BLINDS: 4,000/8,000/1,000 ante
IN THE POCKET: Ace of spades-10 of clubs
If the blinds are this high and an ante has been added, you can guess it's been a good night for us. We won some modest pots early to build a stack, then scored an all-in breakthrough late in the first term when our A-Q beat pocket 9's. We finished that two-hour session at 27,200 chips.
Other pushers failed after that, allowing us to reach the final table on a three-table night with 22,200. Then with nine players left, we accepted a pushing contest with Q-Q and won it - eliminating two players, and jumping our stack above 55,000! Another big showdown with Q-Q found us against pocket Aces, yet we won that and eliminated another man with a club flush!
Now five players are left. Only three will win money. We have about 34,000 chips - but with blinds so high and antes in every hand on top of that, that's still a precarious amount. A man across from us raises to 22,200. We see our cards, ponder for a moment, then decide these are big cards in a small table.
"I'm all-in," we say. Other players get out of the way, leaving the original bettor.
"You're probably ahead," he says - but he's committed to the pot, so he calls. He shows.... J-9! Yes, we start the race with the lead.
ON THE FLOP: 9-4-K (last two cards not precise)
Uh-oh. Our opponent has a pair of 9's. Now he's in front - but we have six outs.
ON THE TURN: Ac
"Yes!" we say. We've regained the lead with top pair! If we can dodge a Jack or 9 on the river, we'll double up and be a good deal more secure....
ON THE RIVER: 9
Wow! The third lead change in as many cards gives our opponent a victorious two pair, and sends us out the door. It's as dramatic an ending as you'll see in poker, and leaves us in fifth place out of 25 entrants.
(If a few more players had shown up, Jack would have increased the payout to six players - and that would have meant money for us. So this was a double blow.)
MINISTRY MOMENT: Several times when we won big hands, we told the players around us, "I'd be writing PTL if I was online right now!"
No one asked what that meant. But a few people seemed to know, and we explained to others - it's "Praise the Lord." That shorthand was part of a religious television scandal years ago, but PTL is still good to do. And it's good to start early....
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.... - Psalm 8:2
The King James Version translates the start of this verse: "Out of the mouths of babes...." Have you noticed how many people stop the verse right there, to respond to a cute or stunning thing a toddler or pre-schooler says? But those mouths are supposed to praise God! And here's why....
....because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. - Psalm 8:2b
The right word at the right time, even from a child, can shut up a scoffer or an opponent. Adults should be even more ready to give praise....
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. - Psalm 63:4
This verse explains why some people raise their hands in worship services. You can praise God in song (verse 5), as well as with regular speech. And there are many reasons to offer praise, beyond winning a poker hand or two....
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. - Psalm 103:2-4
The ultimate redemption for believers will come when Jesus Christ returns to Earth, as resurrected saints join Him in eternal life. That will be something worth praising - forever!
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 201 final tables in 545 games (36.9%) - 41 cashes. In our new home area, the count is now nine final tables out of 12!
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