"So are any of you following the World Series?" we asked our poker table Wednesday night.
No one knew what we were talking about. "They're not playing that right now," an older woman said.
We mean poker, not baseball. That series in Las Vegas apparently has some P.R. work to do.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Poker Night #81: Am I Bothering You?
"How are you tonight?" we said to a man joining us to our right as Wednesday night poker began tonight at Lil Kim's Cove.
"Irritated," the man said. This was the same man who expressed his irritation toward us one week before (Poker Night #79) because we brought a Canadian flag to the table. We tried to tell him we brought a U.S. flag on Thursday night which he missed, but that didn't help.
The Iraq combat veteran later explained irritations had built up for him all day. In one early hand, we didn't help matters....
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: K-5 of hearts.
The night is young, the tournament director has given everyone 5,000 extra chips simply for showing up (starting stacks 10,000), so plenty of people call -- including us.
ON THE FLOP: K-9-7 (no hearts).
The action checks to us, and we bet 200 with top pair. A couple of people fold, but the irritated vet calls.
ON THE TURN: 3.
Play checks to us again, and we offer 200 more. A couple more players fold, but our veteran calls again.
ON THE RIVER: 5.
Both our cards have paired, so now we bet 600. Everyone remaining in the hand folds except the veteran, who calls once more.
"Kings and 3's," he says and shows.
"Good," we say quietly. "Kings and 5's."
The pot is ours. The veteran seems reluctant to congratulate us: "Lucked out on the river." Do you notice poker players never talk about "lucking out" on the turn?
We win the next pot as well in the same way, then turn to the veteran. "There are some nice rivers in Columbus." We sailed on rivers early, but cooled later -- yet we wound up at the final table and finished eighth on the night.
The second "color-up" break caught us at a terrible time, as we were left with three gold 5,000 chips coming to a 5,000/10,000 big blind. Facing 10-9 of clubs, we went all-in when Q-10-8 came on the flop -- but the man to our immediate right had a Queen, and it held up.
MINISTRY MOMENT: It turns out Harry (also mentioned here last Wednesday) is not yet in the hospital. He sees a doctor next Monday, then will check in for what he calls "minor" thyroid surgery.
We told Harry we had a group of people pray for him, during a Tuesday night telephone conference call Bible study. Harry seemed to really appreciate that. We'd ask you to keep praying for him as well.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 36 final tables in 81 nights (44.4%) - 8 cashes.
"Irritated," the man said. This was the same man who expressed his irritation toward us one week before (Poker Night #79) because we brought a Canadian flag to the table. We tried to tell him we brought a U.S. flag on Thursday night which he missed, but that didn't help.
The Iraq combat veteran later explained irritations had built up for him all day. In one early hand, we didn't help matters....
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: K-5 of hearts.
The night is young, the tournament director has given everyone 5,000 extra chips simply for showing up (starting stacks 10,000), so plenty of people call -- including us.
ON THE FLOP: K-9-7 (no hearts).
The action checks to us, and we bet 200 with top pair. A couple of people fold, but the irritated vet calls.
ON THE TURN: 3.
Play checks to us again, and we offer 200 more. A couple more players fold, but our veteran calls again.
ON THE RIVER: 5.
Both our cards have paired, so now we bet 600. Everyone remaining in the hand folds except the veteran, who calls once more.
"Kings and 3's," he says and shows.
"Good," we say quietly. "Kings and 5's."
The pot is ours. The veteran seems reluctant to congratulate us: "Lucked out on the river." Do you notice poker players never talk about "lucking out" on the turn?
We win the next pot as well in the same way, then turn to the veteran. "There are some nice rivers in Columbus." We sailed on rivers early, but cooled later -- yet we wound up at the final table and finished eighth on the night.
The second "color-up" break caught us at a terrible time, as we were left with three gold 5,000 chips coming to a 5,000/10,000 big blind. Facing 10-9 of clubs, we went all-in when Q-10-8 came on the flop -- but the man to our immediate right had a Queen, and it held up.
