BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: Ace-King of diamonds
We won a nice early pot thanks to pocket 7's. But then we misread an opponent who really had a 9 to go with two of them on the board, and took a big loss. Add a few small losses, and we start this hand with 2,100 chips. We have the Dealer button, and these cards give us hope for making a move.
When no one at the full table raises, we step it up to 500. A woman and a man to our right call.
ON THE FLOP: Kc-Qc-Js
Not quite perfect letters, but close enough. We have top pair, top kicker and no desire for anyone to chase a flush. When the two opponents check, we jump.
"Sixteen candles," we announce - going all-in for the remaining 1,600. The woman to our right folds. Good. The man doesn't - and calls. Uh-oh.
"Did you hit a straight?" we ask with concern. In response, he shows.... A-Q! Our top pair leads, but we'd split the pot if a 10 makes a straight.
ON THE TURN: Qs
Ouch!!!! He gets a third queen - and now we need either a King or that pot-splitting 10.
ON THE RIVER: 3h
Finally a number shows up - and it's the wrong number for us. Our opponent won the race, and we're the second player to leave our starting table.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Sometimes I make mistakes," our second dealer of the day admitted as he threw around the cards.
"That's not good," we told him quietly.
"Everybody makes mistakes," he continued. "except John." He jokingly referred to a player across the table from us (not his real name).
"I can think of one person who never made a mistake," we told the dealer moments later. "That was Jesus."
"He was a bit before my time." Well, yeah - ours, too.
"I read about Him in a book, though," we explained.
"You might say He was miraculous," the dealer finally admitted.
Indeed Jesus Christ was - and in many ways He still is. But let's rewind this conversation. If you think about it, a lot of poker gains and losses come from making mistakes. Players might overplay their hands, misread opponents or wait too long to make a move. In the same way, in our lives...
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.... - Romans 3:23
A "sin" can be a mistake on a moral, spiritual level - falling short of God's perfect standard. But Jesus came to live a sin-free, perfect life:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. - Hebrews 4:15
Why would Jesus live in such a way? Was He a "killjoy" who didn't understand how much fun some sin can be? In reality, Jesus knew better....
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:14-16
Sin leads to death. Jesus lived a mistake-free, sin-free life that we could have eternal life:
For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! - Romans 5:10
We'll say more about the miracles of Jesus in a future post. But for now, are you willing to admit your mistakes - not simply going all-in as a bluff, but the sins you commit each day? Are you willing to repent of them, and start walking in a way that's closer to Jesus's example?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 180 final tables in 485 games (37.1%) - 35 cashes. We'll need to make final tables in five of the next 15 tournaments to keep a 37-percent result at the 500-game mark.
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