Ryan's Hope

The final able draws near at the World Series of Poker Main Event. As we write this on Thursday evening (U.S. time), Australian champion Daniel Hachem has bowed out in 79th place. Iranian native Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari left in 82nd.

But of course, we want to focus on the man who finished 738th. Ryan Von Bevern is married to one of our nieces, after all - and on his third try at the Main Event, he made the money. The scoreboard (which has misled us at times) shows he won a bit more than $20,200.

This is how Ryan knows where he finished. He was given a card with his ranking. The WSOP staff has to keep things organized, with so many tables going at once and the prize money increasing with every few eliminations.

ESPN even mentioned Ryan's sorta-kinda presidential campaign on its livestream of the tournament. A $20,000 payday won't buy him a big media blitz to promote his candidacy. But he achieved one thing he hoped to accomplish - and in doing that, he experienced this:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13:12

Are you hoping for a big poker payday? Perhaps your own WSOP bracelet? It might take a lot of games and a lot of patience. It took us 13 tries before we won our first tournament at a Georgia bar. But we kept the hope going. And even better, we did this....

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. - I Timothy 6:17

We took our hope of success to God, praying for His will to be done. Success in poker has come in small ways over the years. But our main reason for entering poker rooms is to share a better hope....

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13

Galatians 5 shows joy and peace are two "fruit" of God's Holy Spirit. And beyond that....

...A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. - Titus 1:2

It's the only real hope we have beyond this life, you know. And we suspect the blessing of eternal life in the Kingdom of God will be far better than any trip to a cashier's window.

Poker Day 578: Hit and Miss

A change in our work situation allows to play in daytime poker tournaments for the time being. That led us today to Hollywood Casino Indiana, where we had a tough act to follow - since the husband of one of our nieces made the money at the World Series of Poker Main Event the night before. Could we match or top that?

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: 9-3 offsuit

So far today, we haven't matched anything.An aggressive play with A-Q suited lost to a man with a 10 who made a pair on the flop. We've dropped from a starting 12,000 chips to about 9,200. This normally would be folding time for us - but we're in the Small Blind and no one's raised at a full table of nine. We dare to call, since it only costs 50 more.

ON THE FLOP: 5-6-7

An interesting "island" flop for us. We can connect to a straight with a 4 or an 8. We check, and a man to our left offers 300. We call, and we recall four players still remaining.

ON THE TURN: 4

There it is - we hit the straight! We're first in order, and slow-check. But the man who bet before now throws out 800. Other players are calling, and now this becomes a cliché: Be careful what you wish for, because you might really get it.

We're pretty sure the bettor has an 8, for the better straight. Why else would be bet? Our "under-straight" now has us underwhelmed. "I'd better not," we say.... and fold.

ON THE RIVER: 8

Wow! We would have hit the straight both ways. And we could have topped the straight on the board, with our 9! No one bets now.

"I'm playing the board," the man who bet first says. No one had a 9, so we could have claimed a big pot. So the final score: two hits - but a big miss. And it all seemed so logical.

We finally won a good pot to reach the first break at 9,925. Hour Two brought a huge round in the blinds, as A-5 won with two pair and 8-J turned into a full house. We reached a high for the day of 18,100, and reached the final table at 15,400.

Our second-break total was 14,100, as we missed eliminating a man at the end thanks to a 7 on the river. Then came a couple of good hands which lost - and with blinds mounting, we finally went for it all with K-J. A man who was hitting big cards and amassing a monster stack of chips called.... with K-Q of spades. Of course, he hit a flush. That left us out in seventh place, out of 19 entries. Only the top two earned money.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A man to our right at our starter table claimed at one point that he's gained the nickname "a**hole." We told him that didn't sound very nice.

"At least he's publicity," he said. "Any publicity beats no publicity, right?"

"Satan the devil's had a lot of publicity," we answered. "And I don't think it's going to turn our well for him in the end."

That seemed to go over the heads of everyone - but do you grasp what we're saying? A lot of people talk about the devil. In fact, they may be under the devil's sway without realizing it.....

..But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. - Revelation 12:12

Satan (which we believe is really an "it," not a male "him) has spiritual control of this world right now:

The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.... - Revelation 12:9

But God sent someone to Earth to turn us away from Satan, and back to Him....

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning . The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. - I John 3:8

Jesus came as the Son of God, and overcame the devil by living a sinless life. But the work of Satan won't truly be destroyed until Jesus comes again with His angels....