MINISTRY MOMENT: It turns out Harry (also mentioned here last Wednesday) is not yet in the hospital. He sees a doctor next Monday, then will check in for what he calls "minor" thyroid surgery.
We told Harry we had a group of people pray for him, during a Tuesday night telephone conference call Bible study. Harry seemed to really appreciate that. We'd ask you to keep praying for him as well.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 36 final tables in 81 nights (44.4%) - 8 cashes.
Monday, July 6, 2009
If it was real V (80 games)
We think our live tournament results are getting stronger because we're playing NBC Sports online tournaments on a regular basis. In fact, results are better at both -- with three final tables in our last seven at NBC Sports, and a record high 5th Sunday afternoon (out of 62 players).
(There's a Biblical principle that comes to mind here. Proverbs 27:17 talks about "iron sharpening iron" -- and while that is used in relationship to friends, it probably can work for one game improving another as well.)
This regular feature measures live match results -- and in our ten outings, we've made SEVEN final tables! Using our standard from a Kansas City area casino....
BUY-INS: 80 nights x $50 = $4,000
Four of the seven final tables resulted in top five finishes -- one of them really a tie for fifth, due to two all-in players being eliminated at once. Presuming a payoff of $500 for first, $400 for second and so on:
First -- 4 ($2,000)
Second - 4 ($1,600)
Third -- 4 ($1,200)
Fourth - 5 ($1,000)
TIES for fourth:
one two-way ($150)
one three-way ($67)
Fifth -- 5 ($500)
TIE for fifth: 1 ($50)
TOTAL -- 21 for $6,567.
The return on our pretend "buy-in investment" is now at 64.2%.
As for applying this to the NBC Sports online games -- uhhhhh, right now we're thankful we only invest points there. But we're improving.
(There's a Biblical principle that comes to mind here. Proverbs 27:17 talks about "iron sharpening iron" -- and while that is used in relationship to friends, it probably can work for one game improving another as well.)
This regular feature measures live match results -- and in our ten outings, we've made SEVEN final tables! Using our standard from a Kansas City area casino....
BUY-INS: 80 nights x $50 = $4,000
Four of the seven final tables resulted in top five finishes -- one of them really a tie for fifth, due to two all-in players being eliminated at once. Presuming a payoff of $500 for first, $400 for second and so on:
First -- 4 ($2,000)
Second - 4 ($1,600)
Third -- 4 ($1,200)
Fourth - 5 ($1,000)
TIES for fourth:
one two-way ($150)
one three-way ($67)
Fifth -- 5 ($500)
TIE for fifth: 1 ($50)
TOTAL -- 21 for $6,567.
The return on our pretend "buy-in investment" is now at 64.2%.
As for applying this to the NBC Sports online games -- uhhhhh, right now we're thankful we only invest points there. But we're improving.
Their Main Event, and ours
It's arguably the biggest week of the year in professional poker. The World Series of Poker "Main Event" is underway in Las Vegas.
Why aren't we playing in it? Two reasons:
1) The buy-in. We can't really afford to throw $10,000 in the pot right now.
2) The tournament schedule. Advance beyond the first two days of play, and you'll probably have to play on Friday night and Saturday.
Those days are holy time to us -- and more importantly, to God. "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy," God directs in the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:12). We'd be working toward winning prize money on the seventh-day Sabbath -- and verse 13 says we're to labor and work only six days of the week.
"We must obey God rather than men," the New Testament apostles said in Acts 5:29. And so that's what we do, too.
How interesting that as the WSOP Main Event occurs, a Sabbath-keeping denomination is holding its biennial conference in south Texas. Take your own playing cards, and you might have an even better time. It certainly would be more spiritually uplifting -- and perhaps less expensive at that.
By the way, we didn't know until we checked the schedule that there's a Senior World Championship as part of the WSOP (Event 43). With a Monday-Wednesday schedule and a smaller buy-in, we could have played in that one. But we're not sure we're "senior" enough to qualify yet.
Why aren't we playing in it? Two reasons:
1) The buy-in. We can't really afford to throw $10,000 in the pot right now.
