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?

From Am- to Pro?

Longtime readers know we learned to play poker in Columbus, Georgia. The city had a "free poker" circuit in bars (we always bought a soft drink as a courtesy), which was vibrant for a city its size.

But now, our old stomping ground may be ready for the "big time." In a surprise to us, the Columbus Council is asking the Georgia Legislature to approve a casino gambling bill. It would have to be approved by voters at the polls.

A few community leaders want to put a casino in a part of town which historically hasn't done well economically. Yet since we left, "Columbus South" (at least they used to try calling it that) has been improving. A Walmart SuperCenter opened at a busy intersection, and new motels have sprung up to support an Army post next door with an impressive museum.

The biggest surprise in the story we read about this proposal is that a Baptist pastor, who leads a local ministerial alliance, endorsed a casino vote. He explained people should have a right to vote on such things  "That's the only horse I have in this race," he said. (Your jokes about a horse racing analogy go here.)

We're sure other pastors would take issue with that view. They could reach for their Bibles to do it....

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the man who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." - Numbers 13:30-31

Here was a "referendum" on Israel entering the promised land. Two views were offered by people who had scouted the land. What did the people decide?

That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.... And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." - Numbers  14:1, 4

Their "vote" not only was no - it was for rejecting God's leadership of their wandering in the wilderness, and going back to a land where they were slaves to Pharaoh! The supporters of entering saw this reaction for what it really was:

If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord.... - Numbers 14:8-9

The Lord had set the agenda to this point - leading Israel to the brink of Canaan. God wanted to give it to the people (Numbers 13:1). But the people in effect voted no, rebelling against God. What was His reaction?

The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth.... , not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to these forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it." - Numbers 14:20-22

Our point is this: put God's will up for a public vote, and the people will vote against it more often than not. That was true with ancient Israel (we could cite other examples), and many ministers would say that's true today with opening casinos.

We'll say more about this casino debate in a future post. But for now, to borrow from our outgoing President: Don't vote - obey. That sounds awfully simplistic, but history probably will be on your side.

Poker Day 489: A Day at the Races

The Kansas Star Arena is attached to Kansas Star Casino - and this weekend hosted a steer roping championship. But on Friday, a different sport came to our mind. And no, it wasn't bull riding....

BLINDS: 75/150

IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit

In more than one hour of play. we've won one pot. Not many quality cards have come our way. We start this hand with 2,700 chips, but here we have some hope. When someone across the full table raises to 300, we know we need to try. We call, with three players in the hand.

ON THE FLOP: J-10-6

In most cases, that's not a thrilling flop. But we have top pair and top kicker, so we're more hopeful. A young man across the table bets 500. A man next to him calls, putting himself all-in. If they have overpairs, we're in trouble - but we call, anyway.

ON THE TURN: A

Hope now seems like reality! The young man who bet on the flop now checks.

"Two can play at that game," we say in a reference to the third player. "I'm all-in." We push forward our last 1,900.

The young man smirks a little over this, as if we just outsmarted him. After a moment in the tank, he folds. That means we keep the 1,900. Now for that other pusher.

"Allmendingers," we say turning over our cards. We haven't referred to that NASCAR driver in a long time. When our opponent turns over 7-8. we know "A-J" has a big lead in the race.

"I need a 9," the opponent says. Will the "straightaway" come?

ON THE RIVER: A

No.... instead we make a full house, put a man out of the tournament and make a big gain of about 1,600 chips.

We hit a high for the day of 5,300 chips after the first break. But a couple of tough hands where we lost a lot instead of risking elimination hurt.

We finally went all-in for our last 800 in the Big Blind, and turned over a lowly 6-2 of clubs. The only player to take us on had a K-8 (as best we remember), so another race was on. Both of us missed the flop - but we hit a 6 on the turn! BUT then came the river. It was a King. Our hopes were dashed. But on a day with 82 players, we finished in a "top-half" 31st.

MINISTRY MOMENT: It took more than 90 minutes, but eventually the table talk turned to the inevitable subject of the U.S. presidential election. A dealer brought up a thought-provoking commentary about the vote - given, of all places, during Thursday night NBA basketball.

"I think we need to pray for him, that he'll succeed," the dealer said. He agreed with the commentary.

We had not seen it, but we agreed with the dealer. "We should pray for our leaders."

In fact, some people prayed long and hard for God's hand to be on the election - perhaps longer than they did for the current President. They may have realized something....

...Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. - Daniel 4:32

We mentioned during the campaign season that God is the one who ultimately grants power to people. The people protesting in the streets can "fight the powers that be" if they wish, but they need to remember God put those powers there in the first place. We think the better approach is this....

