What the World Needs Now....

Some people will recognize those words from an old popular song. The next few words are: "....is love, sweet love."

We begin writing this moments after authorities in southern California confirmed a deadly mass shooting at a bar. It seems no place is safe from violence anymore - not a synagogue, not a school, and undoubtedly not even a poker room. Stories of the Old West are filled with poker table tension.

Our last post mentioned that one way to act for God is to "walk in love." It should be obvious that walking into a poker night with a weapon, ready to take action if you don't win, is not a loving walk. So what is?

Thankfully, the Bible devotes an entire chapter to that. And it's quite detailed. For starters...

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. - I Corinthians 13:4

Each of these is a blog post in itself. And it makes a great practical checklist for examining yourself, to see how loving you really are.

Let's take the first point, for instance. Patience with the cards you're dealt is more likely to keep you in a tournament. You may have a series of 2-7 and 3-8 starter cards, but the odds are that good cards eventually will come.

Now consider this transition....

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. - Proverbs 19:11

This is patience that goes beyond a round of blinds. It means being patient with other people around you - whether it's the dealer who loves to talk about his road trips, another player who goes "into the tank" at key moments, or the server who's delayed in bringing your drink.

This is a loving patience - expressed as much by what we don't say as what we do. You might have to tell yourself to do it over and over, to get into a habit of doing it. But the result will be an approach that's in line with God. After all, God is more patient with us than you might think....

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.... - Lamentations 3:22

Think about each of the "points of love" in I Corinthians 13 carefully (the list extends for several verses). Think about how you can apply them to your next poker night. Then make a plan to do them - asking God in prayer to help you do it.

Button of Irony

While we waited for a spot to open at our most recent Texas Hold 'em poker tournament, we wandered around the casino and came to a different kind of poker: Pai Gow.

If we understand it correctly (please correct us if we're wrong), players are dealt seven cards. Then they put forward their two best in an attempt to beat the dealer - while the five remaining have their own showdown with the dealer.

But what struck us most about Pai Gow was the "ENVY" button. Players can win a bonus if someone else at the top makes quads or better.

"From what I've read, envy is a bad thing," we said to the dealer. It was a quasi-joke. because....

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. - Proverbs 14:30

No matter what kind of poker you play, envy can creep in. If someone gets on a hot streak and wins several pots in a row, you can envy his or her success and want to get your own big stack of chips. But that can be a dangerous thing. Consider....

The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. - Genesis 4:4-5

Cain brought a "fruits of the soil" offering, which he probably presumed God would like. But God didn't. We think Cain's anger grew out of envy - and it led to a warning from God:

"If you do what it right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7

Sadly, these were prophetic words - because verse 8 shows Cain eventually killed his brother in history's first recorded murder case.

So what is the right answer for fighting envy? It may sound incredibly simple - but it's the Bible's advice:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. - I Corinthians 13:4

To borrow from the U.S. political season, we should let love trump envy - and "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). I Corinthians 13 deserves a close look, when it comes to what true love is all about. May godly love show from you in whatever game you play - and leave the "envy" for somebody else's wager.

Poker Day 415: One Card Too Many?

Even though the name has changed, the first Sunday of every month remains the "Big Sunday" at River City Poker Room -- with a $50 buy-in, and a shot at a $1,000 top prize.  Still stinging over our big casino loss, we wondered if this might be a "third chance" to refill our envelope.  Tests would come early, even though blinds were lengthy and small at first:

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: Q-5 of clubs (suit may not be precise)

The tables are full, but the action at ours has been relatively tight so far.  We've tried to be active and play sensible hands, but our starting start of 20,000 has dropped by about 3,000.  Our notes don't show the suit of these cards -- but we assume they were suited, because we'd like to get in for the minimum in the Dealer position.  Except a woman in the Big Blind raises to 700.

"You realize it's only 200," we jokingly suggest.

"She wants your 200," the man in the Small Blind answers in her behalf.  Clearly.  So we call, and about half the table is in.

"Now she wants your 700," Mr. Small Blind notes.