2) The tournament schedule. Advance beyond the first two days of play, and you'll probably have to play on Friday night and Saturday.
Those days are holy time to us -- and more importantly, to God. "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy," God directs in the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:12). We'd be working toward winning prize money on the seventh-day Sabbath -- and verse 13 says we're to labor and work only six days of the week.
"We must obey God rather than men," the New Testament apostles said in Acts 5:29. And so that's what we do, too.
How interesting that as the WSOP Main Event occurs, a Sabbath-keeping denomination is holding its biennial conference in south Texas. Take your own playing cards, and you might have an even better time. It certainly would be more spiritually uplifting -- and perhaps less expensive at that.
By the way, we didn't know until we checked the schedule that there's a Senior World Championship as part of the WSOP (Event 43). With a Monday-Wednesday schedule and a smaller buy-in, we could have played in that one. But we're not sure we're "senior" enough to qualify yet.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Remember as you play....
"Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others." -- Psalm 52:7
A poker tournament is a bit like the board game Risk -- you know, the "game of world conquest." The objective is to build the biggest chip stack you can, and knock out opponents as you do.
But we've seen occasions when big stacks can crumble, in a matter of only a few hands. In fact, it happened to us Wednesday in an NBC Sports online tournament. We won $11,000 in chips in a single pot. But when we tried to use our big stack to eliminate another player, they made a better hand and doubled up against us.
It reached the point where we made a bold $5,000 bet with two pair on the turn -- only to be stunned by two opponents who both had Ace-high straights. We fell from $13,000-plus to zero in a hurry.
Looking back, we think we were overconfident for a moment -- the wrong moment, which cost us badly. In life, overconfidence might work for a while. But sooner or later, it's bound to bite you.
So thank God if you're wealthy -- whether in your 401(k) or at the table. Then display what Paul calls "confidence in the Lord" (II Thes. 3:4), not in your bankroll. The changes in the world's economy over the last 12 months should have taught all of us that lesson. Have you learned it -- and are you applying it?
A poker tournament is a bit like the board game Risk -- you know, the "game of world conquest." The objective is to build the biggest chip stack you can, and knock out opponents as you do.
But we've seen occasions when big stacks can crumble, in a matter of only a few hands. In fact, it happened to us Wednesday in an NBC Sports online tournament. We won $11,000 in chips in a single pot. But when we tried to use our big stack to eliminate another player, they made a better hand and doubled up against us.
It reached the point where we made a bold $5,000 bet with two pair on the turn -- only to be stunned by two opponents who both had Ace-high straights. We fell from $13,000-plus to zero in a hurry.
Looking back, we think we were overconfident for a moment -- the wrong moment, which cost us badly. In life, overconfidence might work for a while. But sooner or later, it's bound to bite you.
So thank God if you're wealthy -- whether in your 401(k) or at the table. Then display what Paul calls "confidence in the Lord" (II Thes. 3:4), not in your bankroll. The changes in the world's economy over the last 12 months should have taught all of us that lesson. Have you learned it -- and are you applying it?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Poker Night #80: The Man With a Slow Hand
People who only play poker online might go crazy at some live tournaments. The pace at times can be soooooooo slow, as some people simply seeking a good time seem more interested in talking than playing -- and admittedly some players are older, so they don't move as quickly.
At Lil Kim's Cove tonight, one man at our table pointed out to another that the first 15-minute segment of the game had only four hands played. But one of them was memorable....
BLINDS: 25/50
IN THE POCKET: We honestly don't remember -- but it was uninspiring, so we folded. Let's say 3-6 offsuit. Several players call, since the game is only a few hands old.
ON THE FLOP: 7c-Qc-Ac.
A young man "one off the button" bets 1,500. (Everyone starts with 5,000.) A man to the dealer's left, who's older and doesn't move so well, calls. Everyone else bails out. After a moment....
ON THE TURN: 7d.
The older man checks. The young man bets 1,500 again. The older man ponders it carefully for a minute, but finally calls.
ON THE RIVER: 7h.
Three sevens are on the board, but the young man is undaunted. "All in," he decides with about 5,500 chips left. The older man waits for him to add up the chips -- then calls.
