Poker Night 547: Hit the Road, Jacks

"You're a very good writer," the man two seats to our left at Jack Casino said tonight. That man did something we don't recall anyone ever doing before - looking up this blog during a tournament on his smart-phone.

"You might learn all my secrets," we warned him. After all, we hadn't told any other players in our new area about this blog. This hand won't be a secret to him, either. It was all on display, and symbolic of our night....

BLINDS: 150/300

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

Things have been quiet for us so far, with few strong cards to play. But this hand potentially is different. Sitting two seats off the Big Blind, we limp in and wait for raisers. But even though this table is on the aggressive side, no one raises. About six players are in, at a table of eight.

ON THE FLOP: Jx-10x-7d (Don't recall suits of first two cards)

No pair for us, but a lot of hope - two overcards, with a draw for the top straight. The Small Blind checks, but the Big Blind offers 400. That's not too much; we'll call. Five players remain.

ON THE TURN: Qd

Now we have top pair, and a chance to make a move. Both blinds check, so we bet 1,000 - silently hoping that will run off other players who might be chasing flushes or straights. But only one man folds; three other players stick around.

ON THE RIVER: 9d

That's the last card we wanted to see! Our main concern is the three diamonds showing for a potential flush - but anyone hiding an 8 has made a straight. The Big Blind checks, and we decide we have to be firm instead of cautious.

"Thousand again," we say as we set out an orange chip. A man to our left folds. Good. A man across the table folds. Better! But Mr. Big Blind calls.

"Queens with an Ace," we say and show. The Big Blind turns over.... Jack-10! He made two pair on the flop, and refused to take our hints to run away. His firmness won him a big pot.

That's the kind of night it was for us. We won only one pot, never got above our starting stack of 15,000, and watched marginal hands we folded make it big on the flop.

We finally were forced to go all-in for 2,500 with 9-8 of diamonds. That Big Blind man from before had A-J for a big lead - but the flop was 7-8-9! The turn was a Queen, leaving us one card from a comeback. But, of course, the river was a Jack. His two pair were better, and we walked out in 19th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Inspired by a weekend sermon, we brought a small connected packet of salt and pepper for our card protector.

"I brought this to remind me," we told a man to our left, "that Jesus said I'm supposed to be the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).

The man liked that idea - and when we asked, he told us Jesus was his Savior. "I'm a Catholic," he noted.

"What's Jesus done for you lately?" we asked.

"Nothing right now," he answered. But then he entered a hand we folded, and won a big pot.

"Things went right for you there," we pointed out.

He didn't answer that. But come to think of it, maybe it's not all about God doing the right thing for you - even though He can....

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. - Proverbs 10:6

To borrow from U.S. President John Kennedy and a Spike Lee movie, maybe it's really more about you doing the right thing for God. But we have to be careful in how we do that....

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. - Proverbs 16:25

....Such as some of the hands we tried to play tonight. But if you know what you're doing is the right thing (for instance, if the Bible verifies it), you should go forward with it.

And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. - II Thessalonians 3:13

Perhaps you're stumped by exactly what it means to "do right." We posted an article several years ago with our thoughts about that, based on Bible study and our own church experience. Perhaps what we discovered can help you.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 201 final tables in 547 games (36.7%) - 41 cashes.

The End Is Near?

Our last live poker tournament included an unusual discussion about a Biblical character named Lot and his wife. We noted in a recent post how Mrs. Lot became a "pillar of salt" for violating God's instructions, and looking back toward the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We asked if you think God still can wipe out cities today for their sins, the way Genesis 19 describes. We heard some ministers indicate the answer was yes 11 years ago, when Hurricane Katrina left parts of the "sin city" of New Orleans in ruins. Yet critics might rightly ask: Where is the disaster to destroy Las Vegas - where poker rooms can be considered one of many vices?

Some Bible passages indicate God soon will tear down not only cities, but entire countries or kingdoms:

With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit.... Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her." - Revelation 18:2, 8

That prophecy indicates more fire is coming, along the lines of what Sodom received. But then there are the words of Jesus....

