Poker Night 549: Monsters' Ball

Courtesy Fox19.com

If we had gone to Jack Casino for poker tonight, we might have encountered this. A small "colony" of homeless people (their word for it) has set up a tent camp across from the casino.

We left it to that group to send someone inside, to try and win enough money to gain everyone housing. They probably would have done better than we did tonight at the alternative, Hollywood Casino Indiana....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: 9-9

It's the fourth hand of the night, with a full table of ten. The previous hand brought an awe-striking fold - as a woman with pocket Kings gave them up, when a man with pocket Aces went all-in pre-flop.

We were in the Big Blind then, and folded a measly 4-8. Now we're in the Small Blind, and no one has raised.

"I'm not going to do what he did," we say, "but I'll raise." We make it 150 to go, and three players take us on.

ON THE FLOP: 8s-8d-8h

It's a toll-free flop - and an immediate full house for us! This calls for a continuation bet, to see who's simply chasing big cards. We put out 400. The first opponent folds. The second calls. The third folds. So we're heads-up.

ON THE TURN: 4h

We doubt this helped our opponent at all. But what does he have? A full house of his own? We check, hoping to get a clue - but he checks, too.

ON THE RIVER: 2h

Now three hearts are showing. If he stumbled into a flush, we still have him topped. The larger concern is a larger pocket pair. So we make a rather cautious bet of 500.... and he raises to 2,500.

We've taken the lead in this hand, so we feel compelled to see it through to the end. We call. "Do you have a full house?" we ask.

"I have the 8," he says. OUCH!!! He hit quads on the flop, then waited us out! A good, well-played monster hand for him. We won a few hundred chips back minutes later with a hidden A-Q.

But then, when a man raised to 1,100, we saw pocket Aces in the Big Blind. Pushing like that earlier player did would have seemed too obvious, so we raised to 3,500. He called - and the flop was K-Q-10. For no good reason except to scare him away, we bet 5,000. Our opponent went all-in. We feared the worst, but called anyway. His cards: Q-Q. The turn and river didn't save us, and we finished our worst poker night this year - first out, in under 30 minutes.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "We're all playing with a short deck," the dealer said at one point in the early minutes.

"Now you're getting philosophical," we told him with tongue-in-cheek. But we admitted, "I need to grow in knowledge." And when our turn with the cards came, we explained, "I need to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ."

That reminder comes right out of the New Testament:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. - II Peter 3:18

These closing words of the apostle Peter should be taken in their entirety. For years, we attended church groups that emphasized the "knowledge" part - but on knowing scriptures, more than knowing the One who is the focus of Scripture. The two should go hand-in-hand....

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. - Colossians 1:9

Spiritual wisdom means a "sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7, KJV). We'll admit we really didn't have it in our last hand of the night.

We should have realized the flop gave our opponent an excellent chance of hitting two high pair or three of a kind. Yet instead of making the awe-striking fold like that woman did, we did our own version of "going on tilt" - hoping the longshots that bit us recently would turn around and help us.

So the knowledge of Jesus Christ is important - but so is His grace. We need it, after clearly making a bad decision to go out for a poker night instead of staying home to work on other things. But thankfully, we can do this....

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16

Do you need God's mercy for some reason - perhaps something much bigger than a poker meltdown? Ask God for it in prayer, repenting of sin if the case requires it. He's willing to listen and forgive.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 202 final tables in 549 games (36.8%) - 41 cashes.

The Hands of God: How Full Is Your House?

"A flush beats a full house!" said a truck near us the other day.

But then again, it was a truck for a plumber.

Poker players know better, of course. Full houses always top flushes and straights. But have you ever stopped to consider why?

A website we've grown to like gives the answer. In classic Five-Card Stud, you're mathematically more likely to develop a full house than a flush or straight. That's how the odds work.

But do you have a "full house" in the game of life, away from poker tables? You can look at that in a couple of ways....

How joyful are those who fear the Lord - all who follow his ways!.... Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. - Psalm 128:1, 3 (NLT)

Some people have taken this psalm (perhaps along with Psalm 127) as a promise from God's Word. But sadly, we wonder if some women have been heartbroken by it - women who have unable to conceive, despite their best efforts.

