Poker Night 536: The Grand Opening

If you show up late for an event, you might miss something big. In sports, that could mean a first-inning first-pitch home run or a kickoff returned for a touchdown. In poker.... well, check what happened Wednesday night at Hollywood Casino Indiana:

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: Ace of clubs-King of spades

Talk about a slow night for poker. Only three people have shown up for the tournament! The single cash game table seems to have open seats as well. But we were on time, and received good cards for the first hand of the night.

We limp in with them as first to act. A man across the table raises to 425. Then a visitor from central Ohio re-raises to 950! This seems promising, so we simply tag along by calling. So does the other man.

ON THE FLOP: Kc-Qc-10c

Big cards. Good cards! We have top pair, top kicker and a flush draw. The Small Blind checks. The Big Blind offers 500. Slow and steady still could win our race, so we call again. As we recall it, the Small Blind folds. But what does the visitor have? Hopefully not two pair....

ON THE TURN: 6s

Nope, not what we wanted. The Big Blind bets 500 again. Now we're more concerned about a possible two pair - but we suddenly realize something. The Jack of clubs would give us a royal flush! We'll call 500, hoping for the best.

ON THE RIVER: Jc

The dream card comes true! But what we can do with it? The Big Blind checks, giving us an open floor. We ponder for a moment, then decide to test our betting opponent by tossing out 1,000. He says no, and folds.

"I don't think I've ever had this before," we then say....

"Royal flush," the Small Blind guesses. He's correct, and we prove it. The Big Blind never shows his cards.

"I only wish more people had been here to see it!" we admit. (Not to mention giving us more chips.) We advance from a starting 12,000 chips to nearly 15,000.

The tournament attendance eventually grew to eight total players. But our chip stack went down, more than up - as several quality cards missed flops, and we missed draws. We won a couple of pots, but dropped to 6,450 at the first break.

We certainly didn't want to be the first player out after opening with a royal flush, so we tightened up from there. A timely pair of pocket Aces allowed us to triple from 3,300 to 9,900. Then other players pushed without success. We were still in the running at the second break, even with a short stack of 12,900.

Four players remained at that point, and it was a winner-take-all contest for money. But as the third hour started, our visitor went all-in. We had A-8, dared to call.... and ran into K-K. A third King on the flop did us in. A memorable night ended with us in fourth place - a result that sounds good, as long as people don't bring up phrases like "small group."

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Is that gold bouillon?" the man from central Ohio asked when he saw our card protector. We let him look closely as we revealed what it really depicts - an artist's depiction of the "Lord's Supper."

"He's on your side," the man said.

"I hope He is," we replied. God indeed has come to the aid of His people many times through history....

If the Lord had not been on our side - let Israel say - if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive.... the raging waters would have swept us away. - Psalm 124:1-3, 5

The Biblical King David wrote these words from personal experience. He spent a long time on the run, as King Saul tried to kill him so someone else would be heir to Israel's throne (I Samuel 18-31). David praised and thanked God for personal protection.

But to be truthful, life ultimately is not about whether God is on our side. The question is whether you are on His side - and there's a big difference.

...Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." - John 18:37

Why listen to Jesus Christ? Because He is the truth (John 14:6) - and He pointed interested people to the Scriptures, as God's "word is truth" (17:17). The Lord added:

He who is not with me is against me.... Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." - Luke 11:23, 28

To borrow a Christian cliché, obeying the Bible will help "get you on God's good side." We think that's far better than the alternative. What do you think?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 195 final tables in 536 games (36.4%) - 40 cashes. Since we have no control over who shows up (or doesn't) for a tournament, a one-table night still counts as a final table to us.