Poker Day 574: Race Day

Monaco had Formula 1. Indianapolis had IndyCar. Suburban Charlotte had NASCAR. And we had our own version of racing today - at the Jack Casino poker room. In fact, several races were in the cards....

BLINDS: 600/1,200/1,200 ante (Big Blind only)

IN THE POCKET: Q of hearts-Q of clubs

The Sunday brunch poker tournament has a deep stack - 25,000 chips for early birds. We built ours to 28,200 in the early going. But then setbacks knocked us down to 12,200 at the 90-minute first break. Now we have only 7,600 left, and are looking for something to start a rally. With players to our right at this table of eight raising to 3,200, this had better be it.

"I'm all-in," we say; "76 trombones led the big parade."

This reference sparked a discussion of Broadway musicals. We performed in this one in high school. A young man to our right knew right away it was The Music Man, because he'd seen the movie on cable TV.

But oh yes, the hand: two men across from us call. But the man to our immediate right then goes all-in as well - with a lot more chips than we have! This doesn't look good. A man across from us thinks for a long time, then folds. The musical buff to the right ponders, then calls.

Now it's show-and-tell time. The big re-raiser has.... 3-3! The musical fan went for it with 8-10!

"You mean I'm in the lead?!?!" we say with surprise as we show our cards. Suddenly this feels good, but anything could still happen....

ON THE FLOP: As-6s-9c

Thankfully, no one has an Ace. But the Music Man has a straight draw.

ON THE TURN: 4s

 This is more trouble, because the opposing pair includes 3s. Can we dodge all the bullets?

ON THE RIVER: 2c

We do! The "76 trombones" turn into a full, quadrupled-up big band of 35,200 chips!

That started another of those amazing second-hour rallies for us. An all-in gamble with pocket 5's won a race. Q-7 in the Big Blind brought a 6-10 straight on the river. Add a heart flush, and we survived to the final table at 24,300!

Patiently waiting for good cards paid off there. A push with A-7 looked bad against A-K, but a 7 on the board brought a gain to 84,000. A-Q led to two pair on the flop, and he jumped to 208,000. A Big Blind win made our high chip mark 249,500!

With 28 people playing, the top three would earn money. With four players left, we still had 155,500 amid massive blinds and antes. All fours agree to pay a "Bubble Boy" $20 - and the ma who appeared likely to take that title then hit a series of big hands, to eliminate someone else.

After a few more minutes of play, that man suggested a three-way chop of the prize money. The man with a huge stack had been gunning for the win, but after some setbacks was ready to settle. Of course, we accepted as well.

After more than four hours of holiday weekend "work," all three of us took home $560. That's our biggest one-day payoff since 2015, our second cash in a row and our third in 11 tournaments this year. We praise God for the success He's providing!

MINISTRY MOMENT: We were saddened as we drove to the casino, due to news this weekend that a familiar voice from our old home area had died. Rod Bramblett of Auburn University sports was killed with his wife in a Saturday night SUV crash.

"The good news," we told a woman sitting next to us, "is that I believe in a resurrection of the dead."

The woman indicated she believes in that as well. We let it go there - but perhaps we should have probed deeper to see if she believes in Who will bring it.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies...." - John 11:25

At the time when Jesus Christ walked the earth, many Jews (but not all) believed in a resurrection of the dead:

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." - John 11:23-24

But Jesus went farther - declaring He was the resurrection. He did it in this section of the Bible with Lazarus (verses 43-44). And He plans to do it on a grander scale when he returns to Earth....

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:3

Where will Jesus take the dead? Contrary to what you may have heard, it's not a place in heaven:

Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem... Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. - Zechariah 14:3-5

Some believers in God had an understanding of His plan to save humankind, even before Jesus came the first time. The next time, there will be no doubt:

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.... - Revelation 1:7

If you're feeling down or depressed as the U.S. marks Memorial Day over the loss of a loved one, consider these Bible promises carefully. Jesus will come again, bringing a resurrection (actually more than one - check Revelation 20 for more about that). The dead will live again. What a wonderful time that will be!

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 220 final tables in 574 games (38.3%) - 48 cashes. Since we passed the 500-tournament mark in April 2017, we've made exactly half of our final tables!