For a Few Dollars More

Making the final table at the World Series of Poker Main Event is hard. Only nine players did it this week, out of 8,569 who entered. Other tournaments can feel as hard, even with fewer entries.

That's why we felt very satisfied Monday night to make a final table in the nightly freeroll at National League of Poker. We haven't played there much recently, because the money isn't great. But we have time to do it right now - and it took about three hours to reach the final six, out of 420 entries.

As you may have guessed from our picture, the players at the final table earn money in the freeroll. Only those six do. But as we said, the money isn't great. The "50-dollar cash freeroll" has a total prize pool of $50. The winner received $15. We only lasted one hand at the final table, and collected two bucks for sixth place. In a WSOP event with several hundred players, we would have earned about 12 times our buy-in.

But this was our first NLOP cash win since February 2015. And we had a few moments when we were able to write "PTL" after winning big pots. You know what that means.... right?

Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. - Psalm 113:1

We're praising God with thanks, even for small financial blessings. Two dollars can make for a nice fast-food lunch.

Our Real Story: 2017 Review

As 2017 by man's figuring ends, it's time to add up our poker score. The year began with time to play in live tournaments on Fridays, then with occasional time on Sundays - and ended to our surprise with all the time we wanted.

LIVE TOURNAMENTS: Our number went down from 33 to 29. Yet our final table count matched 2016, as we made eight of them (27.6%).

What makes this more impressive is that we only went one-for-seven playing in "free" tournaments at Wichita night spots. That makes the casino final table percentage a rather stunning 31.8% (7 for 22) - including two out of four in Oklahoma. We only earned money in three tournaments, but the total take increased from 2016 to more than $800.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER: Five "top-ten percent" finishes in 13 tournaments. Grand total: 290 point wins (top 10%) in 1451 games, 93 final tables, 10 wins, 13 cashes.

NLOP was sold to new ownership during 2017, and opportunities to play in freerolls dropped after that. We wound up with no final tables there, with a best result of 17th place out of 1,237 entries in February.

We also gained 108 "tokens" for tournament entry in NLOP cash games. But NLOP now bars us from using a desktop app for immediate entry; we can only play through the website, and connection problems have been very frustrating for us recently. We're looking for good alternatives.

POKER STARS: 938,206 play money chips - up 142,335 at the table.

Our pretend "chip stack" acted like the stock market, and went up by more than 500,000. Admittedly, 375,000 of them came by clicking a "free chips" every time we showed up. But we still increased our table gains by 69 percent!

In all, we spent $1,435 to enter live tournaments in 2017. We wound up losing $605 (not to mention about $58 lost in other casino games). But in our "experiment" with serious money-making which started November 1, we've made three final tables in eight casino tournaments - making money twice, and only missing the semifinal tables once.

As the cliché says, you have to spend money to make money - and right now, casino games are our best chance to earn money each week. But we remember some wise words....

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. - Matthew 10:16

Some poker players are skilled at setting traps. We admittedly have set a few ourselves. The keys are to be "shrewd" - which our old dictionary says can mean "having keen insight; discerning", but also "artful; cunning; tricky."

Can you spot the moments when other players might fall for the story you're telling? Can you be "harmless" (as the King James Version says in our verse) enough to know when others might have set a trap for you? If you can discern these things, we think you'll be well on your way to poker success.

My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck. - Proverbs 3:21-22

We hope you pray for godly judgment and discernment in the days and years ahead - not only in the poker room, but in every aspect of your life.

Clear Heads, Heads-Up

Thursday night was an amazing night for us in online poker. We survived at least eight all-in moments in a National League of Poker tournament - and out of 1,238 players, we finished 17th! Only the top five received prize money under NLOP's rules. But at a casino, we might have won six times our buy-in.

One player in the third hour suddenly decided to push a lot - but had an explanation. As best we recall the chat:

Friends are coming over.
Gonna have some beers.
Haven't seen them in a long time.

To which we responded: "The beers?! :-)"

We cut our teeth on live poker playing weekly bar and club circuits. But since moving to Kansas, we've noticed very few players in tournaments bring bottles of beer to the table. We think that's because serious players know what alcohol can do to their mind and judgment - and it's not good. That's really old news, of course....

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. - Proverbs 20:1

On this Sunday when a lot of people will drink while watching U.S. football, these are words to remember. Too much alcohol can make you look silly, and even get you in trouble with the law. But does that mean all alcohol is wrong?

Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.... - John  2:7-9

As much as some religious folks try to explain these verses away, your Bible shows Jesus Christ turned water into wine - and it was considered "the best" (verse 10). If all wine is wrong, why would He do such a thing?

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." - Matthew 26:27-28

Jesus spoke here at a Passover observance (verse 19). It was His "last supper" before shedding His blood for our sins - and under Jewish tradition, the cup would have had wine inside.

We doubt Jesus drank much that night, because He faced a high-pressure situation greater than any poker tournament: sacrificing His life for us as the pure "lamb of God." And by extension, we shouldn't drink so much that we become mocked and brawling.

Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. - Philippians 4:5 (KJV)

We think that's good advice for playing poker, as well as what you drink around the table.

Our Real Story: 2016 Review

The "year in review" reports aren't quite over yet. Since we last played live poker, we'll summarize 2016 for us now.

In live tournaments, we made the final table eight times in 33 games in the last year - not far from 25 percent. We earned money in five of those tournaments (more than $650 total), and would have earned cash in a sixth if Yvie's Bar and Grill paid money for second place instead of league points. That sixth would have matched our money-win count for 2015.

But 2016 was a difficult year for poker players in our area, as police moved to shut down all "card rooms" for not operating legally. Due to our work schedule, practically the only place where we can play tournaments now is a casino south of town, and the competition there admittedly is stiff.

Yet we made two final tables (winning money at both) in 17 tournaments at Kansas Star, coming close to a third this past Friday. It was a breakthrough year for us there.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER: One "top-ten percent" finish in 17 tournaments. Grand total: 285 point wins (top 10%) in 1438 games, 93 final tables, 10 wins, 13 cashes.

We were able to get into a regular Thursday night tournament habit with NLOP this past year. So far, it admittedly hasn't gone well. But NLOP has added "ring games", earning tokens in a cash-game format. In three tries there, we've gained 140 tokens; our best night was playing Omaha.

POKER STARS: 420,871 play money chips - up 84,159 at the table

We have to specify "at the table" because Poker Stars became a much more expensive place to play in 2016. Games with 1/2 blinds are gone; the minimum now is 50/100 with a 10,000-chip stack to start. But the site also became very generous in handing out free chips; we received 225,000 due to special promotions and a "free chips" button you can click simply for logging on.

MINISTRY MOMENT: As we write this summary, we're reminded of a question that sometimes comes up when we play. It came up again Friday: Isn't gambling a sin? Something believers in God shouldn't do?

If you look strictly from the accountant's view, you might say 2016 showed we're a gambling loser. The Kansas Star tournaments cost $850 to enter, and we only won $337. Yet what we're trying to do is more than that....