We write this from the perspective of lifelong singleness. We've thought "Ms. Right" crossed our path several times, but things simply did not work out. Yet we think believers in God can be "fruitful" in other ways....

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! - Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

When the Holy Spirit enters a believer, life can become more "full" overall. The spiritual fruit can be shared with other people in many ways.

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.... - Matthew 25:34-35 (NLT)

Care obviously must be used in letting strangers (such as people you meet on poker nights) into your home. But we've dared to do it a few times over the years with people asking for help on street corners. They may not grasp what we're doing or why, but hopefully they see a spirit-guided example in the process.

Let's open this up for your comments. What have you done to create a "full house" - in the place where you live, and the life that you live?

Poker Night 471: Bringing Your "A Game"

The sports world has given us many famous A.J.'s in recent years. A.J. Foyt was a champion race car driver. A.J. Green plays football in Cincinnati. But A.J. Hinch is hanging on as a baseball manager these days - and in poker, A-J can be both a winner and a loser. Let's see what happened at Yvie's tonight....

BLINDS: 800/1,600

IN THE POCKET: If you haven't guessed by now, Ace-Jack offsuit

We stumbled early at a table of six, but fought back to return to around our starting count of 10,000 chips. A seventh player now has joined us, and he's talking somewhat big to match his stack. We sit second in line in this hand with 8,200 chips, and choose to limp early. No one raises, to force the issue. Most of the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: K-K-A

Those letters could spell trouble for anybody. But we have top two pair and a very good kicker - so when the play checks to us, we think it's a good sign. We bet 2,000. That brings some folds, but a man and woman call.

ON THE TURN: A

Hmmm. Now we have the full house "nuts" - and we can't all have an Ace, can we?

The other players check. We have an impulse to go all-in right now, but that might make our hand too obvious. To maximize our potential gain, we bet 2,000 more.

"I have to call this," the woman says after thinking a moment. Our guess: she has the missing Ace.  Or with two spades and two clubs showing, she could be dreaming of a big flush.  The man between us calls for some reason as well.

"I'm going to put the full house on the table," the dealer jokes....

ON THE RIVER: 8

Nope, he didn't. And any chasers now are in big trouble. The two opponents check again.

"All of it," we say. We have 2,600 chips left. The insistent woman calls. The man in the middle surrenders.

"You didn't think I had an Ace," we say - and show it. The woman mucks her cards in response. Maybe she had a third King. But whatever she had, we get a windfall - including a 5,000-chip bonus for the best hand of the tournament so far.

We won another big pot to put that middle-man out - and at the one-hour break, we had an impressive 41,500 chips. But it's amazing how quickly that stack can collapse when blinds go up and promising hands miss flops. It did for us.

We held on until nine players were left, one away from the final table. Then seeing A-4 in the Big Blind, we pushed for our last 10,000. The Small Blind called with something like 6-9 -- but of course, the flop had a 6. No Aces came, and our bubble burst with a ninth-place finish.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Out drive home takes us past one of the leading "beggar's corners" in town. Tonight a man was in the intersection well after dark, holding a "HELP" sign.

"I don't want no trouble," he told us as we walked to the middle island to meet him. But he also didn't want the things we were offering: a card for a city "Homeless Outreach Team", or a small bag with food and a Christian booklet inside.

"I'll give this to my friend." The beggar pointed to one of four men along the side of the street. He considered only one of them a friend - a man who looked familiar, from helping him in the past.

"Thank you very much. God bless you," that friend said as he offered to shake our hand. Then he had a question for us: "Do you know Jesus?"

Yes, we assured him - we do. "Tell him," we said to "friend" referring to the original beggar. "I think he needs Him."

That beggar was a hardened homeless man - on the streets for five years, cursing a lot. And while he originally told us he wanted "money and food," a can of Vienna sausages in our bag didn't impress him. We see several problems in his life - but we'll only focus here on one:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. - Romans 1:21

We're probably giving the beggar the benefit of the doubt by presuming he "knew God" at some point. But when he grumbled about any effort to provide assistance, it's a reminder that unthankfulness can hurt your own reputation. Consider what happened when ten people received a medical miracle from Jesus:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus's feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" - Luke 17:15-18

Maybe the other nine didn't realize what had happened. Maybe they were too busy. Or maybe they were too hard-hearted, like that beggar in the intersection. How do you view life and the small blessings that come - like our beggar, or his friend?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 176 final tables in 471 games (37.4%) - 33 cashes.