ON THE FLOP: Q-5-3

She may want it, but this flop could make it hard to get it.  We have top two pair.  The table checks, but we don't.

"All right, then, we say - and bet 1,000.  The woman folds -- but then comes a surprise from a man across the table.  He raises all the way to 5,000.  This gives us a pause.  But we conclude he only has one pair - certainly not something like 3-3.  We call.  Everyone else steps aside.

ON THE TURN: 4

There's no flush threat showing.  But our opponent now fires again, betting 5,000 more.  Now we're concluding he has pocket Aces.  But if he does, we're still ahead.  It's a "lump in your throat" moment, but we call this big bet again.

ON THE RIVER: 2

This is absolutely the last thing we want to see.  If our opponent has an Ace, he just hit a straight -- and if he bets big again, we might face an early all-in moment of truth.

He thinks for a moment, then does something which happily surprises us.  He checks.  We check as well.

"Two pair," he says -- showing 2-4.  He made running pairs, but misses the open-ended straight draw.  We show our Q-5, and are thankful!  The lack of an Ace wins us a huge pot -- and we're well above the starting line, at 28,100 chips.

Our day went up and down that way -- a few good pot wins, a few losses.  The wins outnumbered the losses to the point that we reached a high of 52,000 chips.  But rising blinds and shrinking tables eventually did us in.  After a couple of all-in escapes, we tried again with A-10 -- but ran into Q-Q.  The board didn't save us, and we finished close to the semifinal table in 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A-K in the Big Blind brought us a "double-up" late in the tournament, which kept us around a few extra minutes.

"PTL!  I'd write if I was online right now," we said to the table.

"What does PTL mean?" the dealer asked.  We're glad she asked.

"Praise the Lord," we said.

Look through the Psalms of the Bible, and you'll find all sorts of reasons to praise God.  For instance:

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. - Psalm 16:7

Uh-oh -- we have to treat this verse with care.  God can provide counsel, if we study His Word and listen carefully to people who preach and teach it.  But what about David's heart in this case?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? - Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV)

We think Jeremiah is speaking in general terms here about the human condition.  So should David have followed the instruction of his heart?  Not always -- because at times he committed serious sinful mistakes, such as lusting after another man's wife and having that man killed to claim her as his own (II Samuel 11).

So how do you know when your heart is talking, as opposed to the counsel of God?  This can matter at poker tables, as well as other places.  Offer a comment if you'd like; we'll look at this more deeply in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 145 final tables in 415 games (34.9%) - 24 cashes.

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.

Called and Those-n

We mention below our success Sunday night in the National League of Poker Weekly Championship.  It began with a generic simple greeting we usually write in the chat box at the start of play: "Happy Sunday to all."  It led down this road....


Rembones:  not if live in Newtown !
Me:  Indeed. Praying for Newtown.
Dealer:  roadglide wins Main Pot ($2,960)
Rembones:  That won't help***

We sensed a resistance right away to anything related to God.  But in light of the bloodbath at a Newtown, Connecticut grade school, we realize some people want to talk through the issues involved.  So we continued:

Me:  What do you recommend?

Rembones:  Try our best to identify people like that BEFORE it's to late, and have mental health facilities ava

Rembones:  ilable for the mentally sick***

We have no objection to that.  And as an aside, we realize some readers of this poker blog might have a different kind of "sickness" without realizing it.  If you're addicted to gambling to the point where it's affecting your relationships and life, help is available.  But back to the table....

Me:  Sound ideas.

Me:  But in the meantime,

Me:  praying for God's comfort

Me:  on survivors can't hurt.

Rembones:  You also need to accept the FACT that you can never design the laws around the extreme exceptions in

Rembones:   society !

Me:  True. Cain killed Abel.

Me:  Long before there were guns

Me:  and bombs.

Our last post offered the thought that Satan affected Cain's thinking in Genesis 4....

But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:14-15

So Rembones's ideas seem to have a proper direction.  Until....

Rembones:  hey will ALL be ***ll of dog *** !

Dealer:  roadglide wins Main Pot ($17,920) with Flush, ace high

Me:  Part of that was

Me:  censored.

