Poker Night 581: Ducks or Swans?

A pocket pair in a poker tournament puts you at an advantage. A high pocket pair is even better. So what happens when it's not so high? Sometimes it leads to drama, such as what happened with us Wednesday night at Hollywood Casino Indiana....

BLINDS: 500/1000

IN THE POCKET: 2-2

We're at the final table, on a night when only 14 people entered. A first hour with only a couple of pots left us at 9,300 chips from a starting 12,000. But we regained some strength in Hour 2 when we went all-in with 10-10 and beat A-Q with a third 10 on the flop.

Now we're in the Small Blind, starting with 10,200 chips and eight players left. No one ahead of us raises. This "ugly duckling" of pocket pairs has us thinking about folding - but we choose to call. Four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: A-A-2

Hip, hip, hoo-A-A! We hit the full house jackpot, and see no reason to wait. We go all-in for 9,200 - since someone else may have a third Ace and be gunning for his own superior full house.

The Big Blind and another man fold, but a young man that some people think looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls. Does he have that Ace? He turns over.... K-J! We're in excellent shape.

ON THE TURN: 3

"Drawing dead," says the man sitting as Big Blind. Indeed....

ON THE RIVER: 9

The Small Blind risk has a huge payoff. We put our opponent out of the tournament in eighth place, and jump to an evening-high 24,300!

We faced another big opportunity minutes later with Q-Q. But while others around us were pushing to get home for the night, we tried to finesse things with a raise to 8,000. A monster stack called, and an Ace on the flop followed by a King on the turn led to a bet we simply couldn't call in confidence.

We hung around after that, reaching the second break at 12,400. But our hopes ran out when we pushed in Hour 3 with A-7. A caller with K-Q (we think) hit a full house, and left us drawing dead on the river. We finished in sixth place; only the top two made money.

MINISTRY MOMENT: When we pushed in that big hand, we said we had 8,200 chips. We were off by 1,000.

"Can't even get it right, and he's the Small Blind," the Big Blind said with his tongue in his cheek. "Who can you trust anymore?"

We knew the answer to that one. "I trust in God," we told him.

In fact, the license plate on our car says that. We live in one of several states that offer "In God we trust" tags. Supporters of such things argue it's the national motto. That's true - but we think we can see through their agenda. They're trying to spread a Christian message by any means necessary. In this case, it's a good one....

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? - Psalm 56:4

Back to the Big Blind's question. Where do you put your trust? In government? The Bible warns:

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. - Psalm 146:3

Oops - that also rules out everyone on Earth, alive or dead. That's because we're all doomed to die (verse 4). The only place where you can put any trust at all beyond this life is in God. As Jesus put it....

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.... And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. - John 14:1, 3

By trusting in God, we can join with Jesus in the establishment of God's perfect kingdom on Earth when He returns. Then all can declare....

O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. - Psalm 84:12

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 223 final tables in 581 games (38.4%) - 48 cashes. We also came close to a final table in a Poker Stars online tournament Monday night. We finished ninth out of 436 entries, in a six-per-table event.

A Different Sort of FOLD

In this age of text message shorthand, you may have heard of FOMO - the "fear of missing out." We'd like to create a new one for poker. It's FOLD - "fear of losing dollars."

We're inspired by an online column by poker millionaire Jonathan Little. He explained the proper mindset poker players should have. In part....

Learning to think in terms of equity (instead of dollars) is a great way to conquer the fear of losing money.... You must accept that you will win and lose pots when you play poker.

In some cases, the FOLD is logical. If you have 7-2 offsuit, that's not statistically likely to turn into a winning hand. But when you have something like J-J or 10-10, the walk becomes more unbalanced. A big bet by other players (whether they have something or not) could make you wary and lead to FOLD.

In short, poker is a game with no guarantees. If you develop a serious case of FOLD, you're not likely to do well. We need a different mindset - one that we think is downright godly:

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit. - Jeremiah 17:7-8

Trust completely in your own skills, and you set yourself up for failure. It's far better to put your trust in a God whose plan never fails.

Yes, "heat" will come - perhaps from aggressive bettors who want to test your courage. But if you accept the fact that drought sometimes will happen and stay close to God in those times, fruitful times will follow.

Some Christians are marking an example of this today. They consider it "Palm Sunday," when Jesus entered Jerusalem five days before the "Passover" festival week (John 12:1, 12). He arrived knowing He would be arrested, bloodied and killed five days later. Yet consider how Jesus faced it....