Poker Day 439: Planting Small Seeds

"Speak softly and carry a big stick," President Theodore Roosevelt once said.  That advice can be applied to the poker room at times.  Watch how he tried it at Arrowhead Poker today....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: King of hearts - King of spades

On a holiday weekend, the turnout is small -- nine players total.  We lost a modest pot early when our pair of 9's lost to a pair of Queens.  Now we have cards even better than that -- but we're first to act pre-flop, so we take the "soft" step and call.  Sure enough, a player across from us raises to 1,200.

"Raise," we say when our turn comes again; "5,200."

This approach keeps three other big spenders in; the rest get out of the way.

ON THE FLOP: 6s-Qs-5s

We have an overpair - but even better, a big spade draw.  We know we should follow up strongly, so we offer a continuation bet of 5,000. A big bettor across from us raises to 10,000.  We call; the rest step aside.

ON THE TURN: As

Jackpot!  We clinch the nut flush, and have an opponent in a mood to gamble.  So we check.  But he checks, too.  Bummer.

ON THE RIVER: 8h (not a spade; suit may not be exact)

Since there's no pair on the board, there's no chance for a full house.  Give us the check mark - and now how about a bonus?  We bet 12,000, and our opponent shoves one of his two big stacks of chips at us. (We didn't ask for a count, to see how it is.)  We don't hesitate to go all-in, and he calls.

Then our opponent throws down.... a Jack of clubs?!?!  Seriously?!?!

"I've got the nuts," we say as we show.  Whatever else that man has, it's not winning.  We get a marvelous double-up, to about 147,000 chips.

"That Ace was the perfect card for you," another player says.  We agree - as it left the outcome practically beyond doubt in our favor.

Our pot kept building from there, as good cards came our way.  A-K of clubs eliminated one player who had A-Q, and lost a race.  Even J-9 won a race when two Jacks came on the board!  In this "bounty" tournament, we eliminated four players at $25 each - the first time we can recall ever claiming a bounty at a poker table.

We reached a chip-stack high of 440,000, and made it to heads-up action. At that point, we agreed to a settlement with our opponent.  With first place paying $90 and second place $54, we each accepted a $72 payout.

That plus four bounties plus our own "bounty chip" which we never lost meant our $60 investment wound up earning $197.  Our records show that's our second-best poker day financially ever - topped only by a Monday night in Florida in 2011. We're praising the Lord for a successful day!

MINISTRY MOMENT: On the way home from the poker room, we passed a regular spot for panhandlers - and two men were there, one with a sign declaring himself "homeless" and seeking help.

We stopped to talk with the men, and found both are staying in a shelter -- but saying things aren't going well there. One claimed he lost his medications to theft. That one also said about $200 was coming in a couple of days, so they could get a motel room for a short time while looking for work.

We admittedly were torn about how to help these men, and openly told them so.  They had a place to stay, but wanted someplace better.  They'd stayed with a friend the night before, and the temperature this night was going to stay above freezing.  So what would you do in such a case?

Against our better judgment (which was simply to walk away, concluding they really didn't need anything we could provide), we let them into our car and drove them to a nearby small motel for overnight lodging.  It was a place where we put a truly homeless man on a January weekend last year, when the temperature was much colder.

Why did we do this?  In part because....

...Freely you have received; freely give. - Matthew 10:8

God blessed us at the poker table, so it only seems right to share a blessing with others - especially people who seem much worse off than us.

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? - James 2:15-16

Without even looking for them, we encountered more than 40 beggars last year -- in part because we live in a neighborhood with homeless shelters nearby.  We realize we easily could be in their shoes, if only a few things change in our life.  So we try to provide help where we can, especially meeting needs more than handing out cash.  Do you have a different suggestion?


UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 157 final tables in 439 games (35.8%), 26 cashes. Today was our first cash in a live tournament since February 2014.

