Poker Night 568: Four-warned?

Driving to poker night in six-degree F. cold was challenging enough. But as we crossed the Ohio River toward Lawrenceburg, Indiana Wednesday night, a light on our dashboard starting blinking. We'd never seen the "tire light" blink before.

"I'm heading to a poker night, but I'd don't want to gamble with my tires," we told a man at an automotive shop where we stopped. The man understood, and a check showed our tires simply needed a little air. (The blinking was something else, which we'll explain another time.)

With that service done for free, we drove on to Hollywood Casino Indiana. Would warning lights abound as we returned to night tournaments?

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: 4-4

We won an early pot with A-10, which topped a man's A-8. But slow losses after that (including one with A-K) have put us at about 10,500 out of a starting 12,000. Now we have a small pocket pair in the Small Blind. The table of six isn't betting. So we choose to trap and call. The Big Blind checks, so we're heads-up.

ON THE FLOP: 4-3-Q

Four the win! A third four plays exactly into our strategy. Small Blind plays first, so we check. Big Blind bets 200. We call, of course.

ON THE TURN: K

No worries to us. Our patient play continues, with another check. Now Mr. Big Blind offers 425. We call, of course.

ON THE RIVER: 10

We have no idea what out opponent has. But he's betting, so we'll let him do it again with another check. This time, though, he checks as well.

"I hoped you'd bet again," we admit as we show "trip fours." Our opponent folds without showing a thing.

"At least I only lost 625," he admits. His wariness of us was correct, and that saved him a larger loss.

We reached the first break with 11,525 chips. A slow drain continued after that - but with only 16 players in action, we made it to the final table with 9,200.

After two players dropped out, a man bet 6,000 with us in the Big Blind. We saw pocket Queens and naturally called. So did a third player - and that man turned a 4 into his own "trip fours" on the river. Our big winning hand turned into our big loser, and we drove home with eighth place and no more blinking lights.

MINISTRY MOMENT: One young man at our starter table is chewing Nicorette gum, to overcome a tobacco habit.

"It beats smoking, I guess," he said. We agreed with this. Lots of things are better than smoking, especially for your body.

"We're all gonna die of something," he added. We agree with that, too. But that gave us a thought.

"And after you die.... what happens?" we asked.

"Most likely.... nothing."

"But what if there's a judgment?" we followed. "There very well could be."

Some ministers would say that response was too soft. We should have spoken in more convicting faith. because the Bible has no "could-bes" about this:

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.... - Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)

People unaware or unaccepting of God have no real knowledge of this. That's because they haven't seen it directly. But a Christian should have faith in God, but in what He plans to do for people after this physical life is over.

For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. - Acts 17:31 (NLT)

These words originally said to the generation alive after Jesus Christ was resurrected. Some of them may have heard about it. But other people who actually saw the risen Savior may have still been living witnesses to it. Jesus will come back to judge. But there's some good news about that, back in Hebrews....

...So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await him. - Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)

People who "eagerly await" Jesus strive to live a life free of sin. They repent, if and when they do sin. They long for salvation and eternal life, and the Bible promises they'll receive it. Other people who expect "nothing" after death are in for a rude surprise. Why take a chance with that? Isn't the better course to accept salvation through Jesus now?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 216 final tables in 568 games (38.0%) - 46 cashes.

All Work, No Pay?

You may have wondered how we've been able to play weekday poker tournaments over the last few weeks. Here's the reason - we've been on furlough.

Our current regular employer is the U.S. government. And for five weeks, we were "on the rail" due to a partial shutdown. Our job was not one requiring us to work without a paycheck. We could only empathize with those who do - and in fact, the rules of the shutdown barred us from going in voluntarily and patriotically to help them do the daily work.

But then it hit us - isn't poker a lot like those furloughed workers? You could play for hours, either in a tournament or a cash game, and not get a penny for it. In fact, you could lose a bundle in a cash game. All that "work" - for nothing!

Well, hold on. Maybe it's not all for nothing. Maybe we need a different perspective....

