Remember As You Play....

The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.... The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, "Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more." The master was full of praise. "Well done, my good and faithful. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, s now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!" - Matthew 25:16, 20-21 (NLT)

In many poker tournaments, everyone starts with the same number of chips.  You could be thankful simply to be in the tournament, and have that many chips.  Or you could try to gain more chips, in an attempt to win the tournament.

Which way is the more logical approach for a poker player?  It's clearly the attempt to add to your stack.  And believe it or not, that's the approach Jesus endorses in the parable we've quoted.

We never thought of a poker connection to the "parable of the talents" until we heard a well-known preacher on Christian radio mention the story this week.  He put it this way: we can be satisfied and thankful for the blessings God has given us -- and in reality, we should be grateful.  But God expects more from us than that.  He wants growth in those talents -- looking for the blessings to increase.

Another servant in Jesus's parable chose to settle for the talents he was given. He buried them in the ground (verse 18).  How did the master respond to that approach?

But the master replied, "You wicked and lazy servant!... Why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it... Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." - Matthew 25:26-30 (NLT)

 

Time moves along.  The blinds go up.  Inflation (maybe antes) happens.

 

To paraphrase that radio preacher: it's nice to have $10,000 now - but you don't want to look several years from now, and find you still only have that base $10,000.

 

So with apologies to the people who see Jesus Christ as a quasi-socialist, "give it all away" preacher, the Lord shows here growth can be a good thing.  God plans to reward it in His kingdom, once Jesus returns to Earth.

For the Son of man is coming in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward everyone for what he has done. - Matthew 16:27 (Moffatt)

 

Do you play poker defensively - perhaps "playing not to lose"?  Or do you play to advance, grow and hopefully win?  God doesn't object to the growth method - as long as you don't cross a line into being greedy.

 

 

 

Poker Night 397: No Respect at All

The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield had a famous line: "I don't get no respect."  In poker, respect has to be earned -- either by becoming a tournament-winning pro, or by doing well on a local circuit.

At Lil Kim's Cove tonight, one man muttered his bet on the flop of 500 received no respect when several people called it.  But could our reputation at the table turn into a big win, when it mattered?

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: Ace of clubs - King of spades

We've been playing a bit on the loose side, which has brought ups and downs in our chip stack.  But we won a pot prior to this with modest pressure bets from start to finish.  Now we've dealt ourselves "big slick," but no one has raised at the table.  We decide to lay low and simply call.  The blinds don't raise.

ON THE FLOP: 6s-8s-2c

So much for having big cards.  They're in the lead only if no one has a pair - and a player across from us bets 300 as if he does.  We choose to hang tough for at least one card, and call.  One other player does as well.

ON THE TURN: 5s

Not big, but still helpful.  We now have a flush draw, and get help when the bettor cautiously checks.  The entire table checks.

ON THE RIVER: 7d (suit may not be precise, but not a spade)

We missed it all -- but the table checks again.  So we try to use "the button" of the dealer playing last to our advantage.  We bet 800, hoping to run off the competition.  It's what we call a "semi-bluff," because we do have high card -- but we're hinting at much more.

"I have to call," the man across from us says.  Uh-oh.  The third player folds.

"I have the 9," he then reveals.  Ouch.  We were so focused on a possible flush that we missed the possible straight on the board.

"You caught me," we admit as we show our cards.  Our stab at the pot leaves us with a big loss.

But the good news is that we recovered from that loss, with some timely cards.  With 5,600 chips after the one-hour break, A-Q brought us a couple of big gains -- first to 10,000, then 15,000.  We held on from there to make the final table, as the two-hour break came.

The fun didn't stop there, as we went all-in with A-Q again at the start of the final table and found a Queen on the flop.  That improved us to 50,000, while other players pushed and failed.  With four players left, everyone agreed to a settlement: a 20-10-10-10 split of the $50 prize money.  The chip leader received $20; we were a weak third at the time.

With play continuing for a "bucket of beers" (the usual second-place prize), another player pushed and failed.  That left three players, and we made a gain after that with pocket Aces.  A few hands later, a second and final settlement was made when the chip leader decided he didn't want Big Dog Poker points.  The man to our right claimed first in points, giving us second.

That chip leader has agreed to buy us a couple of sodas on our next Lil Kim's poker night, since we don't drink beer.  That along with a $10 win made our night successful.  It's our first local cash win since a six-way settlement there in mid-November!

MINISTRY MOMENT: A man to our left dealt with aching teeth during the game.  And for some reason, he started talking about other medical problems.

"If I get tapeworm, can I resist it in the name of Jesus?"

"Jesus can heal all our illnesses," we told him as the next hand was dealt.

He agreed with that, then added, "Can he heal my.... call."  His chips for the next hand were tossed in, as he spoke.

"Many are called," we suggested, "but few are chosen."

"I know," the man responded.  "I've read that."

Perhaps you have not.  They're the words of Jesus:

For many are called, but few are chosen. - Matthew 22:14 (KJV)

What does Jesus mean by this famous phrase?  It comes at the end of a parable about a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.  Several people were invited, but....

But they paid no attention and went off -- one to his field, another to his business.  The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. - Matthew 22:5-6 (NIV)

The following verses tell about the king sending out a marauding army, which took vengeance with murder and arson.  Then the king tries again, inviting anyone interested on the street -- but one person is found at the banquet without proper clothing, and is thrown out of the hall (verses 7-13).

So what do you make of this puzzle?  What's the ultimate point of Jesus in this parable -- especially that well-known verse 14?  Offer a comment with your thoughts, and we'll compare ideas in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 137 final tables in 397 nights (34.5%) - 21 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 283 point wins in 1,394 games (20.3%), 92 final tables, 10 wins, 12 cashes.  No-River Hold 'em - 30 point wins in 113 games (26.5%), 25 final tables, 1 win, 2 cashes.

We actually made two final tables today.  An online No-River Hold 'em game during the afternoon brought us fourth place out of 78 players - but sadly, only first place received prize money.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $85,787, up $138.