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." - Mark 16:15-16

In many ways, this is a big world. People have a wide range of interests. Jesus told His disciples to go into that world with a gospel (also known as "good news") message. Even poker players need to be introduced to that message - so we take it there, and talk about it here. We pray God will use what we do to bring people to Himself:

I planted the seed. Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - I Corinthians  3:6-7

We know what we can afford to do, and we keep a limit on our spending on tournaments at casinos. For instance, you'll notice no live statistics for 2016 cash games - because we didn't play any. We consider the tournament buy-in an "entry fee," much as someone would pay to enter a golf tournament or pie-baking contest. If we win something back, we thank God for it.

By the way, here's one final set of statistics: this blog had more than 700 views in December alone - which computes to perhaps more than 8,000 this past year. People searching for something about poker may be finding more than they expect. We pray it's a spiritual spark in their lives - yet not one person left a comment this past year. You're always welcome to offer some, either positive or negative. If we can bust out early at tournaments, we can take it. Really.

Cyber-Poker-Monday

For some shoppers, this day has become known as "Cyber Monday." So we might as well join in, by updating the online poker sites we visit.

PokerStars has raised the stakes in recent months. It's still for "play money" in the U.S., to stay legal. But the days of 1/2 tables are over. Now they start at 50/100, but the site hands out free chips every so often to keep you interested. Look at what happened to us there recently, in a "cash game" format:

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: 4-2 offsuit

We have small cards in the Big Blind, at a table with 4-5 players. No one raises, so we get in cheap.

ON THE FLOP: 4-4-4

Are you kidding me?!?! The computer hands us the ultimate jackpot of quads! But of course, we want to maximize our winnings, so we check. A player to our left offers a modest bet of about 200. We smooth-call (as best you can do that online); other players bail out.

ON THE TURN: 2

Whoa - now we have a full house! But wait; quads beat a full house!! Things are still ridiculously perfect for us, so we check again. Now our opponent bets around 500. Of course, we call.

ON THE RIVER: 9 (may not be precise)

A card which doesn't matter to us at all. If our opponent had 9-9, he still only has a full house. We rub it in by checking again - and this time, he goes all-in for about 1,300. Of course, we call. Then we stay silent during the showdown, while he has 10-10. We make a big gain, of about 2,000 chips.

In November alone, our total from playing cash games at PokerStars has jumped by more than 22,000 chips - and the website awarded 25,000 bonus chips on top of that.

National League of Poker has become our place for Thursday night play. There are several free weekly tournaments, with a $250 prize pool on Thursday nights. We have yet to crack the top 100 this year in any of them - but now NLOP has a ring game option, and we doubled our "token" count one night playing No-Limit Omaha.

If you want good clean poker fun without the worry of losing money or getting noticed inside a casino, online sites like these are perfect for you. But be advised: not everyone's chat language is good and clean. They're still "worldly" places - but we're reminded:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. - John 17:15

If you try hard enough, you really can come "out of the world". In 2016, that would mean turning off the TV, radio, internet and mobile devices. So much for online poker.

But Jesus did NOT ask God the Father to "rapture" His disciples out at this point. Instead, He prayed for the Father to provide them protection from the devil. He continues:

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. - John 17:16

Jesus was "out of this world" in part because He didn't indulge in the sinful ways of this world. For the rest of us, that's a daily battle - but it's one we need to fight:

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will receive not of her plagues.... She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her." - Revelation 18:4, 8

This world is in for destruction. But those who come out of it and follow the example of Jesus can have protection from that final judgment. We hope you'll make the right decision.

If you've read to the end of this, we thank you - and invite your comments: What's your favorite place to play poker online? And why?

Super (For Us) Sunday

NBC Sports used to show a poker tournament on this day.  But today, NBC actually is showing that big U.S. football game with a trademarked name.  So it was up to us to have poker fun -- and with errands to run at midday, we skipped the poker room and entered the National League of Poker no-river game.  NLOP lets players register a bit late now....

....and that was good news for us, because we wound up winning the 206-player tournament!  This was the winning moment against "Crazyguy1", as we both made heart flushes on the turn (you're dealt three cards, and there's no river card).  He bet the minimum 6,000; we raised all-in with only 433 to spare -- and he seemed resigned to end the game and move on.  Our "nuts" won the pot, and a $10 prize.

This was our first NLOP win since December 2013 (also a no-river game). And the final table turned on a hand with three players left, where a pair of 2's was showing.  We had a third 2 with a K; a player named Grayzo took us all-in with a third 2 and a Q.  His surprise loss led to this exchange:

Dealer: 　flopblogger wins Main Pot ($195,024) with Three of a kind, deuces
grayzo: 　om *** god
crazyguy1: 　wow
Me: 　PTL!
grayzo: 　?
Me: 　praise the Lord!
grayzo: i don't do church
How interesting.  This player doesn't "do church," yet he/she actually brought up God before we did.

Of course, lots of people bring up God's name every day.  But many of them use it in exclamations and cursing.  The Bible has a warning 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. - Exodus 20:7

This is one of the basic Ten Commandments.  But a close look at the Bible shows there can be many ways where the name of God can be misused.  For instance....

Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:12

This can deal with giving false testimony in court - or simply saying "swear to God, I had a flush" when you really didn't.  But Jesus seems to take this a step farther:

But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. - Matthew  5:34-36

Some people "affirm" their words to be truthful in a court of law, instead of being "sworn in.... so help you God."  These verses are a main reason why.

It seems to us the overall lesson is to be careful with every word we say.  Be truthful. Be accurate. When you can, be loving.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. - Proverbs 18:21

While We Were Out

September may go down as the busiest month this blog has ever had, in terms of page views.  Two posts about a U.S. Senator ballooned the total to more 850!

Despite all this momentum, we were away from this blog for about the last two weeks -- a bit like a poker player who piles up a big stack, then leaves the table for awhile.  Before we explain what happened, here's a quick review of the poker-related activity we've done in recent weeks:

+ We filled some idle minutes at an online version of Ultimate Texas Hold 'em, staying in practice for our next casino trip.  The play is quick and addictive -- and after early gains, we lost more than 1,200 pretend dollars.

+ We played pretend cash games at Poker Stars, and practically broke even.

+ We found National League of Poker tightened its cash giveaways again.  Instead of running freerolls for money twice a day, now those games only qualify you for level 10 on a 12-step scale to win money.  It seems awfully time-consuming for little gain.

In all these cases, we did not stop at poker rooms as we have during other fall breaks.  That's primarily because our schedule and travel plans did not allow it.  But that's OK -- because we didn't lose any real money, and we focused on something much more valuable.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise.... it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. - Proverbs 6:6-8

A wise poker player saves some of his winnings (if he wins enough to save) for tougher times.  But even then, we should keep in mind....

For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. - Proverbs 27:24

We were focused in recent days on an annual church festival picturing the coming Kingdom of God.  It included worship and daily (sometimes very detailed) Bible study.