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. - Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

The apostle Paul admittedly wrote this to first-century "slaves". But they were slaves connected to God's Church, by their belief in God and Jesus Christ. You may feel like you're "slaving" at times, in a poker room or on a regular job. But the apostle advises....

Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord.... Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. - Colossians 3:22, 24 (NLT)

Furloughed federal workers are going back to work this week, and withheld back pay will be restored. Poker players who fall "off the bubble" don't often have that promise. But a much bigger payday is coming:

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. - Matthew 16:27 (KJV)

Other parts of the Bible describe that reward in terms of "cities" or responsibilities (Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:19). And with the gift of eternal life....

For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain.... For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. - Isaiah 65:22-23 (NLT)

One famous sermon of the 20th century called it "Payday Someday." May it come very soon - and may you "work" loyally for God until it does, even if that work is in a poker room.

Poker Day 567: On the Outs

"You can move over to make yourselves comfortable," a dealer suggested during today's final table at Hollywood Casino Indiana.

"At the final table, you're never comfortable," we responded. Indeed, even reaching that point had some stressful moments....

BLINDS: 2,000/4,000

IN THE POCKET: 5-6 of spades

The blinds are this big because we're in the third hour of play. It's had highs and lows, but gone well for us so far. After about 45 minutes of action with 11 players out of 24, we finally and patiently reached the last ten with 30,800 chips.

Now we're in the Big Blind with low suited connectors. A lot of players are pushing to force the action, but no one does here. We can check, and we're heads-up with the Small Blind.

ON THE FLOP: 7c-8s-Qs

Three cards with a lot of potential for us - an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. The Small Blind to our right offers 6,000. We start this hand with about 28,900, so any bet is steep. Yet we call in hope.

ON THE TURN: 10d (perhaps not precise)

We missed - and our opponent raises the stakes to 8,000. Now it's time for some quick math:

• Nine missing spades would make a flush.
• The other three 4's or 9's (other than spades) would give us a straight.
• TOTAL OUTS: 15, out of 46 unknown cards. The odds are almost one in three.

Would you take a risk like this? We'll be in serious trouble if we miss. But we've made the final table, so we decide to call.

ON THE RIVER: 2s

Victory! Or is it? The Small Blind ponders for a moment, then bets 8,000 more.

"I'm all-in," we say - with 8,900 left. The Small Blind calls.

"Did you hit the flush?" we ask. "Because I did."

We show it to prove it. The Small Blind turns over.... K-K! He fought for his big pocket pair, but our stubbornness gains us a double-up to more than 52,000 chips!

"Big risk," a man to our left says. Indeed, it was - but this time it worked.

Yet on the very next hand, we lost with our own big pocket pair - as Q-Q fell to A-Q when an Ace came on the turn. We survived to the three-hour break at 21,500. But with seven players remaining, we called an all-in bet with A-7 and 12,900 chips left. Our opponent's 6-6 held up, and we left in seventh place. (Only three were paid money.)

MINISTRY MOMENT: "You gave those chips right back," the man to our left said after we lost that Q-Q hand.

"The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord," we told him.

That man didn't seem to acknowledge that famous quote. Do you know who said it? It's a Biblical quote, of course. From a modern translation...

He said, "I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" - Job 1:21 (NLT)

Read the first chapter of this Old Testament book, and you'll see Job lost a lot. Due to a challenge from Satan to God, Job lost his farm animals, farmhands, shepherds, camels, servants.... and all ten of his children.

If you lost even one-tenth of this, could you say what Job said? For many people, it might seem impossible. Yet in that moment, Job worshiped God (verse 20). How did he do that?

There once was a man named Job who.... was blameless - a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. - Job 1:1 (NLT)

Job worshiped God through it all, because he "feared God." Note his words above about nakedness. He realized God was the source of all he had, and God would be his hope through it all.

