BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 8-8
The room is full of poker players, but most of them are in cash games. We're at a full tournament table of nine, and early efforts have not gone well. We start this hand with about 12,750 chips, from a starting 15,000. But we'll gladly give a mid-range pocket pair a try. No one raises, and about five players are in.
ON THE FLOP: K-9-2
Not looking promising for us, with two higher cards showing. A man across the table bets 500. It's enough to chase off other people, but strikes us as a "position bet" to steal a pot. We dare to call, and now are heads-up.
ON THE TURN: 7
Well, 8's do beat 7's. But what are we really up against? We check. Our opponent checks, too.
ON THE RIVER: 9
This pairs the board, and gives us two pair. Suddenly we think it's time to turn the test in the opposite direction, so we bet 500. The other player calls.
"Nines and eights," we say as we show. Lo and behold, that's good enough! Our opponent folds without showing his cards. Our best guess is that he had something like A-Q, and the higher cards missed.
We won a few more modest pots in the first two-hour period of the turbo tourney. Our high was 19,200, and 18,200 remained at the first break. Then rising blinds forced some bold decisions. We went all-in four times without getting a caller, making nice gains in the process without showing our cards.
The four-table tourney went to two in a hurry, and quick dropouts put us at the final table of nine with 21,800. But that was on the low end of the list - and while we held on for a while, eventually we went all-in with 3-5 after seeing a flop of 2-4-9. Our straight draw missed twice. So a man with a mega-stack took out a woman who also had 3-5, as well as us.
Final result: a tie for eighth place, out of 36 players. The Sunday afternoon tournament at Jack had 91 entries - so many that the final table was still going when our tournament began. The top four there earned more than $1,000. Our contest only paid the top six, and we missed the money.
"I brought this to remind me," we explained to everyone, "that I receive power through the Holy Spirit of God."
A few people laughed at our words. We hope it was simply because it was a clever explanation. If you scoff at the idea of a Holy Spirit, the joke someday may be on you - as it was on scoffers long ago:
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." - Acts 2:13-14
Both groups in this chapter had witnessed an amazing sight - the Holy Spirit filling Jesus's followers and guiding them in speaking other languages (verse 4). The apostle Peter explained what they saw:
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.... I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below...." - Acts 2:15-19
It was a moment for joy, but not necessarily scoffing laughter. That's because Peter had a serious offer to make....
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.... Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:21, 38
Some believers say they "speak in tongues" today, because they're filled with the Holy Spirit in the same way. They need to be sure others can understand what they say (verses 6, 11). But Peter's main point was that people should call on God, seeking forgiveness with a repentant heart. Then they can be forgiven. People around you might not forgive you, but God can - and that's a wonderful blessing to have.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 196 final tables in 538 games (36.4%) - 40 cashes. The final table count in our new area now is four out of five!
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