Deals and Dads

People who have followed the World Poker Tour on TV probably know the top players travel a lot. Big prestigious tournaments can happen in places as diverse as Las Vegas, Monaco and Australia.

But one successful poker player admits he's probably going to slow down his schedule this year. Jason Mercier will take a break because his wife will have their first child in October. His plan is to play a lot until the World Series of Poker contests, then potentially shut things down for a few months.

"I would imagine I'll be training him from a young age," Mercier said in an interview. Trouble is, he was talking about teaching his son about "gambling and poker." It seems to us he should also teach other things....

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4

How can you "exasperate" a child? That big word can mean to "make very angry or irritated; tax the patience of; provoke...."

Whether they realize it or not, we fear some parents are doing that by spending too much time on their careers. Even Mercier admits in the interview, "You can't really be on the road seven or eight months our of the year for your entire life."

A greedy man brings trouble to his family.... - Proverbs 15:27

For instance, by pursuing big poker paydays non-stop and not paying attention to your spouse or children. (In Mercier's case, it may help that his wife plays poker as well.)

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. - Colossians  3:21

Disclaimer: we write from the perspective of being single, with no children. We don't claim any parenting prowess. We're simply passing along the guidance that God's Word provides. But we think an unbalanced life can make children bitter and discouraged - feeling like their parents really don't care about them.

Balance in these things is good. We think the healthiest balance is to err on the side of being with your family too much. Take the necessary time for godly "training and instruction." That's the most satisfying win any poker player could have - even if it's at a kitchen table more than a poker table.

Poker Night 473: Leftover Doughnuts

Some poker players refer to pocket Kings as "cowboys." Not us. We see K-K and think "Krispy Kremes". And since last Friday was National Donut Day in the U.S., they were still fresh on our mind tonight - even if Yvie's serves burgers and fries instead of pastry:

BLINDS: 400/800

IN THE POCKET: K-K

We've won a few pots, including one with a ridiculous bluff bet. But our stack has gone up and down, and now we're at a table of six with 6,700 chips. A young man to our immediate right is doing much better, and he's first to act in this hand. He raises to 2,200. Then we see our cards, and there's little doubt of what to do. It's time to push back.

"Raise - 4,400," we say quietly, dropping down a 5,000-chip piece. A player across the table is puzzled by that number, but we note we're doubling the original bet.

The rest of the table folds, leaving that young man pondering what we might have. In a way, that lengthy thought process could have been a tell. If he had pocket Aces, wouldn't he have re-raised right away?

Finally he does re-raise, going all-in. We call for our last 2,300. But we forget something.

"Put in the bonus chip," a woman to our left reminds us. We won that chip by taking the first hand of the night - a chip you can cash in for 5,000 only if you make the final table.

"But I don't want to put it in!" we say in a joking protest like a six-year-old. But of course, we do. Then our opponent shows.... A-J! He has a higher card, but we're happy to see we have the lead. "Keep 'em low, please," we encourage the dealer. The cards come out very slowly....

ON THE FLOP: 10-8-6

Good. Very good.

ON THE TURN: 4

Still good - and no flush chance is showing.

ON THE RIVER: J

"Ohhhhh," we declare. The opponent gained a pair - but with the lower card. The Kings survive, and we double up to more than 14,000 chips (when folded blinds are figured in).

But the blinds go up quickly at Yvie's, and we were down to.11,000 at the first break. Then three tables were combined into two, and we had a Small Blind which the cards wouldn't let us defend. Finally with 2,000 chips left, we pushed with Q-10. Two players called, including that young man who was doing well.  His A-3 did very well when 3's came on the flop and the river. 3x3=2 knocked out - including us, awarded tenth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The beggar's corner was occupied again as we drove home - this time by the man who was happy to get a bag of food a couple of weeks ago, while another beggar grumbled.

"HELP" read his little cardboard sign. He said he needed about everything. "This is humiliating," he admitted to us. Yet it's seemingly become a way of life for him.

We gave the man a business card for the local Homeless Outreach Team. Then he said, "I know somebody named Jesus, and I think he's coming back. He's a good Daddy!"

We answered with a line from a recent hit Christian song - but as we walked away, we wondered if we should have corrected his theology. You see, Jesus technically is not a believer's Father.

Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. - Hebrews 2:11

Jesus Christ can be your brother if you're willing to let Jesus make you holy - but that's not really our focus tonight.  Let's consider the "Father" Jesus mentioned:

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. - John 10:29-30

With all respect to fans of the late Muhammad Ali, the real "greatest of all time" is God the Father. After all, He's the creator of life - and the One who provided Jesus Christ as a sacrifice so we might have eternal life.

No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. - I John 2:23

It's a package deal. - or perhaps better put, a family deal. Will you acknowledge God as your Father, admitting belief in His holy Son as you do?


UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 176 final tables in 473 games (37.2%) - 33 cashes. After a good start to 2016, we've now missed six final tables in a row.

The Direct Line

"Do you go to movies?" a man at our poker table asked a man on the other side.  "You should go to see War Room.  That's a good movie."  Others at the table had seen it and agreed.

"It's all about praying to Jesus," the man continued.

Uh-oh.  Do you see a problem with that comment?  Some Christian ministers do -- even ministers who believe strongly in Jesus Christ.  They say you should pray only to God the Father.  Sorting out this question can get a bit complex.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. - Luke 6:12

Jesus was sent by God the Father to be our Savior.  And the Bible shows Jesus indeed is God (John 1:1).  But when it came time to pray, Jesus did not engage in "self-talk" to pump Himself up -- the way some poker players might before a big tournament.

"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and the Father are one." - John 10:29-30

We're led to conclude Jesus prayed to God the Father -- and to some extent, He still does today.

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. - Romans 8:34

So does that mean we should direct our prayers toward Jesus the Son, not God the Father?

And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. - John 14:13-14 (KJV)

The New International Version says this in verse 14: "You may ask me for anything in my name...." - as in asking Jesus directly. Other translations we checked agree. But the King James hints at directing prayers toward the Father. And Jesus recommends this elsewhere:

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" - Luke 11:13  (NASB)

So prayers to God the Father are proper.  Prayers directly to Jesus may be proper at times.  If you have more Bible verses to share to help us sort this issue out, please leave some in a comment.

Whatever you do, though, we do not recommend praying to "the poker gods."  The Bible shows those are not really gods at all:

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. - I Chronicles 16:26

The Pinochle Man

For years we've wondered how to properly keep these verses....

"Honor your father and mother" - which is the first commandment with a promise - "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." - Ephesians 6:2-3

We wondered about them, because both our parents are deceased. But the era of blogging and social media is allowing people to show honor to a wide range of people. So on this U.S. Father's Day, we try to join them.

As far as we know, our Dad never played poker. His card game was pinochle. He played it on late Wednesday nights at the Odd Fellows lodge -- perhaps for money, perhaps not; we were never sure about that.

It was left to our older brother to teach us blackjack, on his trips home from college.  (A nine-year age gap gave him an advantage.)  But Dad would take part in an occasional Sunday night family game of Rack-O - a card game with absolutely no betting involved at all.

Dad died in March 2001.  We think he'd be surprised to see us playing poker in casinos these days; he considered us far too straight-laced for that. But he played cards and showed good sportsmanship about it. We follow that example, and thank Dad for that lesson.

So tell us, please - was your Dad a poker player? If so, what secrets did he teach you?

NLOP Weekly Championship 27: Aces Up, Aces Down

If we really desired, we could enter the National League of Poker $1,000 Weekly Championship every couple of weeks.  All that's needed now is a 50,000-point buy-in.  With our total around 400,000, we thought Father's Day might be a good time to sneak in and play well.  Did we?

:01 IN: We have A-2 under the gun on the second hand.  The flop is 5-8-2.  We bet the minimum 30, but someone raises to 160 and we call it.  The turn is 7.  The raiser bets 130, and we've seen enough.  We fold.

:03 IN: We have A-J in the Big Blind, and wind up heads-up with the Small Blind when the rest of the table folds.  The flop is A-2-5.  We bet 70, and our opponent folds.  Would they were all that simple....

:04 IN: We have A-A and the button!  So we raise to 230, and get one caller.  The flop is 4-3-2, and our opponent leads for the minimum 30.  We call, cautious about that board.  The turn is K; we call another bet of 30.  The river is 8; we call another minimum bet as we remain suspicious.  But there was no reason; our opponent has K-10 -- so we win $875.