Or those 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? - Luke 13:4

Jesus's point seems to be that all cities are "sin cities." It may be due to poker and casinos, but it also may be due to other sins. You see, all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23). But there's a remedy for that - and Jesus goes on to explain it:

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. - Luke 13:5

God offers an escape route for us, as He did long ago for Lot. It starts with repenting of our sins, turning to Jesus as our Savior and following His example every day. That can save us from the prophesied coming destruction:

If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. - Mark 13:20

As U.S. Election Day nears, are you one of the "elect"? If you are, you can survive the tough times ahead. To borrow from an old hymn, turn away from focusing on the sinful nature of this world - and "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus."

Poker Day 488: The Measure of a Man

While you may be analyzing the moves of the players at the World Series of Poker final table, some of us have been busy trying to figure out people much closer to us. Down the table, in fact. Here's some of what happened to us Friday, when we returned to Kansas Star Casino:

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: K-Q offsuit

We were the first alternate for the tournament, but only had to wait six minutes to take a seat. Now we're at a table where one man is in an aggressive mood, with a lot of pre-flop raises. In this case, he goes up to 250. These are nice cards and it's early, so we call. We don't recall anyone else staying in.

ON THE FLOP: A-Q-3

That's.... well.... kinda nice. We have a high pair and a big kicker, but that Ace is a bigger problem. On top of that, our opponent makes a continuation bet of 300. Our hunch is that he's trying to test our courage with a bet like that. We're game; we call.

ON THE TURN: 4

Our opponent now shows (we hope) a measure of respect, by checking. Yet we're still cautious; what if he's suddenly switched to trapping? So we check along.

ON THE RIVER: 10

Our opponent checks again. We're baffled by what he has - and when in doubt, we smell a rat. We check with him.

"Pocket 6's," the man announces.

"But I have a Queen," we say as we show. Thankfully, he did not have an Ace. So we gain about 600 chips.

Yet that man's aggressive nature rubbed off on us. We dared to call pre-flop raises with promising cards, only to see them fall flat. A misplay on our part, when we bet with middle pair into a different big raiser, hurt us as well. Finally it was "push or die," and it worked a couple of times. But a do-or-die Big Blind with A-9 lost to another man's straight, and we finished 36th out of 68 players.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Is that a little packet of salt you have?" a man asked us from across the table.

"Yes. Yes, it is," we admitted as some people laughed at our card protector. But then we explained, "I bring this to remind me that Jesus wants me to be the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).

Much later as our chip stack dwindled, a man dared to bring it up again. "You're starting to look like Lot's wife over there."

We had to agree - admitting our tournament life was on the verge of being dead. But what was that other man talking about?

But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. - Genesis 19:26

If we take this part of the Bible literally, God turned this woman into salt. Why would He do that? Read the entire chapter to understand....

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished".... One of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" - Genesis 19:15, 17

Lot and his family were told to get out of Sodom, because God was destroying it due to sin (verses 13-14).

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the Lord out of the heavens. - Genesis 19:24

Lot's wife disobeyed the instruction, by looking back. As a result, God took her life as well.

This may sound like a fascinating fantasy story - but believers in the Bible say it shows how serious God is about obedience. He destroyed not only people, but entire cities who rebelled against His rule and government. Do you think God still works that way today? Leave a comment with your thoughts, and we'll return to this in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 180 final tables in 488 games (36.9%) - 35 cashes.

Poker Day 463: Sitting in the Club

"If you can get to final 3 in this one, you are probably among the best players in Wichita area."  This statement was on Facebook at midday today, inviting us to the "Sunday Showdown" at Arrowhead Poker.  The post also said:

..all complimentary, all day...Join us today as my guest and see if our little club is a place you would like to be a part of,.

Given what's happened with Wichita poker in recent weeks, we wondered if we might get to play for free today. So we went, saw the outline of state poker laws on a bulletin board near the pay window, and were told the entry fee was still $75.