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." - Matthew 26:39

Jesus could have FOLD-ed - with the "D" here standing for His divinity. Yet He did not. In a restless moment of tense anticipation, He accepted God's will. Many of His disciples reacted differently - and Jesus was not surprised by that.

"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'".... Then everyone deserted him and fled. - Mark 14:27, 50

Jesus put His life all in - putting His confidence in a Father who could resurrect Him. Days later, it happened. His disciples didn't understand until after it happened. Whose example is better for you to follow, when things in life become uncertain? The FOLD way - or the faith way?

Poker Day 479: Final-ly

The first time we entered a poker tournament in our current city, we finished second. The first time we entered a "poker room" in our city (the ones since taken out of business), we were part of a first-place settlement. But success at Kansas Star Casino has been elusive: 11 tournaments entered, no better than two semifinal tables. But then along came Friday....

BLINDS: 1,500/3,000

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

If we're playing with blinds this high, things probably are going well - and they have all day long. We won four of the first five hands (losing to and winning with pocket Aces), and five out of seven. There was a mix of good cards and timely betting, to put us at 6,600 chips at the first break - then building farther to 36,000 at break 2, removing a few opponents along the way.

Now indeed, it's happened - we've made the final table! We arrived with 43,500. Eight players are winning money, and players are betting like they've had enough for one day. Two players on either side of us go all-in. Seeing these big cards, part of us wants to get out of the way and let them fight. But the day's gone so well and we think the opponent are so desperate, we choose to call for 21,500.

The man to our left shows J-J. Oops. The woman to our right has Q-Q. Double oops. We need something big.

ON THE FLOP: A-6-7

"Yes!" we say with happiness. Aces are high. Now if the cards will stay low....

ON THE TURN: 6

We didn't say it, but yes again....

ON THE RIVER: 5

That's the kind of day it was for us - the best possible day ever at Kansas Star. We knock out two final table foes, and advance to 69,500.

We wound up in the final four, with a big-stacked man across from us refusing to even consider a four-way chop of the money. So we kept playing - and faced another big decision when a woman to our right pushed. We went all-in in response with pocket 10's. But she had pocket Jacks. Even though 10's were good to us often during the tournament, they didn't rescue us this time.

A four-way split could have earned us more than $400. But fourth place still paid $210 - substantially more than the $50 it cost to enter. And that was fourth, out of 86 entries (some of them admittedly players re-buying) - at the place that's become the prime location for top poker in our part of the country. We were thrilled, and thankful to God for a successful breakthrough!

MINISTRY MOMENT: One man folded his hand late in the tournament by lifting his cards high above the table. We sat next to him, and could see one of his cards was the Ace of clubs.

"Now will you accept that I'm not lying?" the man asked.

We've played poker long enough to know better, so we gave a Biblical response. "To borrow from a book I read: 'Put your trust not in mortals, for in them is no help.' From a hymn, actually."

That's a line from a hymn in our church movement. And it comes from a psalm:

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. - Psalm 146:3

Poker players should know this principle better than most. After all, part of the game involves bluffing - to get your opponent to think you're weak so they raise, or to run your opponent away by pretending to be strong. But the reminder about "mortals" doesn't stop there....

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. - Psalm 146:4

Many national leaders have had dreams of great conquest - but when they die, they can't take territorial gains with them. In fact, an old church line is that hearses don't tend to have U-Hauls attached. So where should our trust be?

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them - the Lord, who remains faithful forever. - Psalm 146:5-6

The rest of the psalm describes some of the things God can do for you - benefits both physical and spiritual. Our point is that God ultimately is trustworthy. Humans are not - whether they play poker or not. So where are you putting your long-term trust?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 178 final tables in 479 games (37.2%) - 34 cashes. It's our third cash of 2016, and the first since the end of January (as the poker rooms were going out of business.)

The Drought of 2016

We live in a state that's had a weather-related drought in recent years - but certainly not this year. More than seven inches of rain have fallen on our city already in July.

But 2016 is turning into a drought year, in terms of poker opportunities. We chronicled the police shutdown of local poker rooms early in the year. Then we mentioned a tribal casino giving up poker. And now we've learned a state-sanctioned casino has stopped its poker tournaments as well - in Dodge City, of all places.

An operator at Boot Hill Casino told us Wednesday night a "Three-Card Poker" tournament (a very different game) is planned there in August. But otherwise, the poker room with its five tables apparently is only for cash games now. If that's your preference, that's fine. But we tend to do better in tournaments - and they're drying up.