Poker Day 409: Big Risk, Big Reward

Even though it was a rainy Sunday and there was flooding down the street, we were ready to plunk down $20 for a Sunday game at Arrowhead Poker.  But lots of other people had the same idea -- and they showed up with more money.

We'd forgotten the first Sunday of the month is a "big game."  As in $50 to enter, longer blinds and a $1,000 first prize.  So we reluctantly pulled out money from an on-site ATM, and joined about 70 other players in a crowded room.

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: 3-3

We've won a few early pots, and advanced above our starting 20,000 chips.  But we've had a few setbacks as well, so we're not that far above 20,000.  Now we have this small pocket pair in the Small Blind, and decide to simply "lay low" by calling.  No one at the full table raises, and about half the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: 4-3-2

We don't need a "1" for blast-off here.  With three of a kind and a clear straight draw tempting other players, we try a "go away" bet sitting first in the order.  We bet 2,500.  That doesn't work.  A man across from us raises to 10,500.  A player to our right calls.

"I have to call," we say -- and do.  But then a man down the table who had simply called our 2,500 decides to go for it.  He pushes all in for an additional 24,500.

"Twenty-four thousand 500?!?" we ask in disbelief.  That's more than we have -- yet do we have much of a choice here?  If that man is playing 5-6 or A-5, we're clearly sunk.  But some players at this table have been making large bets with little more than speculation.

"I'm going to do it," we finally announce.  About 12,000 more is added by us.

"I have the best hand possible," the man down the table declares.  Except he shows 4-5.  So no, he doesn't.

"Three times three," we say as we show.  That's not what the two all-in players wanted to see.  One is hoping for an open-ended straight draw; the other needs a big miracle (although we forget what he had).

ON THE TURN: K

That's good.  Now one more....

ON THE RIVER: J

It's a massive payday for us, as we eliminate one player and jump up our stack to more than 60,000!

There was more drama as the afternoon unfolded.  We dropped to 28,000, went all-in with pocket Queens and outlasted A-K.  Then we won a couple more big pots.  At one point, our chip stack hit 280,000.  A speculative open-ended straight try failed at the second break, leaving us with 200,000 and two tables left.

The top nine players were paid money at this tournament -- but we didn't quite get that far.  We defended a Big Blind to stay alive at one point, but rising blinds and marginal cards proved too much.  We finally pushed again with 3-3, but other players paired 7's and 9's on the flop to eliminate us.  We missed the final table by finishing 12th.  But in a field with that many players, we felt good about our final result.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We struck up a discussion with a woman sitting to our right about faith matters.  She attends a United Methodist church, and told us about a weekly project her congregation does to feed homeless people in our city.  By doing this, the group seems to do what Jesus recommended....

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...." - Matthew 25:34-35

But as we consider this parable, we can't stop there.  The people who received the King's blessing had a response to His comment:

Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?".... The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:37, 40

Think carefully about this.  Doesn't the church group which helps the homeless every week know it's helping "the least of these" -- especially if it's read this parable first?  Wouldn't the members be able to bring up those actions at Christ's judgment seat, to make an argument for entering God's Kingdom?

Don't misunderstand -- these "good works" projects are nice to do.  But we think there's a deeper message from Jesus here.  What would you guess it is?  Offer a comment, and we'll compare notes in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 142 final tables in 409 games (34.7%) - 23 cashes.

Poker Night 392: A-One and a-Two

Because of the NLOP Senior Championship Monday night, our live poker activity for this week has been adjusted.  Wednesday night found us at Soho Bar and Grill, where a young man at our table declared poker is all about lying.  Is it?  Really?  Let's see what this hand brought....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: A-2 offsuit

"It's my big blind," the young man to our right says as the cards are dealt.  He's the man who said poker is about lying.  In this case, that's what he's doing -- because he's second in line to act.

"You're bluffing even before the cards are dealt," we say with a joking scold.

But we're in need of some good cards.  A few early entries have fallen flat, at a table where one woman already has admitted she's drunk and a man says he's had "seven beers."  Since all we're drinking is a bottle of cola, you might think we have the advantage against them.  But we realize tipsy players sometimes still can have brain power to win a hand.  So we limp in, and no one raises.  (The "Joker" to our right folds.)