"I thought I might get to play for free."

"You can," the woman behind the counter said. "But you have to stand."

"Stand up?"

"Yes, the entire time."

So yes, there was still an unofficial "chair rental." The food was the "complimentary" part. But we brought our ATM card exactly for this possibility - and succumbed to withdrawing some money and sitting at the table, since the table's height had not been raised.

But the possibility of winning had been raised, as only five players showed up for the tournament. One organizer assured us the poker attendance had not gone down, with the recent police crackdown. Perhaps the lack of Sunday afternoon football made a difference?! Whatever the reason, there still would be moments of drama....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: A-3 offsuit

The start of this five-handed game was slow for us. Our starting stack of 62,000 chips was draining slower than a leaky waterbed (trust our experience on that). Sitting in second position, we call and no one raises. As we recall, three players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 7-3-3

Three times three, a delight to see! And since we effectively have button position, others can lead right into us. The Small Blind man at mid-table bets 5,000. The Big Blind folds. We modestly call.

ON THE TURN: 2

A harmless-looking card. The Small Blind checks. We shake our head no to that, and offer our own 5,000. Our opponent ponders, then calls.

ON THE RIVER: 5

We didn't jot down the suits, but this may have put three clubs or spades on the board. The Small Blind checks again, and now we bet big - 20,000. This gives our opponent an anguishing decision.

"You're not in the blind," he says as he tries to figure out our hand.

"No. In fact, you are."

After several more seconds of puzzlement in which Mr. Small Blind wonders if we might have hit a straight or flush, he folds. We don't show a thing - unless he finds this blog.

We dealt that man a crippling blow a bit later, in a raising contest with a 3-Q-Q flop.  We went all-in for 50,000 with Q-10. He called with Q-8! That moved us to 133,000 chips. But then we lost a lot of that trying in vain to put a second player out.

Finally things looked bleak with three players left and the blinds at 10,000/20,000. We were all in twice for the Big Blind. Once with A-Q, the other players folded. The second time we had a lowly 2-9 - but a 2 came on the flop, and that turned out to be the only pair!

A comeback which can only be described as miraculous led us to the final two, earning prize money. A woman was ready to chop the money with us - and a manager noted that's technically not allowed under the newly-emphasized state law. But he decided to make one last tournament exception. The least we could have won was $100, but we wound up with $150 - double our entry fee!

We're told Arrowhead Poker will have "affordable" fees to join its "private social club," which it now advertises. No details have been finalized yet. But there might be a couple of freerolls every month. We hope so - because $75 still is a steep price to play poker in our city.

But we made money by spending money. We left thankful for whatever help God provided (probably a lot) - and with that "best players" title, which we're not really sure we deserve. 

MINISTRY MOMENT: "A packet of salt, huh?" a man in his seventies said as he reached for our card protector.

We repeated the statement we've made at other times about that - Jesus has told us we're to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). "What does everyone think of Jesus?" we asked the remaining table of four plus a dealer.

"I shouldn't do that," a man across from us replied, "but I'm going all in."

Translation: no one wanted to talk about Jesus. But we noticed practically every player cursed at one some point in the game - several times invoking the name of God in the process. The Bible clearly warns about that:

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. - Deuteronomy 5:11

We were reminded during a weekend Bible study that the ancient Jews took this verse to an opposite extreme. They were reluctant to say the name of God at all - even writing it in Hebrew shorthand as YHWH, with no vowels. Yet Jesus showed no reluctance at all....

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him.... - John 8:58-59

Why did critical Jews do this? Because Jesus invoked an ancient name for God:

God said to Moses: "I AM who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" - Exodus 3:14

Long before Popeye the cartoon sailor, God called Himself "I AM" - and Jesus did, too. Jesus thus revealed Himself to be God. If you're not comfortable with that, we suggest reading through the gospel of John from the beginning. You might be surprised by what it says about Jesus's relationship with God the Father.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 175 final tables in 463 games (37.8%) - 33 cashes.  Since Thanksgiving 2015, we have cashed in four out of six tournaments for more than $320. Thanks be to God!