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver! - Proverbs 16:16

It's about striving for a prize much more priceless than a poker tournament's final table.

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. - Romans 2:7

Eternal life with God and Jesus Christ is the greatest thing anyone could want.  So what are you trying to win these days?

Poker Night 395: Looking for Something?

Did you ever search and search around the house for an item -- only to discover it was sitting right in front of you all along?  That can happen at a poker table, too.  Look carefully at this hand from tonight's tournament at Lil Kim's Cove:

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: Queen-7 of diamonds

As best we remember, we haven't won a pot yet -- but we haven't bet much, either.  From a starting 13,000 chips (3,000 extra for soda, 5,000 for arriving on time), this is a safe inexpensive hand to play.  We call, and no one at the table of six raises.

ON THE FLOP: 10x-Kd-6x

A third diamond offers hope of a flush.  We're helped by the fact that the table checks.

ON THE TURN: J (not a diamond)

There goes the flush -- and our interest in this hand.  We're ready to fold to anything.  But the table checks again.

ON THE RIVER: A

As they say in hockey, now the gloves come off.  A woman who calls herself a "newby" player bets 3,000.  A man across from her raises to 10,000.

"I'd better get ready to fold this," we say -- but then with our cards above the table, we suddenly see it.  Hey, there are four cards for a straight on the board!  And we have the Queen for a "Broadway" straight!

The cards come back, and we're glad we didn't simply say "fold."  We call the bet of 10,000.  The new player next to us struggles to figure out her chips, but she calls as well.

"I've got a Queen," we say as we show.  And it turns out the other two big bettors did, too.  It's a three-way split of the pot, and only a modest gain for us.

The lesson for us here: keep watching a hand carefully until you're completely out of it.  Surprising "runner" cards came to give us a straight -- and we almost missed it, by assuming the worst.

We won a couple of pots outright in the first hour, including an 8-9 which turned into two pair on the flop and took out an opponent.  Then a longtime Tournament Director quit the game with a huge stack of chips, and we gained about 5,000 more in a six-way split.  Our high was 23,500 -- but then good cards quit coming.

An attempt to make something happen with a pair of Jacks fell victim to a flush we didn't have.  Finally at the start of the third hour with only 10,000 chips left and the blinds at 5,000/10,000, we folded 7-10 -- only to watch cards come which would have given us a winning straight.

The next hand was a forced Big Blind with J-6.  The river brought a 6 -- but a man across from us had A-6, and his kicker topped us.  We again fell barely short of the final table, finishing 10th.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "I read a passage from the Bible every day," the new female player told us before the game began.  That led to a short discussion around the table about sin.

"Everyone sins," a man across from us said.  "There are little sins and big sins."

Big and little to us, maybe.  But in the eyes of God, we're still.... well, "all sin."

For whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. - James 2:10

The discussion reminded us of a Bible passage we'd read earlier in the day....

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. - I John 1:8

Are you claiming that?  If so, take another look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5.  Have you gone throughout your life without ever telling a lie -- even once?  Have you never longed to own something one of your friends has?  That can be coveting.  Yet here's the good news....

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. - I John 1:9

After you seek God's forgiveness of your sins, ask for His help in coming out of sin.  His Holy Spirit can help you resist and win, if you let Him live within you.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 136 final tables in 395 nights (34.4%) - 20 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 283 point wins in 1,388 games (20.4%), 92 final tables, 10 cashes, 12 wins.  No-River Hold 'em - 28 point wins in 108 games (25.9%), 23 final tables, 2 cashes, 1 win.

It appears we were wrong about NLOP ending the monthly Senior Championships.  Qualifying is underway for the March event -- but we'll have to miss it, due to another commitment.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games -  $85,649, down $747.

Mediums Well?

Advertising is how many "free poker" sites generate income, to offer prizes to players.  But an ad we saw while playing at National League of Poker last week made us want to laugh out loud:

We couldn't resist commenting on it in the chat box:

Me: 　So NLOP is showing me
Me: 　a banner ad with a medium's
Me: 　predictions for 2012
Me: 　Really
Me: 　LOL
Dealer: 　moron wins Main Pot ($2,450) with Two pair, queens and deuces
JerMan: 　wonder if they predicted their going bankrupt?***...lol
Yes, you read that correctly -- the banner ad is offering free predictions for 2012, during a game in February 2013.  That's absurd, of course.  But then we added this:

Me: 　I don't believe in mediums
Me: 　I'm simply mild :-)
Have you ever been tempted to consult a "medium" -- or perhaps something similar, like a fortune-teller or psychic?  Perhaps you wanted to know in advance if you should enter a poker tournament, or whether you'd wind up wasting your money.

The Bible's answer is that consulting such people is a waste of time and money in itself.  Read what happened to two early apostles:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.  She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.  The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." - Acts 16:16-17

Was the girl shouting lies?  To be honest, no -- she was "preaching" the truth about the apostles' message of salvation through Jesus Christ.  But it still displeased the servants of God....

She kept this up for many days.  Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!"  At that moment the spirit left her. - Acts 16:18

That action started a chain of events which led to Paul and Silas being thrown in prison (verse 23) -- and that brought a jailhouse miracle, which resulted in a jailer becoming saved (verses 29-33).

But shouldn't the apostles have shown some tolerance to a girl promoting their evangelistic campaign?  They clearly didn't, and the passage gives a clue why:

When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas.... - Acts 16:19

We're led to conclude the slave girl was talking about more than the apostles.  She was telling fortunes on the side to earn a small fortune for her owners -- and God's apostles wanted nothing to do with that.  It's a "spirit" Scripture warns against:

Let no one be found among you who.... practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. - Deuteronomy 18:10-11

"Divination" is defined by our dictionary as "the act of foretelling future events."  It also defines a "medium" as someone thought to have powers to communicate with dead people.

Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord....You must be blameless before the Lord your God. - Deuteronomy 18:12-13

God is Spirit (John 4:24) -- a Holy Spirit (II Corinthians 3:17-18).  The Bible shows all other spirits are unholy.  We're led to think they're rooted in Satan, the devil.

The Bible is filled with predictions about the future, of course -- and several mentioned by Old Testament prophets already have come true.  Can you name some of them?  Offer a comment with your thoughts, and we'll return to this topic in a future post.

February Senior Championship: The Long Goodbye

For several years, National League of Poker has held a monthly Senior Championship.  We had to miss the January tournament because it was played on a Friday night, and we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.  Monday night's February tournament may have been the last one, due to NLOP's bankruptcy filing.  So did we go out a big winner?

:15 IN: After a few small-scale entries missed flops, we have A-9 of spades.  The flop is 10s-5s-3c.  We call a bet of 80.  The turn is 3d, and we call a bet of 60.  The river is 8s - exactly what we wanted.  We bet 400 with a nut flush, and our opponent folds.  We win $980.

