Poker Night 324: The Devil, You Say

A TV station in our area surprised us a few weeks ago, by making a big fuss about new license plates.  The station managers decided to exchange three news car tags which had the numbers 666 in them -- even though a fourth number followed the sixes.  Should you be afraid of that series of numbers?  That issue actually came up tonight at The Red Barn....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: A-7 offsuit

We're in the small blind, at a table which has been playing "friendly poker" before the flop most of the evening.  We won an early pot when our K-10 turned into a straight on the flop.  But we've been biding our time otherwise -- and with no one raising, this gives us no reason to change.  We call, and most of the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: 6c-6d-6h

Several players laugh at this, since enough people know the symbolism associated with those numbers.  "That's a beast of a flop!" we declare -- but we're not sure how many get our play on words.  (If you don't get that, your assignment is to read Revelation 13:11-18.)

After the commotion dies down, we check.  So does everyone else.

ON THE TURN: A

That's practically the best card we could see at this moment.  It gives us a full house -- but we bet 500, just in case.

"He's got the Ace," someone says.

"He could have a 6," another speculates.  That would give us quads -- but we realize to earn a 5,000-chip house-rule bonus for quads, we have to carry the hand all the way to the river.  So this bet actually should tell thinking players at the table we don't have quads.  We hope they get the "next best thing" message and fold.  Most of the table does, but one woman does not; she calls.

ON THE RIVER: 7

That card is really inconsequential.  What matters is what that woman has.  We think she most likely has an Ace of her own, which would mean we split the pot.  We offer 1,000, to show we mean business in case she's holding a smaller pair.  The woman responds by raising to 2,000.  Oh no -- could she be the one with quads?  We remain skeptical, and think this is a "dare and double dare" move.

"You'll have to show me the 6," we say as we call.  "I've got an Ace."

After we show our cards, the woman dramatically turns over 7 of spades.  Then 6 of spades!  She played suited connectors and hit it big!

"I knew he had an Ace," the player out of the hand repeats to someone else.  "He's been playing cautious all night."  Thanks for the tip.  At least he got our message; perhaps we should have read the woman's hint better.

We recovered our loss on the next hand, when 3-3 brought a third 3 on the flop.  We went all-in with 3,025 left and won.  Moments later, K-K brought another big gain.  We rolled to the one-hour break at 21,700 chips -- then won a couple more modest pots in the second hour.  A timely win with A-6 and a pair of 6's on the flop helped us reach the final table at 20,500.

But once there, we made a tactical blunder.  We held a Queen, saw Queen-high on the flop and only bet 8,000 chips instead of pushing completely.  A man stayed in with 5-6 and made a winning full house.  It came down to an all-in move with K-9 for us -- but a woman with K-K topped us, so we settled for a seventh-place finish.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "I have a bone to pick with you," a man said as soon as we walked in the door tonight.  He called us over to the bar, and proceeded to disagree with the nice words we wrote here last week (and elsewhere online) about Mr. Wing.

"The service was terrible," the man told us.  So were the wing prices, he added -- even though we never went into detail about the food menu, because we didn't order from it.  The man claimed to speak for many when he concluded: "Your recommendation s*cked."

Instead of getting into a quarrel about it, we asked the man to forgive us.  We tried to follow a Biblical example....

Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors. - Matthew 6:13

But that man did not respond to our request by forgiving us.  That's also a Biblical example:

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. - Colossians 3:13

We realize poker players can have differing opinions about everything from sports bars to the handling of pocket Jacks.  We've learned to accept those differences, without turning them into a big fuss.  Are you able to be that accepting?  That's really the approach which shows a more Biblical attitude of humility.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 115 final tables in 324 nights (35.5%) - 17 cashes.  Maybe we should give up the Thursday night games, because we've made seven out of the last nine final tables early in the week.

Poker Night 322: A Wing and a Pair

Big Dog Poker has a new Sunday night "free spot" -- Mr. Wing Sports Grill, near St. Francis Hospital in Columbus.  Since it was a rainy Sunday with little else to do and our schedule for this week is a bit different, we stopped by tonight.

The "grand opening" sign was out, the service was outstanding (we received a soda refill for the road without even asking) and a man at our table praised the chicken wings.  In short, the place impressed us.  Maybe a bit too much, judging from a few hands we played....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: 10 of hearts - 10 of diamonds

We're in the Big Blind, early in the game.  After a modest loss with a missed flop, we have 5,500 chips when the blind is removed.  No one at this full table raises, and the play has been tame so far.  Would you elect to turn up the heat, seeing this nice pocket pair?  We're tempted, but we decide after a moment to check and "play possum."

ON THE FLOP: 5s-5c-Ac

We wanted to see numbers here, not letters.  We have two pair with a "top kicker," but that kicker could be something anyone is holding.  The small blind checks, and we decide to semi-bluff to test the waters.  We bet 300, and several players call.

ON THE TURN: 7c

This card seems harmless to us.  But we're still puzzled by what our opponents have, so we check.  A man across the table spreads out 700.  This might be a signal to some players to fold, but something tells us to press on.  We call, as do one or two others.  "No club," a man then says.

ON THE RIVER: Jd

Wish granted for him.  Not really for us.  We now feel seriously defeated, so we check again.  The earlier bettor offers 1,300 -- and we wonder to ourselves what we were thinking earlier.  Playing firm and stubborn seemingly got us nowhere here.  We fold.  Someone else calls -- and the bettor shows Kc-2c.

It's admittedly not a good excuse, but the poker tables at Mr. Wing were set up around big-screen TV's.  The action on two screens distracted us at times.  (Have you ever played poker to The Cleveland Show?)  So we never realized three cards for a flush were showing.  That man hit it.  At least we minimized our losses.

We thought an early exit was looming, as another big loss dropped us to about 1,200 chips.  But then good cards came to win us a couple of all-in bets.  We rebuilt to 3,350, then missed with A-J and dropped to 1,550 at the one-hour break.  Then came one of those second-hour comebacks, as a couple of pushes paid off to get us to 6,500.  Two more pot wins (including a "Big Blind Special" with 10-5 bringing two pair on the flop) and we reached the final table with 17,000.

But with seven players left, we had a Queen in the Big Blind and saw Q-8-4 on the flop.  We went for it, pushing again with top pair.  A man across the table didn't hesitate to call -- then showed 8-8.  His three of a kind took another player out with us.  Yet a night of ups and downs ended on an uptick, as we wound up tied for sixth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our small bottle of Liquid Paper was back on the table tonight as a card protector.  We told a man to our left, "I brought this to remind me that Jesus can wash my sins whiter than snow?"

That man then asked an excellent question.  "Do you need the bottle to remind you of that?"

We paused for a moment -- then confessed.  No, we really don't need that bottle.  But we're aware some people wear crosses around their necks as a symbol of their commitment to Christ.  The idea actually goes all the way back to ancient Israel.

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them, 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.  You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.'" - Numbers 15:37-39

Let's open the blog for discussion on this.  Do you carry something as a reminder of your relationship with God and Jesus Christ?  Do you intentionally avoid doing such things?  Why or why not?  We'll look more closely at this in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 114 final tables in 322 nights (35.4%) - 17 cashes.  The "first of the week" game succeeds again, with six final tables in the last eight on Sunday through Wednesday nights.