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.... - I Timothy  2:1-3

You say he's "not your President"? Pray for him, anyway - that he might repent of his sins and wrong thinking.

You say he is your President? Pray for him, still - that he might make wise decisions which keep our people at peace.

As a longtime radio broadcast says every day: "God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things."

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 180 final tables in 489 games (36.8%) - 35 cashes. After making the money twice in a row at Kansas Star during the summer, we've now missed five final tables in a row there.

Still playing?

Yes, we still are playing poker. We're simply taking a few days away from it.

The main reason is that we're attending an annual church convention - one that's in the Bible, but may be new to you:

You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season.... This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters.... honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all. - Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (NLT)

There are church groups around the world which still obey this Biblical command. They're admittedly small, but they exist. And in many cases, they're looking forward to a time when Jesus Christ will return to set up the Kingdom of God on Earth:

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: "This world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." - Revelation 11:15 (NLT)

Regular readers of this blog know the "Festival of Shelters" (also called the Feast of Tabernacles) hasn't stopped us from playing poker before. In fact, we've done well in some "Feast games." But this year, we're in an area with no poker action for a long ways around - not even "friendly" games in bars. And a nearby state had a ballot question on casino gambling thrown off the ballot the other day.

So we're content to relax for a few days, before returning to the poker room. In fact, we suggest you consider doing next year what we're doing now. The change might do you good - physically and spiritually.

And by the way - have you ever joined a church group for Mexican Train Dominoes?

The Mouth, the Kid and the Finger

Let's say it upfront: We are not taking sides in the U.S. Presidential election. We'll explain why in a moment.

But of course, many other people are taking sides. And this week, there's been a curious combining of poker and politics.

A lawyer and "free speech activist" asked on Twitter if Hillary Clinton was giving signals to the moderator during this week's first debate, by pointing her finger toward her face. He specifically asked for comments from "poker pros like The Mouth Matusow." Mike Matusow has been tweeting against Ms. Clinton a lot, so he was happy to respond:

Wow ive watched the debates 3 times & never noticed!! I felt the whole time she had the questions but after watching that i she def signals

(We'll open the floor for your comments right here: Do you agree with Matusow? Why or why not?)

Considering moderator Lester Holt was found to be a registered Republican and Donald Trump's campaign manager called him "brilliant" before the debate began, we're not sure why he would have suddenly switched sides. But anyway....

We move on to Daniel Negreanu - who declared on Twitter Ms. Clinton won the first debate, while admitting he's biased in her favor. Considering Negreanu is Canadian and can't vote in the U.S. election, his endorsement may hurt in U.S. voting as much as it helps.

Then there's Phil Hellmuth, who's apparently become a political analyst in his spare time. He gave both Ms. Clinton and Mr. Trump "A" grades for this week's debate - and in other commentaries has compared Mr. Trump to a "loose aggressive" poker player.

So the poker world is watching the election closely - and they're certainly free to comment about it. So why are we not taking sides? Because several months ago, we handed over our vote to a higher authority....

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. - Romans 13:1

These words were written when the Roman Empire was in charge, and voting for leaders was unheard of. The apostle Paul accepted the fact that, like them or not, God had put the Roman authorities in charge - or at least allowed them to be there.

Some people wanted Jesus Christ to overthrow the government during His time on Earth, and become "King of Kings" on the spot. But instead....

"Do you refuse to speak to me," Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above...." - John 19:10-11

The Lord could have called down angels and begun to "fight the powers that be" right then. But He didn't. Jesus came to Earth for a different purpose about 2,000 years ago. But someday soon....

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." - Acts 1:11

Jesus will come back to Earth in a powerful way, to establish the Kingdom of God upon this planet:

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. - Revelation 19:16

That's the leader we're waiting to see - and Jesus is the One who has our ultimate vote. Can you think of anyone who would do a better job?

Poker Night 360: When Kings Go to Battle

Chris Berman noted during tonight's Monday Night Countdown second place on Election Day used to reward a U.S. Presidential candidate with the title of Vice President.  These days it doesn't.  Second place in a poker tournament might gain you a nice payday.  But what if you start somewhere around 22nd?  We face that every week at The Red Barn, so we need every big-name endorsement we can find....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

A soda purchase gave us 2,000 extra chips, to start at 7,000.  But other players pay more to begin with 30,000 or more -- so careful play matters to us.  This high pocket pair in the is our best chance to make a move.  And a player ahead of us helps, by raising to 400.

"One-thousand more," we announce when our turn comes.  Three players call -- and we know from experience some of them could be speculating with iffy hands, because they can afford it.

ON THE FLOP: 3-5-9

We have the overpair, and we plan to exploit it.  When the play checks to us, we bet 1,000 again.  Two of our three opponents call.