Me:  But judgment is coming

Me:  for all of us.

Rembones:  Oh boy, we have one of THOSE people at the table !

Yes, a believer's words can give himself away.  But come to think of it, that will be part of the basis for God's ultimate judgment:

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. - Matthew 12:36-37

Jesus said these words, which should make us all think about ours.  What are you saying?  What are you writing online, for that matter?  Are they words of good, or of evil (verse 35)?

Clearly Rembones didn't think too "good" (pardon our English) of us, or "those people"....

Me:  Those? :-)

Rembones:  The goof***ball bible beaters !!  What a goof !!

Me:  I don't beat it.

Me:  I simply believe it.

Rembones:  Like I said***........ GOOF !...

Admittedly, some fired-up preachers do pound on the Bible to make their points.  For best results, we recommend opening the Bible.  Read what it says.  Then live by what it tells you to do.

Then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word.... Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. - Psalm 119:42, 105

We were facing a bit of taunting at this moment for our beliefs.  But instead of responding with more name-calling, we wrote this....

Me:  So what is your hope

Me:  beyond this life?

Rembones:  We DON'T need any of the goofy superstitions, just common sense !

That didn't really answer our question.  Here's the answer we find in Scripture:

....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

Me:  What's your common sense

Me:  explanation of what's

Me:  beyond this life?

After asking the question again, Rembones may have had enough of us.  He went all-in with K-A, as mentioned in the earlier post.  We had pocket Queens, and eliminated him from the tournament.

Dealer:  flopblogger wins Main Pot ($18,740) with One pair, queens

Me:  Do think it over, friend.

We encourage you to do the same thing.  If God's promise of eternal life is "superstition" or somehow not good enough for you, what's your alternative?  Is it really better?

Rembones left the table with no further comment.  But another player observing all this brought the discussion to a close:

petebiz:  I guess we will never know

Me:  Maybe not in this life. :-/

Poker Night 372: Life on the Edge

Sometimes good poker advice comes from very unexpected places.  We try to keep in mind a warning given by veteran pastor Chuck Swindall, during one of his daily broadcasts on Christian radio.  Watch how we applied it Monday night at The Red Barn....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

This hand immediately follows one where we played K-2 in the Small Blind, saw a second King land on the flop, then caught a third on the river.  "We three Kings" captured a huge pot.  We're not sure exactly how many chips we have, because we're dealing now and haven't added them up from the last hand.  But we're guessing the total is around 20,000 (helped by a 10,000-chip bonus given simply for showing up).

We'd be glad to raise at this table of seven with this high pocket pair.  But a man to our immediate right does it first.  He raises to 350.  We choose to "tag along" and call.  But a man across from us raises 250 more.  The man at our right then elects to go all-in!  He has 5,950 extra to offer.  We can't resist calling him.

While his chips are being counted, a man at our left decides it's time to start debriefing us.  "You want to see that flop, don't you?"

"Welllllll," we say in a Bugs Bunny cartoon voice, "could be."

The man opposite us then calls the all-in bet as well.

"Would you have called, if he had gone all-in there?" the man at our left asks.

This question seems out of line for this moment.  "We're still playing the hand," we answer - then borrow words from former President George H.W. Bush.  "I won't respond to hypotheticals."

Besides, why say anything which might give away our intentions when another active player can hear it?  In any case, we smell a potential big haul for us here....

ON THE FLOP: 6-J-A

....until we deal the last thing we want to see: an Ace.  The man across from us reaches into his much larger chip stack and bets 20,000.  This would put us all-in.

"That settles it.  I fold."  We toss away our Kings, certain that we're topped.

Sure enough: the man across from us turns over not one Ace, but two.  His three of a kind tops the other player's 10-10 as well.  The remaining two cards don't change the outcome.  The "triple-A" prevail, and the low pocket pair is knocked out.

"Good fold," the man at our left says.  It's thanks to that Chuck Swindoll tip - you're most vulnerable right after you score a major triumph or victory.  You risk becoming overconfident, and having everything crumble around you.

