmless, so we lead off with a continuation bet of 500. Perhaps that was too cautious, as the original raiser goes up to 1,200. The third man steps aside, and we call - wondering as we do. Is he bluffing to test our courage?
ON THE TURN: 10
We still have an overpair, but now we check to see what our opponent is thinking. He sets out 2,500. Everyone started with 12,500 chips, so this would be a substantial call.
We go "into the tank" as deeply as we ever have - trying to figure out what he's doing. Is he slow-rolling Aces? That's our top suspicion, if he has something at all. We still conclude he's bluffing, so we finally call.
ON THE RIVER: J
We still have the overpair, but we're still not comfortable. If our opponent is playing 10-10 or J-J, he's topped us. So we check again, and now his bet is 3,000.
"What's that old song?" we ask aloud. "We've come this far by faith.... leaning on the Lord?"
A couple of players out of the hand get a chuckle out of this. But we decide if we've committed this far, we might as go all the way with it. We call again.
Our opponent quickly turns over.... 4-4! He hit three of a kind on the flop, and led us all the way from there.
"Queens or Kings?" a man out of the hand asks us. Unless he finds this blog, he'll never know - as we muck the cards without showing them.
That well-played win by the man two seats away was a crippling blow to us. We lost a couple of other hands with good cards as well, then rallied a bit with pocket Jacks to get back above 3,000.
Finally we smelled a comeback with 7-7, when the flop had a 7. We pushed with our last 1,800 or so, as anyone would have done. That brought two callers. But then the turn and river were running hearts, and a man made a flush to top us.
At least we were not the first player out at our table; we were second. But on a day with 84 players, a prize pool in the range of $10,000 and a lot of money invested, it was a disappointing session.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Do you recognize the song we mentioned at the river card? It's an old gospel tune - and walking a long way by faith is something several people in the Bible did.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. - Hebrews 11:8
God made several promises to Abraham - some of them enormous:
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. - Genesis 12:2
I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.... - Genesis 22:17
Abraham died in Genesis 25:8 - and while his family grew, it wasn't quite in the millions or billions. Does that mean God lied to him? Was Abraham's faith in vain?
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.... Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. - Hebrews 11:13, 16
Abraham and others had enough faith in God that they were willing to wait for a payoff beyond the grave. Their hope was for God to fulfill His promises when they are resurrected. That might seem to take a lot of faith. But that was the sort of faith Jesus showed when he endured a violent death on our behalf.
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.... Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. - Revelation 2:10
How much faith do you have? Not in yourself or your poker-playing skills, but in God? If you're lacking, don't be afraid to ask God for more. After all, Jesus's disciples did (Luke 17:5) - and the Lord was more than willing to help them.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 175 final tables in 466 games (37.6%) - 33 cashes.
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