:17 IN: We have K-Q of spades.  A player goes all-in pre-flop.  We choose to be cautious and fold -- which is too bad, because a Queen comes on the turn which would have given us a winning pair.

Misses with Q-A and A-10 follow, wiping out our early gain.  We reach the first break with $1,930 from a starting $2,500 - putting us 718th, with 792 players still in the running.

:39 IN: We have K-J.  The flop is 10-8-J.  Our probing bet of 100 brings a fold, and we win $350.

:40 IN: We have Q-J.  The flop is K-10-2, giving us a two-way straight draw.  The table checks.  The turn is 6.  The table checks again.  The river is 2.  The table checks once more -- and our Queen-high is good enough to top someone with 7-4!  We win a modest $250.

:41 IN: The next hand brings us A-4.  The flop is 5-8-K.  The table checks.  The turn is 3.  The table checks again.  The river is A.  We bet 220 with top pair, and the table folds for a $570 win.

:45 IN: We're moved to a table where only three of the ten players seem to actually be present.  The other two players are hungry with huge stacks, so we still play carefully against them.  But we claim five small pots against empty chairs in a 12-minute span.

:59 IN: We have A-J, against one of those big stacks.  The flop is 5-4-Q.  We both check.  The turn is 2.  More checking occurs.  The river is 4.  Our opponent bets around 300.  We dare to call -- and get rewarded, because he has K-8!  It's a gain of $1,100.

1:03 IN: We have K-Q of diamonds.  The flop is 7-K-7.  We bet 500 with two pair, and the opponents fold for a $1,200 win.

This finally puts us above the "starting line," with $2,680 at the second break.  Now we're 272nd, with 616 players left.

1:20 IN: After a large loss to a player who made a flush on the river, we have 8-9 in the Big Blind.  The flop is 3-6-9.  We bet the minimum 300, and that's enough.  We win $1,300.

1:33 IN: After waiting for a breakthrough hand, we try K-10.  The flop is 7-K-2.  We go all-in for 955, and get called.  The turn is J.  The river is 8.  Our opponent has only a pair of 7's, so we score a big win of $2,715.

1:36 IN: We have 10-10.  The flop is K-3-8.  We feel the table's mood with a bet of 400, and get called.  The turn is 8.  Everyone checks.  The river is 6.  Everyone checks -- and no one has a King!  Our 10's take it, to the tune of $2,895.

We feel more confident at break 3, with two big pots lifting us to $4,110.  We're in 182nd place, with 375 to go.

1:57 IN: After a long wait for good cards, we have K-Q of hearts.  The flop is Jh-K-8, and we go all-in for our remaining 1,635.  The table thankfully folds, and we're up to $4,635.

2:11 IN: With rising blinds and antes eroding every stack, we have 6-A with 1,010 to go.  We decide to push, and get called by a player with 9-10.  The flop is 6-J-10 -- good for us, but better for him.  The turn is 8.  The river is Q.  Our pair is topped, and our night is finished.

We finished 148th, out of 924 entries.  So the unofficial final score for us in NLOP Senior Championships is zero wins in 31 tries.  Our best finish was 25th place in July 2010 -- but a few deep runs didn't pay off, as only the final table received money.  Now some senior players may have to stretch their pensions a little farther.

Embrace the Change

As we mentioned recently, National League of Poker has made several major tournament adjustments in the last couple of weeks -- clearly due to its bankruptcy filing.  The weekly $1,000 championship on Sunday night is gone.  So are many daily games with cash prizes, unless you pay a monthly fee for VIP membership like Club WPT.

In addition, tournaments for NLOP points are hard to find now.  Players can win "fast cash" in one-table sit-n-goes -- but getting there is a slow process, dependent on success up a nine-level ladder and gaining "tokens" along the way.  That's why we're showing sit-n-go statistics again (and admittedly not doing well at them so far).

But the good news for us is that an NLOP check came in the mail the other day, for money we won in December.  This gives us hope for payment on our two cash wins so far in 2013.  It reminds us of a Bible verse....

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. - Job 1:21b

Job said this after losing more than a few daily online poker tournaments -- a whole lot more.  God allowed the devil to take Job's servants, livestock, work animals and children.  Yet somehow, Job didn't waver in his faith toward God.  Instead he realized....

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. - Job 1:21a

In our day, the custom is a bit different.  People are buried in nice suits and dresses, or perhaps with their favorite sports team's logo on display.  But that's all they physically can take.  As some ministers like to joke, you don't see hearses pulling U-Hauls behind them.

Yet Job looked forward to an even bigger change -- a change that's beyond this physical life:

If a man dies, shall he live again?  All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.  You shall call, and I will answer you: you will have a desire to the work of your hands.  - Job 14:14-15 (KJV)

To borrow from the Nation of Islam, this will be the "final call" -- to be changed from a dead body to eternal life, rising to meet Jesus in the air when He returns to Earth.

I Corinthians 15 and I Thessalonians 4 explain that moment in detail.  Please take time to read those chapters.  They describe a change which leads to ultimate victory -- not "fast cash," but a quickened (as in made-alive) new body.

Poker Night 391: Leading Ladies

The news of this week includes the resignation (forced, some say) of a New York television news anchor.  Police say he strangled his wife (also a news anchor) in a rage, attempting to kill her -- except he wound up with an arrest and a bloody nose.  We bring this up here because ladies also can be lethal in poker at times.    Check what happened tonight at Lil Kim's Cove....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: Q-Q

Our table has been a bit like the TV series The Office -- a place with a lot of characters.  A quiet young woman across the table is playing like a newcomer, but winning large pots.  The Tournament Director next to her is having trouble remembering who's dealing -- even when it's her turn.  And a man to our immediate right is being what one player calls controlling, with provoking pre-flop and post-flop raises.

Because of him, we've folded a couple of promising hands which would have wound up winners. This time he's at it again, raising pre-flop to 1,400.  Then we see our big pocket pair and decide it's time to fight back.  Starting this hand with 5,250 chips, we re-raise to 3,000 -- a move which clearly surprises him.  He calls; the rest of the table folds.

ON THE FLOP: 10-2-2

This is where it helps to pay attention to what other players are saying.  They've hinted our opponent likes to bet big with any Ace.  There's none showing here.  He checks.  So the next step seems only logical.

"I'm all-in for 2,250," we say -- and we feel confident about it.  But after a moment, the man quietly calls.  Then we show our Queens.  He keeps a poker face, and says nothing.

ON THE TURN: 5

Good.  One more....

ON THE RIVER: 8

Now our opponent shows his cards -- A-10.  Our read was correct, and we double our holdings to 11,000.

History repeated itself a few hands later, when we were dealt Q-Q again.  A King came on the flop, and we played it cautiously.  But the Queens combined with 7-7 on the board to give up a winning two pair, and a gain to about 30,000.

Like Monday night, those two big wins were enough to get us to the final table -- only on this night, there were only enough players for two tables.  Probing bets failed us there, and we wound up going all-in after the two-hour break with 9-9.  That "Ace-anything" player caught an Ace on the flop, and wound up eliminating three players in all.  We finished tied for seventh (eighth in points).