Poker Day 460: Double Your Pleasure?

So if we could win money playing poker on "Christmas Eve," could we sweep the weekend and win on "Christmas Day"? We decided to find out by driving to Kansas Star Casino. It's had a "High Noon" Friday tournament all year. But in a potentially troubling sign, it's being phased out - and the poker room has moved to a place with only eight tables, instead of 13.

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-10 of diamonds

We won an early pot with pocket 6's, but haven't done much beyond that. Hopeful chances have turned into problematic folds. We've reached the first break, but with only 1,000 chips out of a starting 3,500.

A change of dealers during the break has done us a favor. We were supposed to be in the Big Blind for this hand. Instead, the button was accidentally moved twice so we're in the Small Blind. Either way, this is a pushing hand for us. When one man raises to 300, we go all in. He calls.... and shows A-Q. Uh-oh.

ON THE FLOP: K-9-3 (middle card may not be precise)

No help for anyone - and no diamonds to let us dream of a flush.

ON THE TURN: 3

The board pairs, and actually gives us some hope. If a second pair comes....

ON THE RIVER: K

It does come! Two pair + Ace kicker = split pot. Too bad the other players folded, because our gain is small - from 1,000 to 1,200. But at least we escaped to fight another hand.

And on that next hand, A-10 came again. Again we bet the bundle, and the Small Blind called.

"Second verse, same as the first?!" We borrowed from an old pop song as we showed.

Well, not quite. Our opponent turned over A-J. The board didn't pair for either of us, and he knocked us out. No sweep this weekend, as we finished 27th out of 42 players - but at least we won back $35 of our $50 buy-in playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'em.
 

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Sir, that's a very unusual card protector," a man to our right said as the first hand was dealt. We used a small salt packet.... for that very inquiry.

"I brought it to remind me," we said as we looked at cards and folded them, "that Jesus wants me to be the salt of the earth."

The man simply stared, perhaps chuckling a little. "What do you think of Jesus?" we asked him. "What does he mean to you?"

The man stared a few more seconds, said nothing, then turned back to the poker action. We can only guess what he thought of us. Perhaps he thought we'd pulled a Christianized version of "Punk'd" on him.

But the Bible really does say:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. - Matthew 5:13

We're simply trying to add some flavor to a poker table that might otherwise be drab and quiet - and we're ready to talk about the things of God at the table. On this day, that man said nothing. But the day is coming when that's going to have to change....

....That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:10-11

We get the feeling this means every tongue - without exception. And if they don't confess? Read Revelation 20 for an idea of the answer. So how do you plan to respond?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 173 final tables in 460 games (37.6%) - 31 cashes. Our next scheduled post will wrap up the final totals from our 2015 poker activity.

Poker Day 453: A Little Something Extra

As some people like to say at the table, "The price of poker has gone up."  Only we're talking about the entry fee at Arrowhead Poker -- now $35 instead of $30 for the Sunday tournament, even though the poker room website didn't say that today.

But we were able to start with 60,000 chips (62,000 with an "on-time bonus").  The challenge was holding on to them:

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: K-9 of spades

All those chips and low blind levels have allowed us to take some early chances.  Trouble is, they've all fallen short so far.  We come to this hand with about 56,000 chips, looking for something to get us going.  We're in the Big Blind, and get help when no one raises at our table of seven.  As best we recall, four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 6s-10s-Kh

Top pair seems good to it.  When the Small Blind checks, we bet 1,000. A man to our left calls. So does a man across the table. The Small Blind folds.

ON THE TURN: 8c (guessing on the suit)

If this card helped anybody, we still possess top pair.  So we turn up the heat by betting 2,000.  The man to our left clearly isn't comfortable with this, but he calls.  So does the other player.