:18 IN: After a few hopeful flops get overpowered on the turn, we have A-10 of clubs.  The flop is 7s-Qc-As.  A player bets the minimum 60; we raise to 120 only to be re-raised to 180.  We call and stop there.  The turn is 2s.  Our opponent bets 160, and we dare to call.  The river is Qs, and our opponent goes all-in.  We dare not call, even though we have top two pair -- not with four spades showing.

:21 IN: We have 4-10 and fold -- only to see a flop of 2-3-A, and a turn of 5 which would have given us a comeback straight.

We hobble to the half-hour break with 385 chips.  Out of 584 players still in the running, we're a lowly 559th (tied).

MINISTRY MOMENT: At about this point in the tournament, we landed at the same table as a player named "FatherofLies".  That player split a pot, and it led to this exchange....


Me:  Can't root for 
Me:  FatherofLies, sorry....
Me:  I support God.
FatherofLies:  I understand....
FatherofLies:  Atleast you know me
Me:  Even if I
Me:  would rather not :-/

Why would we write such a thing?  Because yes, we understand the origin of that phrase....

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. - John 8:44

Jesus called the devil the "father of lies."  Many ministers say this is a reference to Satan appearing as a serpent in the garden of Eden:

"You shall not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.  "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3:4-5

God had told Adam he would "surely die" if he ate of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (2:17).  The serpent (Satan) then came along and lied to Eve.  Eve accepted the serpent's view over God's warning -- and the result has been sin and death ever since (5:5).

Come to think of it, we played poker with a "father" on Father's Day - one who takes his screen name from Satan.  Which father would you rather have?  An untrustworthy devil - or God, a heavenly father?

Now back to the tournament in progress....


:43 IN: We have 6-A as decisive blinds approach.  So we go all-in with 235 chips left.  Several players call to give us hope.  The flop is 6-9-K, which offers a bit more hope.  But 7-9 follow with three spades showing, and another player makes a winning flush.

So there's no championship for us again -- but 437th out of 1,255 entries beats the first-hand bust-out we had earlier in the day.

Father Figures

Today is Father's Day in the U.S.  It's a day to celebrate Dads who are living, and perhaps reflect on memories of those who are deceased.

Laurence A. Burkard: 1921-2001

How do you remember your parents?  Do you have anything special around your home -- or maybe in your wallet or purse?  It's a question that ties in well with one we asked in a recent post: do you carry any reminders with you of God?  After all....

Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? - Deuteronomy 32:6b

Are you surprised by the location of that Bible verse?  All the way back in the Old Testament, God was referred to as a "father" -- long before Jesus the Son appeared on Earth and recommended:

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...." - Matthew 6:9

We can't really carry a picture of God or Jesus in our wallets, because all we have are artist's depictions -- and there's plenty of debate among religious groups over how accurate those depictions are.  But the Bible shows there are plenty of things in this world which can symbolize God, and remind us of Him.  For instance:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. - Psalm 18:2

We've never taken a rock or a horn to a poker night, to use as a card protector.  (After looking up this verse, that might change!)  But regular blog readers know we take other things -- admittedly more as conversation starters than physical reminders of God.

There's one big thing Jesus provided for stirring up memories of Him, and of heaven....

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you do this in remembrance of me." - Luke 22:19

Christians know this as the "Lord's Supper," communion or the New Testament Passover -- introduced by Jesus on the night before His death.  The church group we attend only does this "remembrance" once a year.  It's considered that big a deal -- so big that our Pastor tends to lead up to it with three months of Passover-related sermons.  Of course, the world only tends to make Father's Day a once-a-year event as well.

So how do we remember our fathers at other times of year -- especially our heavenly Father?  We wrestled with this topic here a couple of years ago.  Despite what some ministers say, we still see nothing wrong with carrying reminders of God -- as long as you don't worship those things.  Doing that crosses a Biblical line:

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.... - Exodus 20:4-5

We realize bowing before a little bottle of Liquid Paper would look very silly.  May you honor your physical father in a way which doesn't dishonor your heavenly Father -- the One who gave both of you life.