MINISTRY MOMENT: An Ace on the flop in one early hand was not what one player wanted to see.  He folded before the flop, and cried: "Lord, have mercy!  JESUS!!"

"Jesus truly is merciful," we told him from across the table.

We suspect he was more focused on the Ace he folded than the advice we gave -- but we meant what we said about Jesus....

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. - Hebrews 2:17

Who is this "he"?  Someone who became flesh and blood as we are, yet was a minister serving God -- and somehow was able to be our atoning sacrifice through His shed blood.  This chapter of the Bible leaves no doubt who this is:

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. - Hebrews 2:9

Jesus's death opened the ways for "bringing many sons to glory" (verse 10) - as in eternal life.  Believers no longer are in bondage to "their fear of death" (verse 15).  Have you accepted the offer of freedom which Christ provides?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 136 final tables in 391 nights (34.8%) - 20 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 283 point wins in 1,375 games (20.6%), 92 final tables, 10 wins, 12 cashes.  No-River Hold 'em - 25 point wins in 100 games (25.0%), 20 final tables, 1 win, 2 cashes.   One-table Sit-N-Go's - 8-13-10-4-4.

A lot has changed at NLOP in the last week or so, and we need a separate post to explain it all.  But the big news is that Wednesday afternoon, we won money in a biweekly No-River Hold 'em Championship tournament!  We finished fourth out of 141 players (the top six win money) -- and had big gains along the way when we hit quads on the flop, not once but twice!

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $85,819, down $1,019.

Your Turn: Playing Things Tight

Your comments are always welcome about our blog.  Here's one we received a few days ago about our delay in being paid by the bankrupt National League of Poker:

I too am owed winnings,but not to preach if the money is that necessary to you maybe you should not be gambling when money is this tight

One reason why we've played at NLOP is that it's not "gambling," in terms of betting money.  Anyone of legal age can play for free, simply by signing up.  (We've never had a VIP membership, which has a monthly fee and offered more cash prizes.)

There's been some hopeful news from NLOP's Facebook page in recent days -- that the site has been "authorized to pay outstanding prizes that were previously on hold."  It also claims the site will NOT go out of business.  But the recent bankruptcy filing reportedly called free poker a "failed business model."

There's a Biblical lesson there for the managers of Zen Entertainment -- as well as all poker players tempted to gamble money they can't afford to lose:

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him.... - Luke 14:28-29

Hopefully the managers of NLOP followed this guidance of Jesus, and "counted the cost" (using the classic language of the King James Version) before launching the site.  Perhaps unexpected circumstances got in the way of profitability; our own experience with failed businesses has shown us that can happen.

Oh, by the way -- it's OK if you "preach" to us.  Countless visitors to our site probably think that's what we're doing....

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. - II Corinthians 4:5

Any wisdom we might have, about poker or otherwise, comes from the Lord.  May you come to realize that, too.

Payday Someday?

National League of Poker has a "Wild Wednesday" tournament every Wednesday night.  We won $35 there last Wednesday night.

Well, at least we thought we did.

Our InBox had a notice late today that the company behind NLOP filed for bankruptcy protection two weeks ago.  The only article we can find online on this matter warns people who won money recently "are unlikely to be paid unless an investment knight in shining armor can be found."

But there's potential good news -- a notice we received today which was filed with Bankruptcy Court says, "The debtors intend to pay your claim in full."  A hearing on this plan is scheduled for March 20.

That's a potentially long wait for a little money.  And we need that money right now, because of our personal economic situation.  Please join us in praying all winners get the money they should have coming.

Poker Night 385: Middle of the Road

An old phrase says familiarity can breed contempt.  In a poker circuit, familiarity can breed predictions -- as other players think they can figure out what you have.  So every now and then, changing your playing habits can pay dividends.  Watch what happened tonight at Lil Kim's Cove....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: A-8 offsuit

The game has been underway only a few minutes, so most of the players seem to be in a "warm-up" mode.  No one raises pre-flop, and we're comfortable calling with this.

ON THE FLOP: 8-3-Q

To borrow from some poker regulars, we "got a piece of that."  It's not the best piece -- or is it?  When the play checks to us, we try to find out.  We bet 200 with middle pair.  That's apparently enough of a message to most of the table, which folds.  But a man to our immediate right calls.  We're heads-up.

ON THE TURN: 10

Our opponent is first in line to play -- and he thinks long and hard about what he should do.  We're not sure what he's thinking.  He finally checks.  That was our plan all along, so we check as well.

ON THE RIVER: 2

Our opponent doesn't spend as much time on this card.  He checks, and we respond by betting 300.

"He must have the 10," someone to our left says.

"Naw -- he's got the Queen, man," guesses a man across the table.

How nice of them to put more doubt in our opponent's mind -- not to mention throwing him off the track.  He folds.

"I was chasing a flush," the man to our right admits.  He also had a 3, but presumed we had that beat.  After a moment of hemming and hawing, we finally admit we did have something better.  But we don't say exactly what it was -- well, until now.

We won a few more pots in the first hour, but then tried for a big gain with J-J and lost to a straight.  Yet we reached the one-hour break with 16,000 chips (after starting with 12,000).  Another win in the second hour helped us reach our third live final table in a row.

But the cards didn't turn in our favor after that.  Facing decisive blinds at the end of Hour 2, we went all-in with A-J under the gun.  An Ace came for us on the river -- but a man to our right made a full house well before then.  He eliminated us in eighth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We joined a semifinal table as a couple of men talked about borrowing cigarettes.  We think someone was turned down, because he mentioned how the other man wouldn't "be his brother's keeper."

"Maybe by not giving him a cigarette," we said, "he is being his brother's keeper by not giving him cancer."

The other man understood our point of view.  He actually brought up a concept that's rooted in the first book of the Bible:

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"  "I don't know," he replied.  "Am I my brother's keeper?" - Genesis 4:9

The first part of Cain's answer almost certainly was a lie.  Instead of "keeping" Abel, Cain killed him in a field -- and did it despite a personal warning from God about controlling his anger (verses 5-7).

If you're hot-tempered at a poker table, you risk going "on tilt" and making disastrous decisions.  You also might say things which needlessly offend and upset other players.  It's best to follow the apostle Paul's advice....

"In your anger do not sin."  Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. - Ephesians 4:26-27

Paul goes on to recommend getting all "rage and anger" out of your life -- replacing those emotions with Christ-like virtues of kindness and compassion (verses 31-32).

But let's ask you about our original point.  Would you give a cigarette to someone who asked for one?  And what does it mean to be "your brother's keeper", anyway?  Leave a comment with your thoughts, and we'll explore this further in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 134 final tables in 385 nights (34.8%), 20 cashes.  We've made three final tables in a row for the first time since December 2011, when we only played one night a week.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 282 point wins in 1,346 games (21.0%), 92 final tables, 12 cashes, 10 wins.  No-River Hold 'em - 24 point wins in 92 games (26.1%), 19 final tables, 1 cash win.