(Homework assignment: Swindall offered Biblical evidence to support his point.  Can you find a case in the Bible which might illustrate it?  Offer a comment, and we'll offer our answer in a future post.)

That big decision kept us in the tournament through the first hour.  Then an all-in bet in the second hour with A-9 and an Ace on the flop improved us to 39,000 chips.  The total was 35,000 at the two-hour break.  Then with ten players remaining, we were dealt A-A.  We naturally went all-in for 20,000.  The flop brought a harmless-looking J-5-7.  Another 7 came on the river.

"I made trips!" declared a player who had called us.  Ouch!!  He had a third 7, and our Aces had crashed.  But for one card, we might have made the final table -- but instead we finished in tenth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A couple of players were willing to talk about the grade school killings in Newtown, Connecticut.  One young man admitted he couldn't help crying at the news of young children being gunned down.

"This is not God's world," we told him.  "Not right now."

"Yet so many people want to give Him the blame," the young man said, "when God gave people the freedom of choice, and they made a bad choice."

He describes the dilemma fairly well.  Moses put it this way in his farewell address, before Israel entered the promised land:

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.... - Deuteronomy 30:19

Sadly, humans have chosen the way of death too often -- and it started long before there was a Newtown.

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field."  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. - Genesis 4:8

Where did Cain get such a murderous idea?  We think he was influenced by a fallen angel, who seemed to hang around the Garden of Eden one chapter earlier....

You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil.  He rules the world, and his spirit has power over  everyone who doesn't obey God. - Ephesians 2:2 (CEV)

It might seem hard to believe, but the Bible says Satan is in charge of this world -- at least for now.  The good news is that Jesus Christ will come back someday, overthrow Satan and make Earth a peaceful and happy place again.  If you're wondering how that might happen, this article may help you understand.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 129 final tables in 372 nights (34.7%) - 20 cashes.

The Safest Play

When we had a very successful night last October at a poker room in the Florida panhandle, one thing admittedly concerned us.  When we walked to our car with a full wallet around 12:00 midnight, we saw absolutely no security guards in the parking lot - and no law officers were in sight, either.

Admittedly the Ebro poker room is in a rural area, a 20-minute drive from Panama City Beach.  And it was a Monday night, when the crowd probably is smaller compared with weekends.  But we presumed a place where cash money changes hands (sometimes in large amounts) would have someone watching over the customers.

This came back to our mind in the wake of a crime story in our area.  A customer leaving The Red Barn in Phenix City, Alabama was shot and killed early Saturday morning.  The Red Barn is a small bar where we've played free poker often over the years -- but Friday night is NOT a poker night there.

The victim apparently parked across the street, next to a car dealership.  We can understand why, because that area is lit at night.  The Red Barn's gravel parking lot behind the business has no lighting at all.  That's been a concern for us as well -- because anyone might be lurking between cars or in the vegetation late at night.

Dangerous moments can occur anywhere, of course.  At the mall, in your workplace -- and even in your own living room (as in home invasions).

It would be easy and self-promoting to say Christians have angelic protection in dangerous places.  We certainly pray for that, as did believers long ago....

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. - Psalm 5:11-12

We've actually seen evidence of God's protection from time to time.  But to be honest, it doesn't always happen.  Consider the number of cases in recent years where worshipers were gunned down during church services,  For us to conclude the victims somehow "had it coming" would be a foolish rush to judgment -- and ultimately, only Jesus Christ will judge us all perfectly.

We think one key to self-protection is having a "safety first" mentality....

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. - Proverbs 28:26

Be wise not only while you play poker, but as you walk in and out.  Look around for potential trouble-makers.  And if you have a lot of money, don't be a show-off about it.  One TV report indicated the shooting victim did exactly that inside The Red Barn.  Instead....

He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8 (emphasis added)

If you want to be a big spender, that's up to you.  But don't be too big in how you do it, making yourself a potential target.

Playing for Keepers

The other night we asked a poker player if he was "his brother's keeper" -- and he said no. In the competitive nature of a poker game, that may be true. But what about the rest of life?