If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed life will I wait, till my change come. - Job 14:14 (KJV)

While the entire book of Job reveals he was not a perfect man, he truly was strong in faith. And we can understand the "change" that's coming is a change from human flesh to eternal life for believers in God.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. - Matthew 24:13 (NLT)

Jesus said those words. Then He did them. He's now the resurrected Son of God in heaven, and the Bible indicates He'll soon come back to resurrect faithful believers as well. Is that the source of your faith? If not, what is - and do you really think it's any better?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 215 final tables in 567 games (37.9%) - 46 cashes. That's five final tables in our last six live tournaments.

Words of Praise

As we won some make-or-break hands at the final table during our last poker outing, a brief "praise party" broke out.

"Praise the Lord," we said as we gathered in chips.

"Praise the Lord!" a man with a beard across from us said.

"Yes. Hallelujah!" we replied.

We meant what we said. As for the other man - well, Jesus Christ will be His judge. But we have our doubts, considering he'd used that name as a curse moments earlier.

Let's make it clear first: It's good to praise God. And you can do it anytime, at any place....

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. - Psalm 34:1 (NLT)

We're admittedly not "Pentecostal" or "holy roller" in our beliefs. We quietly gave God thanks in the early parts of the tournament. But we also think big moments call for bigger praise. Take the time Jesus entered Jerusalem....

Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, "Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" - Mark 11:9 (NLT)

It was a crowd of people (verse 8) - but we're left to wonder how many really meant it. Only five days later, another crowd called for Jesus to be crucified (Mark 15:12-14). Could some people have attended both those moments?

The lesson we conclude from this (and that other man at the final table) is that speaking words of praise is fine - but God wants more than that:

Jesus replied, "You hypocrites!.... 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.' For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition." - Mark 7:6-8 (NLT)

A heart that's close to God should be speaking godly words all the time - not turning the switch on and off as the moment seems right.

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart.... What you say flows from what is in your heart. - Luke 6:45 (NLT)

So before you start popping off at a poker table, check your heart first. Is it right before God? Is it close to God? If so, your praise will be more authentic  - and the life you live will be as well.

Poker Day 566: Flop-House

We arrived at Hollywood Casino Indiana today for an unusual (for us) Tuesday midday tournament, then discovered we could pick up a nice consolation prize.

A snack shop across the hall from the casino was offering free dessert, to mark National Strawberry Ice Cream Day! This was a $4.95 value - and c'mon, how many casinos offer free ice cream? If only we could survive to the first break, and not have to wait around for the coupon….

BLINDS: 300/600

IN THE POCKET: K-10 of clubs

At this point, the ice cream coupon is secured. It's the middle of Hour 2, after we overcame an early setback with pocket Kings to close Hour 1 at 13,475 from a starting 12,000 chips. We tend to fold K-10 when blinds go up and things get risky. But these are suited, so we try them. Two other players at the table of eight call.

ON THE FLOP: 10-10-K

No clubs. But no problem! We build an instant full house! A man to our right plays first, and offers 1,200. This reminds us of our last tournament in Kansas City.

"I can do 12," we say matter-of-factly. The third man can't; he folds.

ON THE TURN: 7

We doubt this helped our opponent at all. This time he checks. We want him to stick around and keep feeding our beast, so we make a hesitant-looking bet of 1,500. He calls. We're glad about it.

ON THE RIVER: 3

We should have the TV "check-mark" at this point. Now our opponent is ready to bet again - but backs off a little, to 1,100.

"No," we say. "Not enough." Forgetting it's an ice cream day, we raise to 3,100. Will our opponent take the dare? After a moment.... he does!

Then we remember the famous words a man said to oust us at a Alabama poker night years ago. "I flopped it," we say. When we show the full house, our opponent folds without showing.

"Was it that ice cream?" another player asks.

"I haven't eaten the ice cream yet," we answer with a smile.

Thankfully, the ice cream had to wait a long while. Big timely cards kept coming our way - never pocket Aces, but several winning A-K's and a couple of successful flushes. We ballooned to 36,200 after two hours of play. then reached the final table at 42,200.

Marvelous moments kept happening there. Even though we fell to 32,200 at the three-hour break, we won a sidepot with A-10 and made a big flush with 6 of hearts. Then we had three hands of 3-3 4-4 and 3-3! The first pocket pair was blown up for a full house on the river, but the other two led to double-ups - and we survived to the final three, to make the money!