On top of that, our searching found a different tribal casino in northeast Kansas has closed its poker room. So to our knowledge, there are now only three places in our state offering legitimate poker tournaments: Yvie's once a week for free, along with casinos in the Kansas City and Wichita areas.

Could it be that the "poker craze" is waning? Casino tournaments we visit still tend to be full. But some of the neighborhood poker rooms we visited before they closed could be empty places at times.

Could you cope with a lack of in-person poker? We probably could - by playing online when time permits, or even applying this principle:

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water.... It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. - Jeremiah 17:7-8

We existed well for more than 45 years, hardly playing any poker at all. And if all the doors close for playing it again, we still could thank God for the years of opportunity and occasional success.

...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. - Job 1:21b

It's easy to thank God when your poker games are going well - although ironically, some ministers say that's when we're least likely to be thankful. But when doors are sliding shut and opportunities are few, we should be thankful nonetheless for what God provides.

The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. - Isaiah 43:20-21

So if the neighborhood poker games are in a drought, or if your personal game is in a dry spell, thank God anyway. After all, showers of blessing may come when you least expect them.

Changing Times

"SUN 4P" said the sign outside Winners Cardroom, as we pulled in today around 3:53 p.m.  We walked in the door and saw "Crazy Pineapple, 4pm" on a whiteboard to the left.  A few steps later, a seven-day schedule said, "Player's Choice, 4pm."

But there was one big problem.  Today's big Sunday tournament actually began at 2:00 p.m. The final table was down to five players as we walked in.

We knew the schedule had changed - but not until we checked the poker room's Facebook page at 3:20 p.m.  Nothing had changed online, as of late Saturday night.  But we went in hopes of getting into a possible second tournament, following the first one.

"How are you?" the man behind the desk asked.

"I'm confused," we admitted. The man explained they'd decided to try something different, and he hoped enough players would stick around for a second tournament.

The big game ended with a four-way split of the money around 4:15 p.m. A second tournament was promoted on social media for 5:00 p.m., but that's a bit late for us given our current schedule. We went away, and did a little shopping on the way home.

If there's one thing which disappoints us about poker rooms in our city, it's this sort of inconsistency. We've learned to check websites on Saturday nights, if we want to play on Sunday afternoons -- but even in this case, it wasn't good enough.

Thankfully, we serve a God who's not like that most of the time:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

God made the sun and the moon (Genesis 1:16) - and with extremely rare exceptions, He's kept them on schedule.  Astronomers can tell you when the sun will set tonight, when it will rise tomorrow and when it will rise six months from tomorrow. There's an unchanging orderliness to that - something believers in evolution can't explain.

"I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." - Malachi 3:6

God's timing of things is trustworthy. But sadly, men tend not to be.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. - Psalm 118:8-9

Even the best of humans eventually will let you down. We must have faith that God will not - because otherwise, what hope do we have?

The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. - Psalm  145:13b

May you be faithful with your promises as God is with His. And if you have to make a change, please try to spread about it as early as possible. That will be better for all of us.

Mr. Know-It-All

Playing cards are a vital part of any poker game.  But sometimes for certain people, they can turn into a sort of magic show.

"Nine," someone might say before a turn card comes out -- and lo and behold, it's a 9.  We don't know how they do it.  But we know of someone who lost his job for doing it the other day.  And of all places, it happened during the World Series of Poker.

Mike Sowers tells CardPlayer.com he went all in with three 9's.  With three hearts showing on the flop, the dealer said: "Sorry man, bad beat."  Then the dealer flipped over a fourth heart on the turn, giving another player a winning flush to eliminate Sowers.

What did the dealer know?  Apparently too much -- because he reportedly admitted to not shuffling the cards.  The dealer apparently wound up fired, while Sowers received a refund of his buy-in.

One question lingers from this strange story -- why didn't the players at the table notice the dealer's actions?  Didn't anyone realize he hadn't shuffled the cards?  Perhaps there's a lesson here for all of us:

This is what the Lord says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord." - Jeremiah 17:5

We'll focus on the first part of this verse for now.  Alert poker players always watch for people not playing by the rules or taking shortcuts.  Perhaps we should even watch supposedly "neutral" dealers in poker rooms, too.

Eventually humans will let you down because, well, they're only human.  For a better answer, we recommend....

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. - Jeremiah 17:7

Thanks for Nothing?

