Three Down, One to Go

We were planning a Sunday trip to our most familiar local poker room. We hoped to play for the first time in several weeks.  But after what we learned during the Friday evening news, we didn't bother.

Arrowhead Poker has joined the list of closed rooms in our city. We documented here in recent weeks what it hoped to do: become a private club, hoping to get around the city police crackdown because no liquor was served.

But in a Friday TV interview (full disclosure statement: a TV station where we work), the manager of Arrowhead said he decided to shut down on the advice of his attorney - before police showed up and, well, forced his hand. The Arrowhead website already was unplugged before the interview appeared.

Gary Dorrell struck us as a nice guy. We could talk with him easily about faith topics, and his personality was easy-going. But as he put it: "I've never been arrested in my life. I don't need to find out what it's like now."

Given what's happened in recent weeks, we don't blame him. And it's a good lesson for all of us, extending beyond poker....

If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable - Proverbs 28:9

This statement comes at the end of a section about "law". It most likely refers to the law of God (as in the Ten Commandments) - but if you're breaking laws of the city or state that do not go against the law of God, why should God cut you any slack?

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. - Luke 16:10

In other words: yes, we should "sweat the small stuff" - when it comes to matters of law, as well as other things. They're hints to God about how you'll handle larger responsibilities.

So we'll miss Arrowhead Poker - the place where we started playing buy-in tournaments on a regular basis. We even won a few, from our first trip in May 2013 to our last trip a few weeks ago.  This leaves only one active poker room in our area - and the one inside Kansas Star Casino is very legal, since it's state-run.

Poker Day 463: Sitting in the Club

"If you can get to final 3 in this one, you are probably among the best players in Wichita area."  This statement was on Facebook at midday today, inviting us to the "Sunday Showdown" at Arrowhead Poker.  The post also said:

..all complimentary, all day...Join us today as my guest and see if our little club is a place you would like to be a part of,.

Given what's happened with Wichita poker in recent weeks, we wondered if we might get to play for free today. So we went, saw the outline of state poker laws on a bulletin board near the pay window, and were told the entry fee was still $75.

"I thought I might get to play for free."

"You can," the woman behind the counter said. "But you have to stand."

"Stand up?"

"Yes, the entire time."

So yes, there was still an unofficial "chair rental." The food was the "complimentary" part. But we brought our ATM card exactly for this possibility - and succumbed to withdrawing some money and sitting at the table, since the table's height had not been raised.

But the possibility of winning had been raised, as only five players showed up for the tournament. One organizer assured us the poker attendance had not gone down, with the recent police crackdown. Perhaps the lack of Sunday afternoon football made a difference?! Whatever the reason, there still would be moments of drama....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: A-3 offsuit

The start of this five-handed game was slow for us. Our starting stack of 62,000 chips was draining slower than a leaky waterbed (trust our experience on that). Sitting in second position, we call and no one raises. As we recall, three players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 7-3-3

Three times three, a delight to see! And since we effectively have button position, others can lead right into us. The Small Blind man at mid-table bets 5,000. The Big Blind folds. We modestly call.

ON THE TURN: 2

A harmless-looking card. The Small Blind checks. We shake our head no to that, and offer our own 5,000. Our opponent ponders, then calls.

ON THE RIVER: 5

We didn't jot down the suits, but this may have put three clubs or spades on the board. The Small Blind checks again, and now we bet big - 20,000. This gives our opponent an anguishing decision.

"You're not in the blind," he says as he tries to figure out our hand.

"No. In fact, you are."

After several more seconds of puzzlement in which Mr. Small Blind wonders if we might have hit a straight or flush, he folds. We don't show a thing - unless he finds this blog.

We dealt that man a crippling blow a bit later, in a raising contest with a 3-Q-Q flop.  We went all-in for 50,000 with Q-10. He called with Q-8! That moved us to 133,000 chips. But then we lost a lot of that trying in vain to put a second player out.

Finally things looked bleak with three players left and the blinds at 10,000/20,000. We were all in twice for the Big Blind. Once with A-Q, the other players folded. The second time we had a lowly 2-9 - but a 2 came on the flop, and that turned out to be the only pair!