"I had a flush on the flop," the young man says. He shows 10-6 of clubs.
The dealer turns over the 7 of spades. He also has 8c -- but he hit quads on the river!
"Ouch! That's gotta hurt," we say to offer some sympathy.
As they say around the table, the older man "won it all:" a big stack of chips, a 5,000-chip bonus for hitting quads and the cards for dealing. But the big winner decided to slowly sort out all those chips first, and give the rest of us a quick verbal review of the hand. Perhaps he was relishing the moment, but it must have been three minutes before he bothers to shuffle the cards for the next hand.
That man still had a big stack of chips when we met our end in 17th place, barely reaching the semifinal table. We won a couple of pots, but lost a lot in a "two pair vs. three of a kind" matchup and a "low flush vs. high flush" clash.
The ending was a tough one as well, as we called with A-2 and went all-in when 3-4-5 of spades came on the flop. But we didn't have a spade, and another man had two of them. We were beaten all the way.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Our "Jesus as your Savior" coin was popular tonight. Players on both sides of us wanted to look at it, without our bringing it up.
A man to our left agreed, "That's more valuable than any coin." In fact, he wanted us to give the coin to him -- but we only have that one, and it's become a very good witnessing tool.
A man to our right also agreed with the message. "I'm a Christian. I became saved on Easter Sunday three years ago." But he's admittedly wary of attending any local churches. "All most of them seem to be interested in is your money." An interesting comment at a poker table, isn't it?!
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 35 final tables in 80 nights (43.8%) - 8 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,164 - down $47. (We set a new record high Tuesday, at $13,243.)
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player games - 17-23-2-3-5. Cash/point tournaments - 5 final tables in 63 games (7.9%), no cashes.
We had our best finish there Tuesday afternoon, finishing 6th in a 50-player match.
At Lil Kim's Cove tonight, one man at our table pointed out to another that the first 15-minute segment of the game had only four hands played. But one of them was memorable....
BLINDS: 25/50
IN THE POCKET: We honestly don't remember -- but it was uninspiring, so we folded. Let's say 3-6 offsuit. Several players call, since the game is only a few hands old.
ON THE FLOP: 7c-Qc-Ac.
A young man "one off the button" bets 1,500. (Everyone starts with 5,000.) A man to the dealer's left, who's older and doesn't move so well, calls. Everyone else bails out. After a moment....
ON THE TURN: 7d.
The older man checks. The young man bets 1,500 again. The older man ponders it carefully for a minute, but finally calls.
ON THE RIVER: 7h.
Three sevens are on the board, but the young man is undaunted. "All in," he decides with about 5,500 chips left. The older man waits for him to add up the chips -- then calls.
"I had a flush on the flop," the young man says. He shows 10-6 of clubs.
The dealer turns over the 7 of spades. He also has 8c -- but he hit quads on the river!
"Ouch! That's gotta hurt," we say to offer some sympathy.
As they say around the table, the older man "won it all:" a big stack of chips, a 5,000-chip bonus for hitting quads and the cards for dealing. But the big winner decided to slowly sort out all those chips first, and give the rest of us a quick verbal review of the hand. Perhaps he was relishing the moment, but it must have been three minutes before he bothers to shuffle the cards for the next hand.
That man still had a big stack of chips when we met our end in 17th place, barely reaching the semifinal table. We won a couple of pots, but lost a lot in a "two pair vs. three of a kind" matchup and a "low flush vs. high flush" clash.
The ending was a tough one as well, as we called with A-2 and went all-in when 3-4-5 of spades came on the flop. But we didn't have a spade, and another man had two of them. We were beaten all the way.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Our "Jesus as your Savior" coin was popular tonight. Players on both sides of us wanted to look at it, without our bringing it up.A man to our left agreed, "That's more valuable than any coin." In fact, he wanted us to give the coin to him -- but we only have that one, and it's become a very good witnessing tool.
A man to our right also agreed with the message. "I'm a Christian. I became saved on Easter Sunday three years ago." But he's admittedly wary of attending any local churches. "All most of them seem to be interested in is your money." An interesting comment at a poker table, isn't it?!