We didn't take notes on the action, but we had a long successful night in the "Wild Wednesday" tournament.  After nearly five hours online, we finished fourth out of 778 players to win some nice prize money!  We also finished fourth out of 39 players in a Monday qualifying game.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $85,970, down $1,048.

NLOP Weekly Championship: Payday Sunday

"A lot of grinding ahead," someone wrote as the final tables approached at Sunday night's National League of Poker championship tournament.  We knew all about that; we've tried to win money in the weekly "big game" off and on for years without success.  But this Sunday, the work finally paid off!  Here are the highlights....

:21 IN: We have pocket Queens and double the blinds.  A player to our right who's been chatting with us about how to respond to the Newtown, Connecticut grade school killings apparently is tired of us mentioning prayer and the Bible.  He goes all-in.  We dare to call.  He shows K-A!

The flop is J-6-4.  The turn is 3. The river is J.  Our discussion abruptly ends, as we eliminate him and double our stack which started at $10,000 to $18,740.  (Watch for details on that chat in an upcoming post.)

:24 IN: We have A-K under the gun.  The flop is 6-2-8; we call a minimum bet of 100.  The turn is 4.  We stubbornly call a bet of 900.  The river is a rewarding Ace!  We bet 1,900, our opponent folds, and we win $4,450.

We win another pot in the first half-hour, and reach the break at $20,970.  We're in 69th place, with 848 players still in.

:59 IN: After missing the flop in a few tries, we have 8-6 of diamonds under the gun.  The flop is 7-8-7.  We bet the minimum 300 and get callers.  The flop is 8, giving us a full house!  We bet 600 and get called.  The river is a meaningless 2.  We bet 3,600, get called, and wind up winning $11,850.  (NLOP's "hand history" section is down at this time, so some opponents' hands are not available.)

That one win in the second period improves us by the break to $26,570.  Now we're 94th, with 562 still playing.

1:11 IN: We have A-7.  The flop is 2s-Js-Ah.  We call a bet of 1,480 with top pair.  The turn is 5h.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 7s.  We bet about 1,780 with two pair, only to see our opponent go all-in for 5,550.  We call -- and he shows two spades for a winning flush.  Uh-oh - that could be a bad sign.

Failed attempts dominate the third period, and we lose half our stack.  The next break finds us at $13,235, dropping to 252nd place out of 399 remaining players.

1:52 IN: After falling short with 10-9 suited, we have 10-10.  A player goes all-in for 10,635 - almost everything we have.  We dare to call, as does someone to our left.  The flop is A-J-3.  Both players with chips (including us) check.  The turn is 10, and we can't "check it down" now.  We bet our last 525, get called -- and find we're topping J-K and J-Q!  The river is 2, and we jump back to life with $35,055.

2:04 IN: After winning a "Big Blind" special pot with K-J, we now have K-A.  We accept a doubling of the blind.  The flop is Q-3-6.  With a substantial stack and "overcards", we call a minimum bet of 1,200.  The turn rewards us with an Ace!  Now we double back when a player bets the minimum.  The river is 4.  We bet 4,000, get callers - but they can't beat our top pair.  We win $38,090.

Our stack has climbed after four periods to $57,067.  We're in 50th place, with 247 remaining.  The top 52 players will win money; players between spots 53-60 win an "invitation" to next Sunday night's tournament.

2:28 IN: We have 6-6.  The flop is 8-5-7.  We call a minimum bet of 2,000.  The turn is 4, giving us a straight!  Our opponent bets 9,640; we double in reply.  The betting leads to us going all-in -- and we're facing 6-2.  (Thankfully not 6-9.)  The river is A, and we split the pot to take $55,917.

2:35 IN: We have A-8 and the dealer's button.  The flop is 6-J-A.  A player bets 8,760, and we dare to call.  The turn is 8.  That leads to us going all-in -- and our opponent also has A-8.  The river is Q, and it's another split pot.  This one nets us $51,267.

2:47 IN: We're under the gun, with pocket Aces!  We limp in, but no one jumps out to raise.  The flop is Jh-4h-7x, and we go all-in for our last 28,667.  One player calls, but shows Q-J.  The board brings 6 and 10, and we praise God as we claim $76.534.

After a Big Blind miss, we finish the fifth period at $72,134.  We're hanging around in 52nd place, with 134 to go.

3:15 IN: We have Q-J of spades.  The flop is 8x-7s-Qx, and we go all-in with top pair and 28,334.  A player calls - but only has 7-6!  The board brings K and 10, and we're in six-figure joy with a win of $103,468!

3:19 IN: We have 10x-5s in the Big Blind, and wind up heads-up against the Small Blind.  The flop is As-10s-6x.  We bet the minimum 12,000 with middle pair, and get called.  The turn is 8s.  The Small Blind bets 12,000 back at us; we call.  The river is A, and our opponent goes all-in!

We have top two pair, but 62 players remain (remember, the top 52 win money).  What would you do facing this challenge?  Call us wimpy, but we fold.  Our opponent never shows his cards.

At least we're still in the game after six periods, at $54,268.  We're in 50th place, two spots from a prize with 62 players remaining.

3:39 IN: The field has dropped below 60 players, as we have A-Q in the Big Blind.  An "invitation" for next Sunday night is secure.  A player ahead of us raises.  Under any under circumstances, we'd call with this hand.  But this close to winning money, we fold.  The flop is 5-3-5.  The turn is 4.  The river is 8 -- and a player who also has A-Q wins the pot, eliminating a woman in the process.

We miss a big split pot - but during this hand, the field drops to 51 players.  We're in the money!

3:49 IN: With blinds and antes eating our stack away, we go all-in with Q-8 of spades for our last 5,068 chips.  The flop is 3-9-7.  The turn is 4.  The river is K - and a player with A-K claims the pot, knocking out another player along with us.

We battled hard for close to four hours, and wound up in 36th place out of 1,036 contestants.  In a real poker room, the payoff would have been substantial.  In the world of NLOP, a four-hour shift wins us -- brace yourself -- six dollars.

But in our current situation, winning any money beats having no money at all.  And the satisfaction of finally having a payday in the big Sunday night game is sweet as well.

October Senior Championship: Second-Hour Sensation

The timing of September's National League of Poker Senior Championship was lousy for us - on the evening of the Biblical Day of Atonement.  Perhaps out of guilt, NLOP changed the date of the October championship.  It was moved from Tuesday to Thursday night.  With baseball's World Series on TV in the background, we chased a title of our own....

:00 IN: We open the evening with 8-A.  The flop is 4-6-A.  We bet 90, the table folds, and we have a quick $210 win.

:14 IN: After a couple of showdown losses, we have J-K under the gun.  The flop is 3-10-Q.  The table checks.  The turn is A.  An opponent bets the minimum 40, and we raise to 140 with a "Broadway straight." He folds, and we win a $320 pot.