Did you recognize where that phrase originated? It's very early in 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 Lord God might as well have asked Cain if he'd hit a flush on the river. Cain's answer was nothing short of a dodge -- since in the preceding verse, "Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him." Verses 10-12 indicate the Lord knew the right answer, and punished Cain for his sin.

But what about Cain's (and our) classic question? We think the clearest answer is found in the New Testament....

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:1-2

From what we can tell, of course, Abel wasn't sinning when he was killed. But if you're caring about "brothers" in a tough situation, why wouldn't you care about them when times are good?

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25

If you're not sure what a "brother" really is, check the Bible study we prepared on that several years ago. Then don't be afraid to care for brothers -- no matter where they are, or what their condition.

Poker Night 152: If Looks Could Kill

"I'll tell you right now, you scare me." So said a young man as he sat down next to us tonight, at a semifinal table at Lil Kim's Cove. Trouble was, he was not talking about our poker prowess.

"You look a little like a serial killer," the young man continued. He even mentioned the BTK serial murderer in our home state of Kansas. After looking at Dennis Rader's picture, maybe it's time for a full shave.

"You have a facade," the young man explained. "You look sneaky. Now that can be a good thing. You can be sneaky good."

The man said this as we shuffled and dealt cards -- with a WWJD wristband on full display, as in "What Would Jesus Do?" But come to think of it, "sneaky good" can work to your advantage at a poker table. It did for us....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: K-6 of clubs

The tournament is only a few hands old. We join most of the table in calling, hoping for something big.

ON THE FLOP: Qc-9c-8c

Aha -- something big! We're a flush-flopper! But we're first in line to act, and we want to maximize our potential gains. So we bet 200. Four other players call.

ON THE TURN: 5s

Now it's time to turn up the heat. We bet 1,200.

"Straight?" a man across the table asks as the other opponents keep calling. We say nothing and only look at him. So he keeps talking. "You see, I've got the Ace of clubs...." But then he stops. "But you know, I'm not going to chase it." He folds.

ON THE RIVER: 5h

A pair on the board is potential trouble, because someone might have hit a full house. But we still bet 2,000. That scares two players away. A woman across from us calls, admitting she might regret it. Sure enough -- she does. Our flush had it all along.

We were dealt several potentially big hands tonight. But several of them fell through, and big bets by others ran us away from potential winners. An all-in bet with 7-7 after the one-hour break helped us recover and survive to the semifinal table. But then 7-7 came again -- and our push was topped by someone who made a pair of Kings on the flop.

Our final outcome was 11th place. But we're admittedly feeling mixed emotions as we write this. The young man who compared us to serial killers later admitted he was "jiving" -- saying almost anything that came to his mind, to liven up the table and avoid dead poker silence. Yet after nearly three years of poker nights and almost two years of focused poker ministry, this is the last sort of reaction we'd expect from someone. We'll meditate more on this in a future post.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Before we met that young man, a conversation started at the table over a "card protector" we hadn't used in awhile -- a card promoting a church in Tennessee, which we found at a motel.

"I once saw a card with something like that," a woman said. "It said, 'Get out of hell free." She added that one had "John 3:16" on the back of it.

That's one of the most famous verses in the Bible, but we shouldn't assume you know what it says. Jesus declares there: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

If you think we're material for a serial killer, remember one thing -- we're all under a death penalty. "Adam brought death to all of us," says I Corinthians 15:22 in the Contemporary English Version. That's due to Adam's sin (Genesis 3:17-19).

But thankfully, the verse doesn't end there. It continues, "....and Christ will bring life to all of us." That's the eternal life Jesus mentioned.

"And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life," promised I John 5:12. A warning then follows: "But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life." If you're not sure about whether you have it, leave a comment -- we'll be glad to help settle the matter for you.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 60 final tables in 152 nights (39.5%) - 11 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 29 point wins in 193 games (15.0%), 11 final tables, no cashes.

There's a chance we could qualify for NLOP's Sunday night $1000 weekly championship, so we're trying heads-up games there to increase our point count. So far we're one-for-one.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $14,803, down $110.