BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: J-J
We arrived at the casino 20 minutes early, but almost didn't play at all. We were 14th on the tournament waiting list, and entered 75 minutes into the event. After folding in the blinds, we start this hand with 3,200 chips late in the order. When other players merely call, we go for it with our high pocket pair.
"Raise - 500," we say. We get three takers.
ON THE FLOP: 7-3-K
Uh-oh. A bigger face card is not what we wanted to see. And if that's not enough, a player ahead of us bets 500. We're not sure what he has, but we fear what it might be. Still, we call in hopes of improvement. So does a third player.
ON THE TURN: 9
There's no flush threat. But the players in front of us check. We're rather happy to check as well.
ON THE RIVER: 3
Now we have two pair - but one of our opponents might have the same thing, only better. He bets 1,500. That's more than half our stack. And with that King looking fierce, we decide not to risk it. We fold, and the bettor takes the pot without showing what he has.
Looking back, we wonder if we should have bet more pre-flop. We've seen other players push with pocket Jacks, to scare everyone away. But we tried to maximize our profits, and wound up losing 1,000 chips.
With 1,700 chips left, we tried again with A-K of spades. This time we raised to 700, and a player to our right called. The flop was something like 8-2-9, and his bet of 200 was answered by our going all-in for the last 1,000. The man called, and showed 8-6. "Big Slick" was dominated by a relatively junk hand. And when the board didn't pair for it, we were knocked out in 44th place out of 64 players. Late in, early out.
Oh yes - about the man in the parking lot. We showed him a brownie we bought from the casino deli. "This is my consolation prize," we said, "and at two dollars, it's a pretty good deal." We both laughed at that. It beats crying about our losses.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Our second dealer has come to "know our works," to borrow from a Bible verse (Revelation 3:8). So when he saw our small bottle on the table, he asked.
"What does the bottle of hand sanitizer signify?"
"It's to remind me," we answered, "that I need Jesus to clean me up. Clean up all my sins. That's why He came."
We personally don't keep Christmas, as we've discussed in other posts. But we do believe Jesus was born - and born with a purpose:
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, "Sovereign Lord.... my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people...." - Luke 2:28-31
We can't recall a December where we've heard more messages on radio about Simeon. This "righteous and devout" man (verse 25) somehow was given a special promise:
It had been revealed to Him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. - Luke 2:26
"Christ" is not really Jesus's last name. It's the Greek word for "anointed" or "Messiah." The baby Simeon held about a week after Jesus was born was (and is) the Messiah, who came to bring salvation.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's Power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. - I Peter 1:3-5
The "coming salvation" ultimately will occur when Jesus comes back to Earth. Believers will have now "spirit bodies," and not need to be cleansed of sin any more. That's good news at any time of year. But are you asking God to clean up your life now, to get the process started?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 181 final tables in 492 games (36.8%) - 36 cashes.
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