BLINDS: 300/600
IN THE POCKET: K-Q offsuit
We won two nice pots in the first hour, including one with pocket Aces. Then A-J paid off to eliminate a player, and move us to 7,700. But a couple of hands before this one, an amazing thing happened. We pushed with K-K, ran into a man with A-A - yet we caught a King on the river to stay alive!
So we start this hand with more than 14,000 chips. The man we beat moments earlier is sitting two seats to our right, and going all in for 2,500.
"I'll help him out," we say as we call - realizing he could be pushing with anything. But two other men at the table call. This could be huge.
ON THE FLOP: K-Q-8
We're quietly thrilled by this - top two pair! We're first in line and bet 2,000, expecting the other men in the hand to concede. Trouble is, they both call. Do they have pocket Kings or Queens?
"This could buy you right back in," a man out of the hand says to the player who went all-in.
ON THE TURN: 9
Seemingly harmless - but now we want to make sure, and we have the chip stack to back it up.
"Four-thousand," we say - emphasis on the four. A young man at the end of the table ponders it for a moment. Then he goes all in! And if that's not enough, the other man in the hunt pushes behind him! Have our worst fears become reality?
"I'll do it," we say - becoming the fourth player to go all in. After all, we've committed a lot of money to the pot and our hand is strong.
The dealer sorts out all the chips, and it turns out we have fewer than the man at the far end. So there are two sidepots. But who has what? It's time to show....
Man at far end: A-K
Man across the table: A-K
Man who pushed for 2,500 to start all this: A-Q
"I have two pair, though," we point out. No one else does, so we have a big lead!
CORRECTED: Let's take a moment to analyze this. All four Kings are showing. If a Queen comes on the river, we make a full house to beat the first pusher's three of a kind. No straight or flush is in play. The only thing that can hurt us is the lone remaining Ace. We can knock out two players out, win a massive (estimated) 40,000 chips and probably cruise to the final table - if we dodge one card.
ON THE RIVER: A
"Yes!" understandably says the man at the far end. Based on what's showing, the odds of that Ace coming are 39 to one!
The two men with A-K split all the chips. The two players knocked out include us - as we finish tied for 22nd place, out of 56 entries.
So yes, in poker lightning can strike twice at the same table. And in real life, it can happen as well. The Empire State Building gets it several times a year.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A man sitting next to us mentioned the time he walked past a slot machine modeled after TV horror movie host Elvira. "Suddenly it said, 'Come here and play with me.'" That shook the man up a bit.
"Try the voices," we advised him, "to see what sort of voices they are."
We were reminded on Christian radio this evening of a young man in the Bible who faced somewhat the same situation.
The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am!" And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me".... - I Samuel 3:3-5
But Eli explained he didn't call Samuel, and sent him back to bed. Then the call by God happened a second time, with a similar response....
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord.... Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. - I Samuel 3:7-8
Eli was one of God's priests (I Samuel 1:3), so he was clearly sensitive to such things. He sent Samuel back to bed with different instructions (3:9).
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." - I Samuel 3:10
That marked the official start of a long and beautiful relationship between God and Samuel. In perhaps the same way, we would ask: Is God calling you - perhaps not through dreams, but through other people or events in your life?
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call. - Acts 2:39
If God "makes the call" on your life, "call" as in poker. Go heads-up with Him, but in a humble way. After all, He holds all the cards - but we think going all-in for God is the best decision you'll ever make.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 191 final tables in 527 games (36.2%) - 39 cashes. Experiment update: Down $75.
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