ON THE TURN: 9

This puts a troublesome pair on the board, but we don't want to look weak.  We bet 1,000 more.  The two challengers call again.

ON THE RIVER: 8

We're now ready to hit the brakes, because we're wondering what our opponents are doing.  A man across from us checks -- and this time we check.  But a young man to our left tosses in 5,000!

"I have to call," says the man across from us.

Ooh boy.  We don't have 5,000 -- our stack is more like 3,150.

"I've got nothing, man."  Hmmm -- the young man to our left may have given us a huge clue.  He holds his cards up and out, like he'll fold any second.

"Are you going to call?"  asks the other man.

"I'm thinking about it," we answer -- and we mean it.  Our concern is that he has a 9 for a winning three of a kind.  After a moment, we decide.

"I'm going to fold."

So does the young man who acted like he would.  The pot-winner then turns over pocket Jacks!  We don't show our cards, but we guessed wrong and lost a big gain.

We tried again a few minutes later with A-K, and a man forced us all-in on the flop.  But he also had A-K, so we gained some chips back.  Then J-10 turned into top two pair on the river, and we were back above the starting level at 7,350.

But after the one-hour break, our attempts to get in small with semi-promising hands were beaten down by large pre-flop raises.  We finally went all-in again with A-7, and were happy to see an Ace on the flop.  But an 8 on the river gave a man with A-8 two pair, and turned our happiness into disappointment.  We left in a lowly 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Happy Election Eve, everybody," we said when it was our turn to shuffle and deal the cards.

"Who do you want to win?" a man to our left asked.

"I'm not even registered to vote," we answered.

The man took that as a dodge of his question.  "Who do you want to win?"

"I gave my vote to a higher authority a long time ago," we explained.  "I'm letting God put the right people in office, because He's a lot wiser than I am."

Surprised?  We belong to a church association which preaches not getting involved in the politics of this world.  Even though we know a longtime member of our congregation who's told us of plans to vote, the official "party line" of our denomination is against it.  Why?

Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." - Daniel 2:19-21

For years we understood this to mean God decides the rulers who are in authority -- whether they be kings, queens, the U.S. President or even your boss in the workplace.  But our pastor has changed that explanation since Barack Obama became President.  He's indicated God steps aside and lets the U.S. population have what it wants and deserves.  (The pastor has left little doubt he's pro-Republican.)

The thinking behind this goes all the way back to the first king of Israel....

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have...." And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." - I Samuel 8:4-7

Believe it or not, God didn't really want a "republic" or a "democracy" government.  He wanted to rule the people through prophets He appointed.  Admittedly, changing to that method today would cause all sorts of problems -- because all sorts of people claim to be "prophets" of God, sometimes teaching different things.

If you'd like to look further into this, review the magazine article we've been using for Bible study in this election season.  In the meantime, we leave you with this U.S. election riddle -- which stumped the Tournament Director when we asked it tonight:

Q.  What is the Republican Party's favorite book of the Bible in this election?

A. Deuter-Romney!

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 124 final tables in 360 nights (34.4%) - 19 cashes.

For Bettors, For Best

We've been so busy with local poker topics that we haven't mentioned the World Series of Poker Main Event.  The field is down to a final nine -- but this year it will be an October Nine.  The final table drama has been moved up, to avoid a conflict with the U.S. Presidential election.

How curious, considering President Obama made a couple of campaign stops this month with signs saying he's "Betting on America."  How many customers of online poker sites laughed out loud when they saw that -- considering the U.S. Justice Department shut down several sites on "Black Friday" 2011?!

We were not the only ones who were curious about this.  One public radio program called in a language expert, who said the President is trying to show he has confidence in U.S. workers to succeed.

This led us to ponder -- isn't a vote for a Presidential candidate (or for any other political office) a "bet" of sorts?  Voters hope candidate A will do better than candidate B, when it comes to any number of issues.  If he or she does, you might stick with that strategy when the next "bet" comes in two or four years.  If he or she doesn't, you might move the chips around or try a different approach.

We're not endorsing any candidates for office here.  Not any human candidate, that is.  Instead, we recommend a sure bet offered by the Bible....

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants like flies.  But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. - Isaiah 51:6

This verse has both scary words and comforting words.  The things around us are going to disappear?!  Yes - and it's not simply an Old Testament warning:

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. - I John 2:17

Doing God's will leads to salvation -- and eternal life in what Revelation 21 calls a "new heaven and new earth."  And the Bible further claims....

The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. - Psalm 145:13b

Campaign promises made by humans tend to fall short.  God says His promises won't.  Which candidate would you rather trust?


P.S.  Considering eight of the nine Main Event players are U.S. residents, do you think any will wear campaign buttons to the final table?