ON THE FLOP: A-K-7

The top pair comes -- but we realize something else: our "kicker" card is dreadful.  The seven-beer man leads off the betting, by tossing out 300.  A man across from us calls.  We do the same, thankful that no one is going bigger.

ON THE TURN: 2

The second pair comes!  And now we want that beer-filled man to make another bet.  But after a moment, he checks.  So does the player between us.  Now it's time to move.

"Pat Robertson bet," we say; "700 Club."

That's 100 for each beer, for the man to our left.  He calls.  The man across from us thinks about it a while, then calls as well.

"I'm all in," chimes in the liar to our right.  No - he folded pre-flop.

"You're out of the hand, yet you're still bluffing," we say in pretend shock.  But enough of the comedy relief....

ON THE RIVER: 9

At this point we're privately puzzled about what the other players have.  Is someone holding an Ace, with a higher second pair?  The players ahead of us check, and we decide we've been daring enough.  We check as well.

"Acey-ducey," we say as we show our cards.  And that's good enough to win the pot!  One man shows Q-J, which means he missed a straight draw.  The man with seven beers never shows his hand.

We won an even bigger pot in the first hour with A-Q, when the beer-filled man tried to run us off a Queen on the flop with big bets despite only having King high.  That led us to the one-hour break at 12,000 chips.  Then in Hour 2, he lured us down an expensive path with K-J.  We went all-in on the turn with no pair, but were saved by a Jack on the river.

After another save when running cards came to bring us a straight, we had 7,000 chips left at the two-hour mark.  That was barely enough for a 10,000-chip Big Blind, after a "color up" of low-value chips.  And of course, our turn for that came seconds before the Tournament Director made the "final table" call.

We were forced in with K-4, and the board didn't pair.  A man with a 9 hit the flop, eliminating the beer-filled man along with us.  Despite finishing in a tie for eighth place (ninth in points), we missed the final table.

MINISTRY MOMENT: As we walked to the bar to leave a tip for our soda, we passed a man who told us, "It's all good."

"What is all good?" we asked him.

The man named John proceeded to give an inspirational testimony unlike any we've heard at local churches recently.  John says he's been homeless five months, and thought about committing suicide after losing several relatives to death in a six-month span.  But now he tries to think on the positive side.

"I wake up every day.  I have food to eat."  (He didn't say how, and we didn't ask.)  "No one took my stuff.  And every night before I go to bed, I thank the Lord for helping me through another day."

John pulled out of his rear pocket a booklet written by TV preacher Kenneth Copeland.  John says he reads it every day, and is growing to believe God more and more -- including taking time to attend church each weekend.

But one of John's motives for living sounded curious.  "I still have people I want to p**s off," he told us -- as in people who apparently wish "I wasn't around anymore."

We suggested an ever better way for John to make people upset -- to do kind acts toward them.  That's actually the Biblical approach:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. - Proverbs 25:21-22

We've heard people scoff at such an approach -- and sadly, the scoffers have included a Christian minister or two.  But Jesus stated clearly....

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.... - Matthew 5:44

Or as the apostle Paul put it later....

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

John says even though he's homeless, he doesn't ask people for money.  Yet he told us God provides his needs, and he hopes to get out of his homeless situation soon.

We promised John we'd pray for him, and we ask you to join us in that.  There's nothing better in easing the pain of a missed final table than meeting a man who looks on the bright side -- even if you might not see a reason for him to do it.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 136 final tables in 392 games (34.7%) - 20 cashes.

Shot Down the Street

It was disturbing to learn on the news tonight of a shooting at our usual Thursday night poker spot.

A man was shot in the parking lot of Lil Kim's Cove at around 12:30am Sunday. The club has Saturday poker tournament doubleheaders (at least according to its web site), but much earlier in the day -- at 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.

We've had a couple of successful poker nights at Lil Kim's, which stretched past midnight. On one occasion, a man stopped us as we hurredly walked home -- but the man claimed to be homeless and hungry. He gained a can of Vienna sausages at our door, but no more. We did this based on Matthew 25:35; he stated the food need first, so that's what we provided.

Now we're thankful Lil Kim's is starting Thursday night poker doubleheaders. You'll hopefully understand if we play only in the first one this week, at 7:00 p.m. ET.