:16 IN: We have a lowly 3-5 in the Small Blind.  The flop is 5-2-Q.  The table checks.  The turn is 10.  We bet the minimum and get a caller.  The river is 3, giving us an unlikely two pair.  We bet 200, our opponent folds, and we win a $440 pot.

:27 IN: We have J-8 in the Small Blind, and call when someone doubles the blind to 120.  (Everyone started with 2,500 chips, allowing more room for play.)  The flop is 6-9-J.  We bet the minimum, and get callers.  The turn is 5.  We bet the minimum again, and get called.  The river is a third Jack for us!  An opponent's bet of 60 brings a raise to 260 from us.  They fold, we win $1,250.

We're actually below the starting level at the first break: 2,310.  Blame it on promising cards which haven't turned out too well.  We're in 439th place.

:35 IN: We return from the break with 10-2 of diamonds.  The flop is Kd-6d-Ax.  We call a minimum bet of 60.  The turn is 2h, and we call a minimum bet again.  The turn is 5c.  We're disappointed.  But the table checks - and our pair of 2's wins!  "Did not expect that" we write while claiming $570.

:46 IN: We have Q-J.  The flop is a dream-come-true A-10-K.  We bet the minimum 150 with a straight - but the table folds, so our win is a mere $675. Awwww....

:47 IN: The next hand brings J-J.  An opponent doubles the blind, and we easily accept.  The flop is 2-2-3.  We bet the minimum, and get called.  The turn is Q.  Now our opponent bets 250, and we call.  The river is 8 - and our foe bets 340.  Fearing the worst (a pair on the turn), we surrender and take a big loss.

Misses after that bring us to the one-hour break with only 1,120 chips.  We're in 492nd place - and with 508 players left, that puts us near the bottom.

1:24 IN: After a lot of cautious folding and one Big Blind claimed in a walk, we play 8-6 of hearts in the Small Blind.  The flop is 5-4-7 for a dream straight!  We bet 300, the table folds, and we win $1,450.

1:25 IN: The next hand brings 10-A of diamonds on the button.  The flop is A-4-A.  We bet 300 again, the table folds again, and we pick up $1,300.

1:26 IN: The next hand brings 9-9.  The flop is 8-8-2.  We bet 300 and get callers.  The turn is 8, giving us a full house.  We somewhat aggressively bet 300 again, and get called.  The river is 5.  We bet another 300, get called -- and find our opponent has A-K!  It's a big win of $3,100.

1:34 IN: The next Big Blind gives us 4s-6x.  The flop is 2-A-3 - all spades!  The table checks.  The turn is 8s, securing a flush.  We check again, as does the table.  The river is 5s!  Now we bet 400, get called -- and show our STRAIGHT FLUSH, which wins a true "Big Blind Special" $2,580!  (But no one congratulates us at all.)

1:35 IN: Next comes the Small Blind with 7-7.  The flop is J-8-6.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 7!  We bet the minimum 400, the table folds, and we wrap up a huge round of blinds by winning $2,450/

1:36 IN: But wait, there's more!  Now the dealer button brings an ugly-looking 2-7 of spades.  The flop is K-Q-Q.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 7.  We bet 400 and get called. The river is another 7!  That's a "running boat," but we check in caution -- yet still prevail to win $2,210.

What a third period - ending with us at $8,235, more than a sevenfold gain in 30 minutes!  Now we're 97th, with 297 players left.

1:46 IN: We have K-J under the gun.  The flop is J-9-T.  A player bets 600, which leads to an all-in raise by someone else in the neighborhood of 2,350.  We dare to call with top pair.  The turn is Q, giving us another straight!  We bet 600, and get called.  The river is 5.  We bet 2,000, one opponent folds - and the player who pushed missed it all with A-8.  We win $8,255, and knock out an opponent.

1:50 IN: We have A-7 of hearts in the Big Blind.  The flop is college Greek: A-K-A.  We take it slow and check.  The turn is 3.  We spring out with a bet of 1,500, which brings folds.  Our win is $3,675.

2:08 IN: After opponents make big bets which run us off potential pot, we have A-Q.  The flop is 10-A-J.  Someone goes all-in, and this time we dare to match it for 7,880.  But our top pair leads, when the pusher shows 10-9.  The board brings 6-8, and we prevail for $13,010!

After two hours of play, we have 10,110 chips.  We're up to 68th place, with 102 players remaining; only the top ten will win money.

2:27 IN: We play A-J.  The flop is 9-6-4.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 3.  Everyone checks.  The river is A, and we bet 1,600 with top pair.  The table folds, and we win $9,500.

2:39 IN: We have 4-4, and fold when an opponent goes all-in.  Too bad; we had a spade, which would have turned into a winning flush.

2:41 IN: Due to rising blinds and antes, it's our turn to go all-in.  We push with 4-4, and 3,835 remaining chips.  The flop is 6-5-6.  The turn is J.  The river is 9.  But our opponent has pocket Kings.

A long night ends with us in 57th place, out of 778 players.  That would have brought a payday in a real poker room, but NLOP doesn't even award us poker points at that level.  Yet we wind up with a slightly more satisfying night than a walk to Lil Kim's Cove might have brought.

Poker Night 342: Diamonds or Junk?

Our Thursday night routine resumed tonight -- as Lil Kim's Cove has moved poker night back to where it's been for years.  That meant a short walk, a two-dollar can of soda, and careful play against a table filled with much larger stacks of chips.  But can you be too careful?

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: J-8 of diamonds

We won the first pot of the night, but the gain was small.  A large-scale missed flop later in the first hour left us with only 4,500 chips after the break.  We say "only" because bigger stacks abound; one man openly is boasting about having 100,000 in large denominations.

So at our table of six, we now sit one behind the dealer.  We're dealt these medium-high suited cards.  We have enough chips for only three "laps around the race track," as we like to call it.  Would you risk 18 percent of your holdings on this, simply to see a flop?  We decide the odds of hitting a flush are too steep at this point to take this chance, especially with other players calling.  We fold.

ON THE FLOP: 9d-10d-Qd

WHAT?!?!!?!?!!?  It's all we can do to keep a "poker face" when we see this.

"Here come the diamonds," one man says.  Well, not the ones he might want.  We slowly pull back our folded cards and show them to the dealer, who also folded pre-flop.  We say nothing.  He says quietly what we knew -- we let go of a straight flush.  But the hand continues without us....

ON THE TURN: 9c

As we recall, one player offered 5,000 at this point.  "One more diamond!" another says with optimism as he calls.

ON THE RIVER: 2c

"Good no-diamond," that man now says.  After a moment of stare-down, both players check.  The caller has Q-J, and top his opponent's Queen with a better kicker.

"Look at what I folded!" we now announce -- and show our folded cards.

The table is stunned at the one that got away.  "I would have called with two diamonds," a couple of players say.

"But my stack is so small," we respond as we pick up our five chips totaling 4,500.  Those players insist they still would have entered the hand -- easy for them to say, with much larger stacks.