And I saw an angel coming down from heaven.... He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.... - Revelation 20:1-3

As many preachers have said about the Bible, if you read to the back of the book, believers win. God will win. Jesus will win. The devil's P.R. machine will go bust, like our K-J did today. Is that what you're seeking - even in this life?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 222 final tables in 578 games (38.4%) - 48 cashes.

Daring to Dream

JULY 9 UPDATE: Ryan has made the money at the Main Event! An update on that is coming soon.

UPDATE: We looked at the wrong day's chip count. Ryan is in 846th place, heading to "Day 2C." Why he wasn't shown on the "Day 2AB" scoreboard despite not playing is a mystery to us.

As we write this, about 1,070 players remain in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event. This year's big tournament had 8,225 entries - including one (hold on to your chair) who's a candidate for President of the United States!

No, we're not kidding. Ryan Von Bevern filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for President. He has a billboard or two up in the Kansas City area. Of course, he has a campaign website. But by his own admission, he hasn't raised a lot of money - and he lost his buy-in at the Main Event, by not placing among the top 2,500 players [SEE UPDATE ABOVE]. (He won a discounted buy-in by playing in a local league.)

We've mentioned Ryan's WSOP exploits before, because he's married to one of our nieces. He obviously has big dreams - even though we think his Presidential bid is tongue-in-cheek.

Our poker dreams are a bit smaller these days. (For one thing, a $10,000 Main Event buy-in is massive.) But we have a big dream, too - and believe it or not, it ranks above being President of a country:

And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." - Revelation 5:9-10

Can you grasp what the apostle John saw in this vision? Creatures in heaven are singing this to "a Lamb" (verse 6) - and it clearly refers to Jesus Christ....

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." - John 1:29

Jesus, who was with God the Father from the beginning (1:1), came to Earth to redeem us from our sins by His pure sacrifice. But it means more than that. We're made "to be a kingdom and priests" - or as the King James Version puts it, "made.... unto our God kings and priests...."

Pocket Kings in poker can be good. Becoming a real king is even better. And to be a king serving under God on this Earth? That's a huge dream, that the Bible indicates someday will come true. As Jesus put it....

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. - Revelation 3:21

Uh-oh - did you see the "catch" there? We have to overcome, before we can sit with Jesus. That's the daily battle of life, resisting sin and walking in a godly way.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:21

That's obviously not easy to do. But it's what God requires to obtain that big dream - and with His help, you can do it.

...Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. - I John 5:4

How are you doing, in achieving your dreams? Do you have the biggest dream of all? And have you put your faith in God, so you can gain it?

Five-Figure Decisions

If you followed the Twitter link we posted earlier this week, you know one of our relatives entered the World Series of Poker Main Event.  Sad to say, Ryan Von Bevern was out in less than a day -- but he seems satisfied to know he's now done that once in his life.

We mentioned his entry at a live tournament we played Monday night, and brought up the "bucket list" idea: make a list of things you want to do before you die, then do them.  To play in the Main Event requires a large investment -- a $10,000 buy-in (unless you qualify another way), plus paying for the trip to Las Vegas and everything related to that.

The husband of one of our nieces apparently can afford that.  At this point, we cannot.  Ryan chose to try top-level WSOP action (well, except for that million-dollar buy-in game).  We choose to skip it.  And that makes even entering a poker tournament a lot like playing the game itself -- a matter of choices, right or wrong.

If you play long enough, you'll have moments when your choices in a hand look brilliant -- and other moments when opponents are right to brand you a "donkey."  And in poker, there's no one to coach you when a hand is in progress; even in free tournaments, that's considered cheating.  When it comes to the biggest decisions of our lives, some guidance can be very helpful -- and God offers some:

Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. - Proverbs 8:10-11

We can be instructed by reading God's guidebook, the Bible.  You might even find nuggets of knowledge there which help you play better poker; we offer some of them here from time to time.  But there's a bigger issue at stake....

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.... - Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Choosing to walk God's way and do His will (John 7:17) is a path leading to eternal life....

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. - Revelation 3:21

And here's the thing about eternal life -- you'll be able to do everything you ever dreamed of putting on a "bucket list," as long as it's not sinful.  That's why we don't have a personal list at the moment.  We choose to follow God now, in the hope of receiving an incredible payoff later.

Our New Favorite

We've known for a few years that we have other poker players in our family.  But we didn't know it until this morning that one of them has entered the World Series of Poker Main Event!

Ryan, the husband of one of our nieces (Heather is on the left), plunked down the $10,000 entry fee today in Las Vegas.  And he plans to post updates about his performance, just like the famous poker names do. In fact, he already is doing pre-game "tweeting" before his first session.

Join us in following him at: twitter.com/cobbob . (And no, he hasn't asked us for any advice.)