ON THE RIVER: 3s

Uh-oh -- three spades now are showing.  We check cautiously.  The man to the left checks.  The man across the table ponders a moment, then checks as well.

"I've got nothing," the man across from us says.

"Kings," we say.

"Flush," the dealer points out.

"Oh yeah!" we say with surprise.  We admittedly overlooked the fact that we had two spades!  Our checking of the river looked like a great trap.  Too bad nobody bit -- but at least we gained several thousand chips.

We climbed back to the starting level, then scored a big gain when we called with K-K and topped a man who went all-in with Ace-high.  Another big gain with Q-Q fell short, when an all-in opponent with 10-9 hit two pair on the flop.  But we still reached the final table with about 70,000 chips.

Once there, climbing blinds took their toll.  We stayed alive with A-7, when we called a man with a matching hand. (Amazingly, the flop was 7-A-A.)  Then A-K brought us an all-in win.  But another try with K-J fell short, when a man with a 7 caught a pair on the flop and we missed.  End result: eighth place for the second tournament in a row.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "This man is using a salt packet for his car protector," a player at the final table said with a laugh.

It was our salt packet, of course.  "I brought it to remind me that Jesus said I'm supposed to be the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).

A man across the table actually was delighted to hear this. "I try to bring up Jesus at poker tables, but other people don't want to talk about Him," he said.  "They don't think it's the right place to talk about that, but I think we should talk about Jesus all the time."

Wow!  Regular readers know this sort of reaction is rare. And we think we know why....

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. - John 3:19

These words of Jesus seem as true today as they did long ago. People who don't want to embrace the "light of the world" (John 8:12) would rather not even talk about the things of God.  What they may not realize is that they can try to run from God.... but they can't hide:

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up against me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.... - Jonah 1:1-3

Jonah tried to run away from God's assignment. That led to a violent storm (1:4), Jonah being thrown off a ship (1:15), a giant fish swallowing Jonah for three days and nights (1:17), then a second command from God to go to Nineveh (3:1-2).  This time....

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.... - Jonah 3:3

Are you trying to be like Jonah -- running away from God?  Trust us: it won't work.  He's bigger than you.  He wants you to come to the light of His Son.  And the light won't hurt.  Honestly.  In fact, your life might be a lot better for it.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 167 final tables in 453 games (36.9%) - 29 cashes. A busy schedule will restrict us to online poker only for the next few weeks.

Poker Day 417: Super-Sloppy Double Dare

Maybe it was the result of our weekend tournament win online.  Maybe it was because we had an unusual Monday off from work.  Maybe it was because our final table record in Kansas for 2013 stood at exactly 50 percent, and we wanted to settle the year as a winner or loser.

Whatever the reason, "something" told us to head for River City Poker Room for midday poker today.  They have cash-prize tournaments seven days a week (except for New Year's Day, when they'll be closed).  So we offered $20, had a seat -- and found plenty of "regulars" to beat at our full table.

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: A-Q of diamonds

Pre-flop raises are happening often at this table, so it's been difficult to limp in.  But after some early erosion, we won the last pot with A-9 when we bet 1,000 on a flop with an Ace.  So we start this hand with 18,300 chips (out of a starting 21,000).  These good starting cards allow us to sneakily limp in again -- but this time, no one raises.  About half the table is in action.

ON THE FLOP: Qc-6c-2c

We have top pair and top kicker, but a potential problem.  What can we do about all those clubs?  We're in early betting position, so we try to throw a block by betting 1,000.  A couple of players fold -- but a man across the table calls.

ON THE TURN: 5c

Uh-oh.  A fourth club is the last thing we want to see.  Now we have to check -- and our opponent seizes on that by betting 2,200.  We ponder this a moment, conclude he's making a "go away" bet and somewhat reluctantly call.

ON THE RIVER: 3s

Now there's a straight threat in addition to the flush draw.  We check again, but our opponent refuses to slow down.  He bets 6,000.  After a moment of meditation.... well, OK, we felt stunned and may have been sulking.... we presume the worst and fold.

