The line was long tonight, then the first woman available said she could not take poker entries. The second woman available put up a "next window, please" sign when we approached her. But we finally found one window that would accept our $80 buy-in, so we could enter the Sunday night tournament.
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 7 of spades-10 of spades
We've been biding our time, waiting for good cards to play. After almost one lap around with the button, we have yet to enter a hand. But sitting first with suited mid-range cards, we decide to give something a try. We're in for the minimum, along with about three others at a table of eight.
ON THE FLOP: 9-5-3
As we remember this, only the 9 is a spade. So there's an outside shot at a flush. A man to our right bets the minimum 100.
"I can do 100," we say with a who-cares tone. After all, we started with 15,000.
"Anybody can do 100," our opponent says. Well, no they can't. The other players fold, putting us heads-up.
ON THE TURN: 10c
A small risk gets a potentially big card. Now we have top pair. Our opponent checks.
"If you can do 100, surely you can do 250," we say. He thinks it over, then calls our bet.
ON THE RIVER: 6
It's still top pair for us. Our opponent checks again. We reach for 350.
"And if you could do 100," we say, "and you can do 250, then...."
Thud. He folds his cards before our chips hit the table.
"Well, maybe not," we conclude with a bit of comedic timing. A fun little hand leads to a little gain of 550.
We'd love to say things got better than there. But they didn't. We never won another pot, and started going downhill when we misread an opponent who had a full house. That cost us 5,000.
After about 90 minutes, we were down to 1,675 and went all-in. Our K-5 of hearts caught a 5 on the flop, but a man with an 8 also caught a pair. We left stunned by a lack of good cards, and were third out at our table. We didn't read the delays at the cashier's window right, either.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "I don't think I've ever seen a candle here before," the man to our right said when he saw tonight's card protector. Indeed, we brought a small candle for the first time in two years."It's the first night of Hanukkah," we explained. "And I brought it to remind me that Jesus Christ is the light of the world."
"There you go," the man replied. And then, wouldn't you know it - his smart phone rang. He answered it, and the potential discussion was over.
Yet we put Hanukkah and Jesus together. If you think Christ only belongs "in Christmas," you may have missed this section of Scripture....
It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. - John 10:22 (NLT)
Why would the Lord be there? Because even though He came from heaven to Earth, He entered through the line of a Biblical tribe....
From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers. - Zechariah 10:4 (NLT)
A lot could be unpacked from that verse, but we'll save much of it for another post. Let's focus on the first item. Who or what is "the cornerstone" of Judah? Let's let the Bible answer that:
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. - Ephesians 2:20 (NLT)
God started building a church after Jesus was resurrected. He's still doing that - but Jesus has to be the "cornerstone" of any "holy temple" for God (verse 21).
As Jews mark the "festival of lights" this week, we hope you consider the true "light" who once paid a visit to that festival....
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." - John 8:12 (NLT)
As for keeping Christmas, we'll ask you this. Where in the Bible does it say anyone kept Christmas - or is required to do so? Leave a comment with your answer. We'll wait for it before responding.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 210 final tables in 561 games (37.4%) - 44 cashes.
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