After a few hands of chip shuffling, we asked a question. "Is it time to say 'chop'?" The other two men agreed to that. We wound up with $360 - seven times the $70 buy-in! We were thankful for God's guidance in making money. And since it's January, we were able to drive the free ice cream all the way home to enjoy later.

MINISTRY MOMENT: When we turned over 6-6 at the final table, one talkative opponent declared: "Satan's hand."

"Actually, that's three sixes," we said in correction.

"You'll need three sixes," he predicted in response.

That man turned out to be wrong, as the 6 of hearts led us to a winning flush. But this is a reminder that some people don't know the Bible as well as they think. Let's review his reference....

Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666. - Revelation 13:18 (NLT)

Many people have made guesses about what 666 means. We will not do that here. But the prophecies of Revelation indicate the future "beast-man" will require everyone to worship it, and receive some kind of mark for trading (verses 15-17). But believers in the true God should do something else....

….This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful. - Revelation 13:10 (NLT)

You don't have to wait for an end-time beast to come to do these things, you know. The best time to start practicing these traits is now:

If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. - II Timothy 2:12-13 (NLT)

By the way, there's one other 666 in the Bible - the size of a Israelite family (Ezra 2:13). We didn't find any 66's in the text. But there's one big overarching one - as the standard Bible has 66 books! Can you name all of them? And even more importantly, have you read through all of them?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 214 final tables in 566 games (37.8%) - 46 cashes. Since we crossed the 500-tournament mark in April 2017, we've had 31 finals in 66 tries.... not far from 50 percent!

Creatures of Habit

It's one thing to play poker for fun. It's another thing to play it professionally. But when your love of poker leads to law-breaking, that's another matter.

A Navy lieutenant was sentenced to prison this past week in Virginia, due to what prosecutors call a "high-stakes poker" habit. A defense attorney admitted Randolph Prince had "a terrible gambling addiction," which led to wire fraud and false tax statements resulting from sham companies getting government contracts.

There's a fine line between playing poker frequently and becoming addicted to the game. Here's one big question to ask yourself, in finding the balance: Do I feel I have to play today?

If you're playing poker to get out of debt, please realize the risk you're taking. You might wind up even deeper in debt. As one famous book puts it:

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. - I Timothy 6:10 (NLT)

The famous phrase embedded in this verse does not say, "Money is the root of all evil." No, the love of it is - the "craving" for it. That puts the blame not on greenbacks or big poker chips, but on you and me. It's about what we desire.

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. - I John 2:16 (NLT)

Put another way: Do you have a poker date - or does the game of poker have you? Has the game become a "constant craving," to borrow from an old song? If so, it could be time to replace it with something better - something that's "from the Father."

So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.... - I Corinthians 12:31 (NLT)

God wants to fill you with "gifts of the Spirit." Read the entire chapter and Ephesians 4 for an idea of what those gifts are. They're primarily for helping other people, not filling your life with luxury homes and sports cars. And isn't helping people a good habit to start?

Poker Day 565: Six-Packed

The gambling this week actually began on Monday morning - simply by getting in the car. We decided to take advantage of a partial government shutdown by traveling west to see relatives. But we knew if a shutdown was announced at any point, we'd have to turn around immediately and hurry back to our regular job.

But by midday today, there was no settlement. So we drove to Harrah's Casino in North Kansas City, where the midday "Fat Stack" poker tournament costs $60 - a bargain, compared to our home area. Would the successful risks continue?

BLINDS: 600/1,200

IN THE POCKET: 6-6

We made good early gains, advancing from a starting 12,000 chips to about 20,500 at one point. We reached the first break at 16,400. Now we're at level 7, still above "sea level" at about 14,500 chips. Sitting one off the button at a table of seven, we limp in with a medium-small pocket pair. A couple of people call.

ON THE FLOP: K-K-6

WOW! We hit it big, with the underside of a full house. The opponents check to us. But we'll wait on them to jump offsides, and check as well.