Our opponent never shows his cards, so he may have been testing our will with nothing.  But any club had us beat -- and on reflection, we should have bailed out at the turn.  Why spend 2,200 to see a river, when there's no chance to beat the hand you fear your opponent has?

On the other hand we thought our opponent might think we were serious -- checking the river, then proving he only had a low pair.  But alas, we thought wrong.

We did the same thing a few hands later, when we were dealt J-J.  A man to our left raised from 1,000 to 3,500 pre-flop, and we called it.  When three mid-range cards (7-6-6, we think) came on the flop, we went all-in for 9,000.  But the raiser called -- then showed A-A.  An Ace on the turn settled the issue, and we wound up crashing out early: 19th place our of 20 players.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Maybe the "something" which led us to the table was the short chat we had with the first eliminated player, who had sat directly to our left.  We showed him a salt packet we used for a pocket protector, and said, "Jesus wants us to be the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).

The man said nothing in response to that.  But salt can be useful in all sorts of things -- at least for awhile:

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear. - Luke 14:34

We've heard some preachers say old tired salt was used in constructing Roman roads.  We couldn't find any online sources to verify that -- so let's take "the Word" at His word here.

If you're a believer in Jesus, how "salty" are you these days?  To borrow a few first-century uses we found in a study Bible, are you adding a nice flavor to an otherwise bland and boring world?  Are you helping to preserve lives, by bringing the things of God before others?  And are you "killing weeds" by challenging ideas and actions which harm people?

Keep looking for ways to share some salt -- before God decides it's time to cast you aside.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 145 final tables in 417 games (34.8%) - 24 cashes.

We close 2013 with a losing record in Kansas, but not by much: 7 final tables in 15 games, with three cash wins (and it could have been four, but the one Sunday we played in an WPT Amateur tournament had no payouts at all). Overall: 15 final tables in 41 games with four cash wins -- a healthy 36.6%.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 284 point wins in 1,421 games (20.0%), 93 final tables, 10 wins, 13 cashes.  No-River Hold 'em - 37 point wins in 127 games (29.1%), 30 final tables, 3 wins, 4 cashes.

We end 2013 by making the points in our last 6 out of 7 No-River games!

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $86,131, up $1,631 since we moved to Kansas in April.

Mr. Know-It-Some

We'd barely walked in the door of the poker tournament when a young man came alongside us with an unusual request.  Would we go to a certain part of town and buy him some "spices"?

We sensed it was a trick question, but we didn't know exactly what he meant.  So we took the humorous route in responding.  "Like cinnamon?"

No, that wasn't quite it.  The young man then asked if we'd ever been to one particular part of town -- an area which admittedly doesn't have the best reputation.  Yes, we had been there several years ago.  "I went to church with a couple of men, who had Bible studies in their homes."

That wasn't quite the answer that man expected, either.  He moved on -- and then we asked someone sitting nearby if "spices" was a slang term for marijuana.  He said it was not, but explained the word can refer to other things people smoke.  (We found a very different use of the word online.)

So we're admittedly not up on the current drug and pseudo-drug slang.  And to be honest, we don't mind that.  It means we're following some Biblical advice....

Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.  Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. - II Corinthians 6:17

We know some Christians who refuse to go to certain locations to play poker, because they have a "bad reputation" -- for illegal drugs or other reasons.  We understand their concern.  Others say you should go "all out," and not visit poker tournaments at all.  But we think Jesus advised a more balanced approach:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.... As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. - John 17:15, 18

Jesus left a "sin-free zone" at God the Father's right hand, and came to a sin-scarred Earth to deliver us from our sins.  In a similar way, believers should go out and tell other people about what Jesus has done -- and what He can do for them.  But in the process, be careful....

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. - Matthew 10:16 (KJV)

Don't let yourself get lured or trapped into something which will cause regret (or even sin) later.  Follow Jesus's instructions to be "the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13) - not necessarily the spice.