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 35 final tables in 80 nights (43.8%) - 8 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,164 - down $47. (We set a new record high Tuesday, at $13,243.)
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player games - 17-23-2-3-5. Cash/point tournaments - 5 final tables in 63 games (7.9%), no cashes.
We had our best finish there Tuesday afternoon, finishing 6th in a 50-player match.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Poker Night #79: Yes, We CAN
"Happy Canada Day," we said throughout the day -- to our neighbor (who visited Vancouver years ago), in an online tournament (to hardly any response) and in tonight's live game at Lil Kim's Cove. We actually took a Canadian flag we bought at a church convention in Toronto in the 1990s, and waved it a little when we won pots.
"That's really irritating me," a man finally admitted. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised. He's a Fort Benning soldier and an Iraq veteran, who says Canadians never were deployed to Iraq. They were sent to Afghanistan, he said. He seemed reluctant to admit the duty there was every bit as difficult.
The soldier wound up joining us at the final table. He went out early there, while we held on to finish third -- good, but one place shy of the prize money. We survived one all-in bet with the field cut to three, but not the second one:
BLINDS: 5,000/10,000
IN THE POCKET: K-Q.
We're dealing -- and with three players to go, that means we're first up to bet. Not expecting anything better to come, we push our stack of 20,000 chips all in. The player to our left, who's become known for betting big with almost anything, calls. The player to our right raises and puts himself all-in with about 25,000 more! The man to the left calls, to potentially take us both out and win the match.
Some players at Lil Kim's Cove are reluctant to flip over their cards at a moment like this, for reasons we don't quite understand. We show first. The man to the right then shows A-A. "I'm probably about to get busted," he says with skepticism. The man to the left only has 9-8.
ON THE FLOP: 10-Q-6.
One down, one to go.
ON THE TURN: 5.
Swing and a miss.
ON THE RIVER: 8. The Aces hold up, while we don't.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We've told you recently about Harry, one of the better players we face at live tournaments. He told us tonight he'll probably go into the hospital next week for voluntary thyroid surgery.
Harry is well aware of how things can go wrong at a hospital. He says he wound up spending seven months in care last year, including one month at a hospice. We told Harry we'd pray for him. Will you join us?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 35 final tables in 79 nights (44.3%) - 8 cashes. (Seven final tables in the last nine!)
"That's really irritating me," a man finally admitted. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised. He's a Fort Benning soldier and an Iraq veteran, who says Canadians never were deployed to Iraq. They were sent to Afghanistan, he said. He seemed reluctant to admit the duty there was every bit as difficult.
The soldier wound up joining us at the final table. He went out early there, while we held on to finish third -- good, but one place shy of the prize money. We survived one all-in bet with the field cut to three, but not the second one:
BLINDS: 5,000/10,000
IN THE POCKET: K-Q.
We're dealing -- and with three players to go, that means we're first up to bet. Not expecting anything better to come, we push our stack of 20,000 chips all in. The player to our left, who's become known for betting big with almost anything, calls. The player to our right raises and puts himself all-in with about 25,000 more! The man to the left calls, to potentially take us both out and win the match.
Some players at Lil Kim's Cove are reluctant to flip over their cards at a moment like this, for reasons we don't quite understand. We show first. The man to the right then shows A-A. "I'm probably about to get busted," he says with skepticism. The man to the left only has 9-8.
ON THE FLOP: 10-Q-6.
One down, one to go.
ON THE TURN: 5.
Swing and a miss.
ON THE RIVER: 8. The Aces hold up, while we don't.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We've told you recently about Harry, one of the better players we face at live tournaments. He told us tonight he'll probably go into the hospital next week for voluntary thyroid surgery.
Harry is well aware of how things can go wrong at a hospital. He says he wound up spending seven months in care last year, including one month at a hospice. We told Harry we'd pray for him. Will you join us?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 35 final tables in 79 nights (44.3%) - 8 cashes. (Seven final tables in the last nine!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)