ON THE TURN: 6

DOUBLE WOW!! Now we have quads! But a man to our right bets 1,200. For a moment, we realize he could be slow-playing pocket Kings. That would be an awfully bad beat. But we see absolutely no reason to fold.

"I can do 12," we say matter-of-factly with a nod. We soft-sell a call, putting us heads-up.

ON THE RIVER: 4

A worthless card for a moment like this. It all depends now on what our opponent does. Will he bet bigger, perhaps to attempt to scare us away?

No.... he simply checks. So now it depends on us. How much can be bet to encourage a call and maximize our gains?

"How about..... 2,300?" we ask as we bet.

If our opponent really had pocket Kings, he'd bet them now. Instead, he thinks things over for about a minute. Then he softly folds.

"Very good decision," we tell him - and show the quads we had. It's actually the second quads hand at the table today, and others are impressed.

"You could do 12," a man to our right says in an imitation of our line.

"I really could," we say with a big nod. It's still a good and much-needed win, getting to 18,400.

But then came level 8 - and when a man across the table pushed, we saw A-K and took him on. His pocket 5's won the race, and threw us onto the ropes. A couple of all-in wins on our part brought a recovery to 10,000 at the second break.

With added antes and higher blinds in Hour 3, we dropped to 2,600. "Final table" was called as we looked at Big Blind cards of A-10. We decided they were too good to wait. We pushed into two callers. But the board didn't pair for us, and a man with K-9 hit a King on the river. We finished tenth out of 24 players, but missed the final table because we never played a hand there.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The pre-game talk turned to the partial government shutdown, which today reached Day 19.

"The problem is that both sides think they're God," one man said.

"That's why I'm praying to God," we replied, "that He'll show both sides the right end to this."

There's been a lot of debate about the main issue in the shutdown. But we haven't heard anyone call for the country to appeal to God about it through prayer. Perhaps that's because many people want "their side" to prevail. Yet shouldn't we do this?

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." -Matthew 6:9-10

We've heard some preachers combine verse 10 into one phrase - asking for God's Kingdom to come to Earth. That's a proper thing to seek in prayer. But the NIV puts a comma after "come", making the part about God's will a separate thought.

Maybe that's what scares some people. They don't really want God's will in their lives, because it might require making some major changes. Yet Jesus took the concept all the way to the end of His life...

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." - Matthew 26:39

Jesus repeated that prayer twice, in the moments before His arrest (verses 42-44). Yet God the Father did not intervene. It was His will that Jesus endure mocking, torture and crucifixion.

This leads us to ask a hard question. Are you willing to accept God's will for your life - even if that will is not what you want? If, perhaps, He doesn't want you to play poker anymore? Dare to pray it, then trust God for whatever answer He provides.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 213 final tables in 565 games (37.7%) - 45 cashes.

Coming Out of Darkness

Some professional poker players don't stop their gambling at the poker table. They make bets on other things - sometimes quite outlandish things.

One strange recent case involved Rich Alati, who was offered $100,000 if he stayed in a bathroom for 30 days. A bathroom with no lights - the only "extras" being a bed, an unlit refrigerator and five cameras watching him.

It sounds like something out of solitary confinement at a prison or a concentration camp. Yet Alati endured it so well that the man who offered the bet settled for about $62,000 after 20 of the 30 days. (How they negotiated this while Alati was in the bathroom is unclear.)

We find this fascinating because, whether you realize it or not, we're all doing this to some extent. We're living in a dark place....

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over. - Proverbs 4:19 (NLT)

This may seem like an enlightened age, with technology which was only a dream 200 years ago. But the Bible says wickedness and sin have darkened this world....

And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them.... God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. - Jude 6 (NLT)

That "darkness" is not some mythic underground world. Sadly, it's here on Earth - where we are (Revelation 12:9).

But the good news is that we don't have to stay in darkness, like Rich Alati did. God provided a big "out" for us....

And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world.... John 3:19 (NLT)

It's more than sunshine by day, or the moon by night....