A comeback which can only be described as miraculous led us to the final two, earning prize money. A woman was ready to chop the money with us - and a manager noted that's technically not allowed under the newly-emphasized state law. But he decided to make one last tournament exception. The least we could have won was $100, but we wound up with $150 - double our entry fee!

We're told Arrowhead Poker will have "affordable" fees to join its "private social club," which it now advertises. No details have been finalized yet. But there might be a couple of freerolls every month. We hope so - because $75 still is a steep price to play poker in our city.

But we made money by spending money. We left thankful for whatever help God provided (probably a lot) - and with that "best players" title, which we're not really sure we deserve. 

MINISTRY MOMENT: "A packet of salt, huh?" a man in his seventies said as he reached for our card protector.

We repeated the statement we've made at other times about that - Jesus has told us we're to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). "What does everyone think of Jesus?" we asked the remaining table of four plus a dealer.

"I shouldn't do that," a man across from us replied, "but I'm going all in."

Translation: no one wanted to talk about Jesus. But we noticed practically every player cursed at one some point in the game - several times invoking the name of God in the process. The Bible clearly warns about that:

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. - Deuteronomy 5:11

We were reminded during a weekend Bible study that the ancient Jews took this verse to an opposite extreme. They were reluctant to say the name of God at all - even writing it in Hebrew shorthand as YHWH, with no vowels. Yet Jesus showed no reluctance at all....

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him.... - John 8:58-59

Why did critical Jews do this? Because Jesus invoked an ancient name for God:

God said to Moses: "I AM who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" - Exodus 3:14

Long before Popeye the cartoon sailor, God called Himself "I AM" - and Jesus did, too. Jesus thus revealed Himself to be God. If you're not comfortable with that, we suggest reading through the gospel of John from the beginning. You might be surprised by what it says about Jesus's relationship with God the Father.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 175 final tables in 463 games (37.8%) - 33 cashes.  Since Thanksgiving 2015, we have cashed in four out of six tournaments for more than $320. Thanks be to God!

The Private Plan

Steps continue to unfold in our area's crackdown on gambling - which seems primarily to be a crackdown on poker rooms and tournaments.

We've now learned a big tournament was held earlier this month, outside the Wichita city limits - put on in the suburbs as a fundraiser for the football team. The school district and football team websites didn't seem to have anything about it when we checked today (including the fine print about whether there was a required buy-in). But one poker group's Twitter feed indicates it's gone on for several years.

Then there's the move by our primary Wichita poker room. Arrowhead Poker has cleansed its Facebook feed of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of posts about cash games in progress and upcoming tournaments. Now it says this:

Arrowhead Poker Cardroom is a private social club. We offer free texas holdem tournaments daily. Like this page to keep up with current events we are running. We are seeking Spades players as well for future tournament play details to come. 

The poker room's website still advertises daily tournaments - but the "Sunday Showdown" which once had a $75 buy-in now has no price showing.

"Private clubs" have a long history in our state. They go back to a time when "liquor by the drink" was not openly allowed, people would cross state lines to stock up on wine, and a minister with a lost voice box led an anti-alcohol "Life at Its Best" movement warning about "drug suffering."  That all changed in Kansas in the mid-1980s. But we wonder if what Arrowhead Poker is promoting is a first step toward bringing it back.

If you choose to play poker in private to get around local and state laws, keep one thing in mind. You might be able to hide your cash game from police - but you can't hide it from God:

..All who sin under the law will be judged by the law.... This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. - Romans 2:12, 16

To borrow from a song co-written by the late Glenn Frey, "You can't hide your lyin' eyes." Not from God, you can't. He watches over "the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).  But that doesn't mean secret acts are bad.  In fact, the Bible also says....

..And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. - Matthew 6:18b

The King James Version says God will "reward you openly."  He wants others to know about the deeds you do for Him - but on the other hand, He doesn't want you to promote them:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.... do not let your left hand know what you right hand is doing. - Matthew 6:2-3

We've heard ministers preach for decades about attempts by big government to encroach on your "right to privacy." But ultimately, that "right" does not exist. The idea is a farce, because God watches it all and will judge based on all. How are you spending your private time - and will it pass the final judgment test?

The Surprise Raise

We check the poker room websites before we go to tournaments, because the schedule can change practically by the week.  Arrowhead Poker showed nothing unusual today, so we grabbed $20 and made the drive.

