BLINDS: 25/25
IN THE POCKET: K-K
It's early, but we've been losing. We begin this hand with about 3,000 chips from a starting 3,500. These cards give us hope, and we limp in. A man two seats to our left makes us look smart, by raising to 225. We call; everyone else at the full table folds.
ON THE FLOP: 8-J-8
It's not in the pocket, but another pair shows up. Yet it's the Jack in the middle that concerns us. Did our opponent raise with his own pocket pair.... maybe Jacks? Or Aces? We check in caution. He bets 500. That's not enough to run us off; we call.
ON THE TURN: 9
We check again. This time, he does as well. This actually makes us feel better. A "third barrel" might have run us off.
ON THE RIVER: 6
With no flush threat, we think it's time to turn the tables and see if we've been bullied. Now we bet 500 with our hidden two pair. Our opponent thinks about it - then simply calls.
"I've got the donuts," we say. "Krispy Kremes."
"You sure do," he says.... and folds without showing. That gain of more than 1,200 chips get us officially into the game.
"I had one of your cowboys," the man adds. So he apparently had K-something. In this case, one King would not have been enough.
We won the next hand as well (with a straight, as we remember it), for another big gain. Our stack reached 7,700 during the first period, but we fell to 5,750 at the first break.
Then in the second term, trouble happened. We attempted to eliminate that same man with A-K, but his push with pocket Queens worked. We never recovered from that, holding on to the semifinal table. There we had the bad break of sitting down in the Big Blind right away. A push with our last 600 with A-Q fell to a man with pocket 2's, who caught a third one on the turn. A day with 73 players ended with us in 20th place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We brought our "Lord's Supper" card protector (the one with a traditional caricature of Jesus Christ on the other side) and showed it to a few men at the table.
"We may never know what He looked like," a man to our immediate left said.
"I think we're going to know someday," we responded.
That man indicated he might not be around to see that. "I'm not really sure where I'm going."
"We can do something about that...."
"Oh, I know. My wife is a choir director and a church organist."
Let's break down this exchange. How can we say that "someday" we'll know how Jesus looked?
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. - Revelation 1:7
This is a reference to Jesus (verse 5). In a past generation, ministers suggested "every eye" would see Jesus's second coming because CNN would televise it live. But we wonder if this will be an intervention so huge that it spreads across the entire earth:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. - Revelation 19:11(NASB)
As sports fans might be surprised to see the roof opened or shut at a domed stadium, God apparently will open what we think are the limits of the sky. But will some people really miss the moment of encountering Jesus?
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.... The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. - Revelation 20:11-12
Not even death will protect you from this "all in moment." In fact, your life will lead up to this moment.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. - II Corinthians 5:10
That includes us.... and you. What are you doing now, that will receive a payout then?
As for where that man is going, and the duties of his wife.... let's hold those for a future post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 190 final tables in 525 games (36.2%), 39 cashes. Experiment update: Down $25.
No comments:
Post a Comment