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)

Following Jesus is a walk out of wicked darkness, into light. And the payoff is far better than $100,000 - it's eternal life.

Alati hasn't made many final tables in his career, but has healthy winnings from tournaments. Now he also has a place in poker trivia, which could lead to more stardom. But we challenge you to do the opposite of what Alati did. Come out of this world's darkness - and stay there.

For more on this topic, listen to a short message we presented in 2017.

Poker Day 564: Going Up

The drive from our home to Jack Casino today was the fastest yet - only six minutes. But then came a jolt, and the day's first big decision.

"That's $120," the cashier said.

The normal price for a morning tournament is $80. So we wondered if this was a special New Year's event. Sadly, no. Without any advance notice (it's not yet posted on the casino website as we write this), Jack started a new 2019 poker schedule today. Morning tournaments will cost either $100 or $120, based on the day of the week.

"The price of playing poker just went up," we told a man sitting to our left as we reviewed the schedule. And this time, we did not mean higher blinds. But we paid the buy-in, anyway - and suddenly found ourselves in one of those higher-priced Jack tournaments. Could we make it worth the trouble?

BLINDS: 50/100/100

IN THE POCKET: Ace of clubs-Jack of spades

Oh yes - the rules for the morning tournament have changed as well. Now it's a "Big Blind Ante" game, with the player in the Big Blind paying an extra ante. In this hand, that's us. A few early feelers have failed, but this game also lets us start with 25,000 chips and 20-minute blinds.

So we can be patient - but not with these cards. No one raises, so we go up to 500. Three players at the table of seven call.

ON THE FLOP: Jc-9c-6s (last two cards may not be precise)

Top pair + top kicker = green light. "I'll bet the big one," we say - as in 700 chips, borrowing from a legendary Cincinnati radio station. Two men across from us call, but the fourth one folds. We think they're speculating, and we're in front.

ON THE TURN: 7c

This puts three clubs on the board. But we still have top pair, and one more club would give us the nuts. So why wait? We bet 1,000. The other guys call again.

ON THE RIVER: 2h

Are the flush-chasers happy or frustrated? We need to know, so we bet another 1,000. A man across from us calls; the other opponent folds.

"He has a Jack," we say as the other man shows.... J-10. "And I have a Jack." But our kicker is superior, and we win several thousand chips.

A few big gains in the first period (now one hour, 40 minutes) brought us to a high of about 30,500. But we reached the break at 24,625. Then a couple of all-in wins kept us going in the second term, including an A-10 which beat A-7. But we had a precarious 18,100 at the second break.

The third term brought a dramatic win over a man with a huge stack, as our K-K beat his Q-Q. That allowed us to reach the final table at 29,600. But then we pushed again with A-J of hearts. That same man had pocket 7's, and they won the race.

We finished in tenth place out of 33 players, with money only going to the top four. We left thankful to make a final table against what we consider quality competition. But if Jack is going to keep the poker prices high, we'll be making many more drives to the competition in Indiana.

MINISTRY MOMENT: One awkward part about the Big Blind Ante format is that the ante doesn't always match the Big Blind. That requires a lot of shuffling of chips among players to make correct change.

After one such shuffle in our Big Blind where we lacked change, we told the dealer, "To borrow from an old song: 'From whence, from whence shall come my help?'" In this case, another player provided the change. "But ultimately," we added, "my help comes from the Lord."

"That's where my help comes from, too," the dealer said. Hooray - someone else who looks to the Lord! But is that where your help lies? If not, consider this....

I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT)

This world teaches a self-reliant spirit - that you should take charge of your own life. Poker games reinforce that, because no collusion or tag-team action normally is allowed. But there's a problem with that. We can't live forever.

It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate.... The living at least know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing.... - Ecclesiastes 9:3, 5 (NLT)

Life can look very helpless - but it doesn't have to be that way. Believers in God and Jesus Christ should have a hope that help is coming....

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13 (NLT)

The believer's hope is in a resurrection to eternal life when Jesus Christ returns. May that hope fill you in the months and years to come. What other hope beyond this life do we really have?

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