"That'll be $70," the manager told us.  "Or 50 without the buy-in."

We should've known.  The first Sunday of every month traditionally is the big tournament at Arrowhead - with a bigger buy-in and prize pool.  But the "freeroll fad" of earlier this year came and went at local poker rooms, so we went on the theory the monthly event had disappeared as well.

"I checked the website before I came," we admitted before we left.  (We didn't carry an ATM card which would have let us obtain the difference on the spot.)

But perhaps we didn't check online hard enough.  While the main website didn't mention the monthly big tournament, Arrowhead's Facebook page did - a couple of times.  It was a page we don't think we've ever checked before.

Moral of the story for us: it pays to "dig deeper" and investigate, even if one source indicates things will happen a certain way.  That's true in poker games as well as poker websites; sometimes a leading question or two will draw out opponents, so you can read them better.

And guess what -- that approach is also a good idea when it comes to the things of God.  We were reminded of this by a couple of Christian speakers this weekend:

Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - II Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Studying the Bible can help you see if you're really living the way God wants you to live, or doing what He wants you to do.  One way to do this is by reading through the Bible - perhaps in a year, or faster.

But we recommend doing more than skimming through it.  Take notes on noteworthy verses you find - and take time to compare your approach to life with the Bible's instruction.  "Rightly dividing" it means sorting out Scriptural fact from the fiction some speakers (or even ministers) might tell you.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. - II Peter 3:18  (KJV)

The better you know Jesus, the more you'll understand how He lived -- and the better you'll be able to copy that example, at the poker table and other locations.  That example might actually surprise other people, and get them into digging deeper.

When Free Isn't Free

What's the earliest exit you've ever made from a poker tournament?  We may have set a new standard today - by exiting before the tournament even began.

But we should start at the beginning.  For weeks Arrowhead Poker's website offered this event:

Sunday @ 2pm 

August 31st

$500 True Free Roll
Chair Rental $0-0**

You can qualify for this tournament by simply buying into any daily tournament. 

We played in a $20 Friday tournament a couple of weeks ago, so we presumed our spot was secure.  But no - our name didn't come up on today's qualifying list.

"Did you do the ten-dollar buy-in?" the manager asked us -- as in paying $10 extra up-front for bonus chips.  No, we didn't.  And that left an organizer with a look of frustration on his face.

"That ten-dollar buy-in pays for this tournament," the organizer explained.

We invite you to look up and down the website and tell us: where does it define "buying into" as paying the extra $10?  We don't think it does.  In most tournaments we've entered, the "buy in" is the main entry fee - in our case the $20.

But we decided against making an argument about it.  We shook our head, bit our lip a bit, walked across the parking lot to a convenience store for a "consolation prize" soda and drove home.

How many things in life claim to be free -- only to have hidden strings attached?  Yet Jesus Christ makes this offer:

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:36

What does Jesus (the Son of God) mean by this?  He explains moments earlier:

Jesus replied. "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever." - John 8:34-35

Jesus wants to set you free from sin, to become a son of God.... not simply for today, but forever.  How?

And from Jesus Christ.... him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.... - Revelation 1:5

As orators like to say on holiday weekends such as this one: The price of freedom isn't free.  In this case, the blood Jesus shed when He sacrificed His life on our behalf frees us from sin.  We don't have to pay for that, because Jesus already did.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. - Galatians 5:1

So how will you respond to that truly free gift?  We've been studying a religious magazine article on how to respond.  The author seemingly doesn't want to use the phrase "go all in," but he could - and it seems we should.

Left Behind

Sunday was a rainy day in our city.  But when one of our activities ended, the rain had stopped -- so we left the event and went home, leaving an umbrella behind.

We didn't realize what we had done until Monday afternoon.  There was no time to pick it up then.  But we returned to the site Tuesday afternoon, and found the staff had graciously set our umbrella aside, waiting for us to retrieve it.

And would you believe.... the place that did this was a poker room?

You may think of poker players as greedy cutthroats, out to take whatever they can by any means necessary.  But we give credit to the Arrowhead Poker staff (and by extension the regular players) for leaving that sort of conduct at the table.  Outside the game, we haven't seen them act that way.

Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right. - Proverbs 20:11

In our era of blogs and social media, reports of bad conduct by a person or business can travel very quickly.  So it's important for all of us to treat each other with courtesy and respect -- even poker players.

By their fruit you will recognize them.... Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. - Matthew 7:16-17

Jesus's harshest critics had to create trumped-up charges to have Him arrested, and eventually crucified.  That's because....

....God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how we went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. - Acts 10:38

You may not be able to heal anyone physically.  But are you trying to do good today -- even when you're at a poker table?

Poker Day 405: Winning the Race

Our first trip inside a casino for poker occurred on a Memorial Day weekend five years ago.  This Memorial Day weekend, the World Poker Tour Amateur League Sunday stop was closed - so instead of staying home and watching car races, we went to our first poker room in Wichita.

Arrowhead Poker has weekday high-noon Texas Hold 'em games, which are advertised as free.  Sunday tournaments begin one hour later, and require a "chair rental" (which sounds suspiciously like a stunt to avoid the vice squad).  The rental is advertised online as $10, but we had to pay $20 because the prize pool increased a few weeks ago.

We were rewarded with 20,000 chips, and a cooler filled with complimentary drinks.  Would a small turnout on a holiday weekend lead to a big day in our favor?

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: 4 of spades-4 of clubs

The dealer has not been our friend so far.  Hopeful mid-range cards have missed the flop, and we haven't come close to winning a pot.  We would have started this hand with a lowly 7,000 chips, but we received a "gift" of 10,000 more moments before this hand (we're under orders not to explain).  With the dealer's button in front of us, we hopefully call.  No one at the table of six (one of only two tables in the tournament) raises.

ON THE FLOP: 2-4-10

Jackpot!  And we can wait to see what other players do.  A man to our left bets 3,000.  A big bettor to our right calls.  But we can't settle for that.

"I'm all-in," we declare -- offering a total of 15,000.  The man to the left concedes.  The big bettor can't resist, and calls.

"Reggie Jackson," we say (remembering the baseball player's number).  Our 4-4 for three of a kind has our opponent dominated; he shows 5-5.

ON THE TURN: 3

Gulp - now our opponent has an open-ended straight draw.

ON THE RIVER: Q

We dodge elimination, and avoid a split of the pot because we have the only spade in play.  The first hand at every blind level was played under "High Chicago" rules - with the highest spade hole card automatically winning half the pot.

We had the Ace of Spades later in the High Chicago hand, and wound up getting the bulk of a pot which had a straight on the board.  But that 4-4 started a big comeback for us where we won several pots and reached the final table.  Then with careful play and helpful cards on the board (such as 8-7 turning into triple-8's), we stayed in the running while other players dropped out.

Eventually the field fell to three players, which put us in the money.  Then we eliminated an older man with A-8 (we think), giving us a big chip lead for heads-up play.  But with first place paying $100 and second place $80, we offered our remaining foe a split-the-money settlement.  We wound up winning $90 - and feeling very thankful!

MINISTRY MOMENT: We took a small battery for our card protector again, which prompted that runner-up to ask about it with a full table listening.

"I bring this to remind me," we explained, "that I receive power from God's Holy Spirit."

That man then started saying quietly how he believed in the Holy Spirit and God's power.  He went on to explain to other players how he's been sober almost one year, and once faced 15 years in prison -- apparently for using methamphetamines.

"It's at moments like that when you realize you need help," the man said.  Thankfully, he turned to God.  Now he prays everyday, and tries to avoid becoming addicted to other things (poker among them).

Is there an area of your life where you need serious help?  Maybe you think you can win the battle on your own.  But even famous Bible names realized they needed assistance from above....

What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! - Romans 7:24-25

Paul wrote these words after explaining he wanted to do good things, but found himself fighting the tempting pulls of sin and evil (verses 15-23).  Does this sound like you?  If so, follow the advice of another Biblical apostle....

Peter replied, "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 2:38

If you need help even starting that process, please let us know via e-mail; we'll be happy to help you.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 140 final tables in 405 games (34.6%) - 22 cashes.  Our last cash win in live poker was in mid-March at Lil Kim's Cove in Georgia; sadly, we understand it's suspended all poker tournaments for several months.