Since today is U.S. Thanksgiving Day, we took this small "thank you" card to our live poker tournament this week -- provided to us by a bank.  We've found one sure way to make people stop in their tracks and think is to ask: "What are you thankful for this year?"

But this week, a man at one of our tables had a quick answer for that question -- an answer we never expected to hear.  "Not a G** d**n thing."

The man went on to explain his goal was to move away from our area this year.  "That prayer wasn't answered," he said.

Some people might have stopped right there and condemned the man for his words.  And they'd have good Biblical support for it....

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy....  - II Timothy 3:1-2 (KJV)

Many ministers probably have preached in recent days about how an "attitude of ingratitude" has swept over too many people -- and perhaps even over some believers in God.  Paul went on to warn people in such a condition are "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" of God (verse 7).

But in the case of the man at our poker table, we focused on his claim that God didn't answer his prayer.  Have you concluded if God doesn't give you what you want, He must not exist at all?  A dramatic example from the life of Jesus may change your thinking:

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will." - Mark 14:35-36

This occurred on the night Jesus was arrested, leading to the crucifixion less than 24 hours later.  Jesus, who was sent by God from heaven to Earth, prayed for relief from the torture.  BUT He trusted God the Father, putting the outcome of the matter in the Father's hands.  God answered the prayer, all right -- by telling His firstborn Son no.

Are you surprised by God turning down Christ's request?  Then maybe we shouldn't be surprised if our human-based requests sometimes get turned down by God as well.

You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. - James 4:2-3

Do we trust God enough to accept His answer to prayer as the right answer -- even if it's not our desired answer?

We'll get back to that man's allegedly "unanswered" prayer in our next post.  In the meantime, consider this online poker chat which developed Wednesday night after we wished the table a happy Thanksgiving eve:


uPeaKn: anyone have an extra pecan pie
Me: Don't even have one. :-(
sissysmurf won Main pot 1,315
uPeaKn: hummmmm not sure what 2 think
uPeaKn: no pecan pie no ThanksGiving
Me: Well, no.
Me: I can give thanks without it.
Me: Thank God for free poker. :-)

A lot of traditions (food and otherwise) are associated with Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.  But we've followed a contentious debate within church circles over the last couple of weeks, over whether all those things make the day "pagan" - something Christians actually should avoid.

After studying our Bible on the issue, we concluded giving thanks can include food -- and it did in Old Testament times (Leviticus 7:11-15).  But far more importantly, it should be directed toward God.  And that gets back to the aspect of prayer....

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. - Philippians 4:6

It's thanksgiving without a capital T, without a formal holiday and Presidential proclamations.  May you be thankful every day for what God provides -- even if you only finish in the money at poker tournaments a couple of times a year.

Modems and the Master

Last Sunday night we entered the National League of Poker's weekly championship.  But after the first half-hour where we lost about 20 percent of our stack, the system froze.  It apparently was the fault of NLOP's server; the game was suspended and resumed later in the evening.

We won several big pots after the resumption, climbing to more than 37,000 chips in 90 minutes.  With about 300 players remaining, we were 55th -- and money now is paid to the top 52 players in the weekly tournament.  But then our screen froze again.  We feared it was one of those stifling McAfee updates -- but after a restart of our computer, our Internet connection refused to work!

While thankfully the "automatic disqualification" rule was suspended for this tournament, the outage cost us half-an-hour of play.  We had another web freeze after returning, went all-in with 8-8 in desperation and lost to a straight.  We finished 96th out of 1,147 players -- but again wondering what might have been.

Another Internet slowdown and outage occurred for us later in the week, deep in a tournament.  Finally we called our Internet provider's tech support line, and it concluded our modem was fading out and dying.  The device lasted five years, which apparently was very good since the usual life of a modem is three to four.

But these frustrations remind us how in this life, nothing lasts forever and few things truly are reliable.  Your best-laid plans can be ruined when things break down, or people let you down.  At those points we're reminded:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. - Psalm 20:7

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. - Isaiah 31:1

You may count on a fellow poker player to act in a certain way which benefits you -- only to find he or she makes a very different decision.  You may even be looking for help and success from a candidate, in this U.S. election year.  But the more reliable place to turn is God -- as even Jesus pointed out:

I have much to say in judgment of you.  But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world. - John 8:26

Jesus was sent by God the Father 2,000 years ago -- and He'll be sent again to rescue this world from destruction, and bring eternal life to those who accept His salvation (Matthew 24:30-31).  Do you trust God to provide the greatest victory of all?