This hand came down to how much of a risk-taker (some would flat-out say gambler) you are.  We tend not to be.  And in this case, it cost us a 5,000-chip bonus for the straight flush -- and probably 9,000 more, because the players with Queens for two pair were likely to call if we went all-in.

We dreamed redemption would come two hands later, when we had A-8.  We limped in.  A man raised 3,000.  We added 500 more, to go all-in.  But the board didn't pair for us; instead 3-4-5 appeared, and a man with A-2 made a winning straight.  We left with 13th place -- and dreams about what might have been.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Earlier in the day, we visited a local hospital.  One of the regulars on our poker circuit checked in about a week ago due to chest pains.  Harry told us doctors found "other stuff" -- including occasional involuntary shaking, which still can't be explained.  We promised we'd pray for his recovery.

This short visit really is the least we could do for Harry.  But in making the trip, we recall words of Jesus about a future time of judgment....

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.... I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me." - Matthew 25:34-36 (NASB)

In the Internet era, a "visit" also can be accomplished in an online way.  Harry's relatives set up a laptop computer by his bed -- and of course, he's using it in part to play online poker.  The relatives also created a Facebook account for him.  So if you'd like to send him a message, click on this link -- but be patient; Harry admits he's new at using computers.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 121 final tables in 342 nights (35.4%) - 19 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 261 point wins in 1,112 games (23.5%), 82 final tables, 10 cashes, 10 wins.  No-River Hold 'em - 8 point wins in 42 games (19.0%), 7 final tables, 1 cash/win.

For the third time in August, we won money at NLOP!  It was a second-place finish Tuesday night, in a tournament with 398 players.  There's an interesting story behind that game, which we'll share in an upcoming post.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $82,986, up $1,388.

Modems and the Master

Last Sunday night we entered the National League of Poker's weekly championship.  But after the first half-hour where we lost about 20 percent of our stack, the system froze.  It apparently was the fault of NLOP's server; the game was suspended and resumed later in the evening.

We won several big pots after the resumption, climbing to more than 37,000 chips in 90 minutes.  With about 300 players remaining, we were 55th -- and money now is paid to the top 52 players in the weekly tournament.  But then our screen froze again.  We feared it was one of those stifling McAfee updates -- but after a restart of our computer, our Internet connection refused to work!

While thankfully the "automatic disqualification" rule was suspended for this tournament, the outage cost us half-an-hour of play.  We had another web freeze after returning, went all-in with 8-8 in desperation and lost to a straight.  We finished 96th out of 1,147 players -- but again wondering what might have been.

Another Internet slowdown and outage occurred for us later in the week, deep in a tournament.  Finally we called our Internet provider's tech support line, and it concluded our modem was fading out and dying.  The device lasted five years, which apparently was very good since the usual life of a modem is three to four.

But these frustrations remind us how in this life, nothing lasts forever and few things truly are reliable.  Your best-laid plans can be ruined when things break down, or people let you down.  At those points we're reminded:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. - Psalm 20:7

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. - Isaiah 31:1

You may count on a fellow poker player to act in a certain way which benefits you -- only to find he or she makes a very different decision.  You may even be looking for help and success from a candidate, in this U.S. election year.  But the more reliable place to turn is God -- as even Jesus pointed out:

I have much to say in judgment of you.  But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world. - John 8:26

Jesus was sent by God the Father 2,000 years ago -- and He'll be sent again to rescue this world from destruction, and bring eternal life to those who accept His salvation (Matthew 24:30-31).  Do you trust God to provide the greatest victory of all?

Poker Night 338: The Lucky Loser

The schedule finally worked out tonight, so we could stroll over to Lil Kim's Cove where poker night is currently Tuesday.  But many things that we tried to do went wrong.  For instance, we reached over to make change from the pot for a player -- and spilled our cup of soda on the table.  But could we clean up later, in a different way?

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: K-K

We were generously given 5,000 extra chips by the Tournament Director for that cup of soda -- and that's the biggest gain we've had all evening.  The players at our table are betting like they're trying to match one of Judge Marilyn Milian's lines on The People's Court: "Quien es mas macho?"  But they're surprisingly tame in this hand -- only calling in the last hand before the one-hour break.

After several missed flops, we have 6,050 chips (by our count) -- and we've dealt ourselves Kardashians.  Other players might have thrown out thousands.  Instead, we raise to a modest 1,000.

"I've got to do that," the player to our left says as he calls.  Several players jump in, but don't re-raise.

ON THE FLOP: 6-A-7

Ugh.  That Ace was the last thing we wanted to see.  Sure enough, a man bets 1,000.  There are callers.  We choose to call, and hope the next card is better.

ON THE TURN: 8

Nope, it's not.  And the man who offered 1,000 before now spreads out 5,000.  That would put us all-in, and we don't dare risk that.  We fold, while a couple of players call.

ON THE RIVER: 8

The betting escalates without us, until one player is all-in for 32,000.  He gets called -- and shows 8-6!  Running cards came for a full house, and our fold winds up being wise.

We erred during the "color-up" which followed -- not noticing one of the black chips we had (worth 1,000) really was blue (worth 100).  Blame the bar's dark lighting.  But the Tournament Director had mercy on us when we offered it for a Big Blind, and exchanged blue for black.  We lost with that hand, too.  And we were down to 2,000 lowly chips.  But then....

"Final table," the Director declared.  On an evening when only about 18 players showed up, despite our mistakes and bumbling, we reached the last table of seven without winning a pot!

Playing carefully and without ego paid off -- but when we saw A-9 in the Small Blind, we had to put our last 500 in.  It failed to pair, while a man paid two pair with Kings and Jacks.  We finished seventh, but thankful to God for wisdom in knowing what not to play.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Poker used to be fun," a woman moaned to us before the tournament.  She said it's not that way anymore, because some players are becoming "bullies."

We agreed it's not nice to be a bully.  "We should be compassionate," we said in a spur-of-the-moment sermonette; "we should we caring, we should be kind."

There's one character trait we didn't mention in that list -- being godly.  But the traits we mentioned are part of that.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.... And over all these virtues put on love, which bids them all together in perfect unity. - Colossians 3:12, 14

The apostle Paul compares these virtues to putting on clothing.  That's because, as strange as it may sound, they're not the sort of things most people naturally have.

The sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. - Romans 8:7

Our human nature is sinful.  So we need to put on godly virtues every day.  How can we do that?

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. - Romans 8:9-10

Is that Holy Spirit dwelling in you?  Are you sure?  Review Peter's standards mentioned in Acts 2:38, and make sure there's no doubt.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 121 final tables in 338 games (35.8%) - 19 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 257 point wins in 1,090 games (23.6%), 81 final tables, 10 wins, 9 cashes.

We mentioned our fourth-place finish in an afternoon tournament last week.  We haven't mentioned it was followed by a sixth-place finish the very next day!  That means we won NLOP cash two days in a row, after a drought of more than a year.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $80,578, up $1,014.