We drove to Benefield's Sports Bar in the Atlanta suburb of Riverdale by taking Georgia Highway 139, or Riverdale Road. Our success last Thursday earned a second visit this week. After dining on a grilled chicken dinner with soda for about $13, our $50 gift certificate gained the week before was deducted. (Nope, no cash payouts.) Could history repeat itself, making us two-for-two at Atlanta Poker Club events?
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: K-10 offsuit
We split the pot on the evening's first hand, but unsuccessful hands have dropped us to 1,700 chips. This tends to be a marginal hand for us, but we decide to try it. So do several other players.
ON THE FLOP: K-9-4
At last there's reason for optimism, with top pair. But the regular dealer is ahead of us, and he bets 200. We call.
ON THE TURN: 3 of clubs
There's no sign of a flush on the board -- yet the dealer hikes the bet to 400. We're puzzled by this, but we call again. "I'll probably regret this," we say -- yet our humility is somewhat feigned.
ON THE RIVER: 9
We have top two pair -- but the dealer looks to see how many chips we have left. "Should I do it?" he asks. Then he does, betting 1,000 to put us all-in.
We're still baffled by what our opponent has. But we remember what he said a few pots before, when another man won with an all-in bluff holding nothing but Ace high: "Sometimes you've got to buy a pot. Everybody has to." We decide that's what the dealer is doing.
"I'll do it." We call the last 1,000.
"Good call," someone to our left says.
"Wow, wow," the dealer says.
"Is that a good wow?" we ask as we show our two pair with a 10. "A bad wow? A sham-wow?"
The answer: good for him. He shows 9-4, which he played in the blinds. He had two pair on the flop, a full house on the river -- and had us beat throughout.
Take-home lesson for us: be more wary. Our opponent clearly could have hit three of a kind on the river to top us. But we believed words more than cards -- to our loss.
MINISTRY MOMENT: It didn't really happen on this night. Quiet players on either side of you can make things challenging. The closest came when a woman to our left raised before the flop.
"As my pastor at church [the United Church of God] said last weekend: you're cautiously optimistic," we said to her.
Then we checked our cards, and found something small. "But my pastor also said we've passed the point of no return" -- and we folded.
In fact, that point was his sermon title -- as he declared the U.S. has passed "The Point of No Return," and is doomed to crash. Do you agree with that view? Why or why not?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 57 final tables in 139 cashes (41.0%) - 11 cashes. We wound up one-for-two on our metro Atlanta road trip.
(We also played at Lil Kim's Cove Thursday night as usual. We'll post those results Friday.)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Poker Night 138 - on Highway 138
We didn't really plan it that way. But during a business trip to metro Atlanta, our 138th live poker tournament took place at a sports bar on Georgia Highway 138.
Benefield's is part of the Atlanta Poker Club circuit, and has free games every Tuesday and Thursday night. We walked in unannounced Thursday, and found an atmosphere similar to real poker rooms. One person is the regular dealer at every table, with the "button" being passed. And even nicer for us, smokers are instructed to puff away from the table.
But a starting stack of 1,900 chips and blinds beginning at 25/50 lend toward careful play. A soda gave us 1,500 more, but things didn't go well early. We won a small pot with 5-5 in the pocket when trips came on the flop, but we bet too much for anyone to call. Then some misses left us with 850 at the one-hour break -- yet that's when a one-dollar tip for the server changed everything.
That tip (and a signed receipt) gave us 1,500 more chips. We went all-in with 9-9 when a 9 came on the flop -- and this time two people called. A full house with 7's bumped us up to 6,000, leading to a moment of drama....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: A-7 of diamonds
We call when our turn comes. But a man sitting to our left has been betting big to steal pots. He raises to about 2,000, and we join two others players in calling.
(To be honest, we're a bit uncaring about our outcome at this point. We're on the road, and have to get back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.)
ON THE FLOP: 6d-8d-9c (not sure about the suit of the 9)
We're first up to bet, and check with a flush draw. The man to our left bets 1,000. Everyone around the table calls, and so do we.
ON THE TURN: Q (not a diamond)
We check again. The man to our left plunks down 2,000 -- and in the process puts two other players behind him all-in. It's a "truth or dare" moment, and we call again. (Recall the note in parenthesis above.)
"Flip over your cards," the female dealer says.
"Hold it!" we say to stop her -- although the all-in players already had done it. "I still have chips left." Only 500 remain in reserve, but we have some.
ON THE RIVER: 5h
We miss the nut flush, but gain a very hopeful card. The man to our left bets to put us all-in for the last 500.
"I was hoping to hit a flush," we announce, "but on the river I hit a straight."
The man to our left stares at us -- then slightly nods his head. We've got him. He had K-J of diamonds, and missed the flush as well.
"And he had an Ace kicker!" another player says in amazement. We're not going back to the hotel now -- not with our stack up to about 30,000.
The momentum grew from there on the next hand. The big bettor to our left made a raise before the flop, and we were the only player to call holding J-J. When a Jack came on the flop, we knew what to do -- and checked.
"I'm all-in," the man said after a moment.
"Call," we answered without hesitating. "Jack-Jack-Jack!"
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!" Our opponent started shaking us -- and might as well have been a melting witch in The Wizard of Oz. He had pocket Aces, and we wound up cracking them and eliminating him when a third Ace failed to show. In two hands, we sent him reeling from bully to beaten.
The stack built from there, and our top at the final table was about 84,000. The night ended with the bar's Thursday night points leader across the table from us -- but needing to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to the west coast. We settled on him receiving first-place in club points, while we received the first-place prize: a 50-dollar Benefield gift certificate! (The top three players win "bar cash.")
In the process, we picked up 249.8 points -- and jumped into the top 500 for the winter season and 16th in Benefield's Thursday night competition. All in simply one night.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A late night allowed us to show our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to several people at the table. All said they agreed with the message. "Morning, noon and night!" one man declared. Good for them.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 57 final tables in 138 nights (41.3%) - 11 cashes.
This was our first "cash" win since the northwest Florida trip in October. And we've made final tables in five of six February live tournaments -- gaining league points at eight in a row.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 3-7-3-1-0. Full tournaments - 10 final tables in 159 games (6.3%), no cashes.
We finished sixth out of 232 players in a Presidents' Day afternoon game. But online poker probably will stop for awhile, because of a busy spring-cleaning schedule.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: $15,573 - up $5,088.
Benefield's is part of the Atlanta Poker Club circuit, and has free games every Tuesday and Thursday night. We walked in unannounced Thursday, and found an atmosphere similar to real poker rooms. One person is the regular dealer at every table, with the "button" being passed. And even nicer for us, smokers are instructed to puff away from the table.
But a starting stack of 1,900 chips and blinds beginning at 25/50 lend toward careful play. A soda gave us 1,500 more, but things didn't go well early. We won a small pot with 5-5 in the pocket when trips came on the flop, but we bet too much for anyone to call. Then some misses left us with 850 at the one-hour break -- yet that's when a one-dollar tip for the server changed everything.
That tip (and a signed receipt) gave us 1,500 more chips. We went all-in with 9-9 when a 9 came on the flop -- and this time two people called. A full house with 7's bumped us up to 6,000, leading to a moment of drama....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: A-7 of diamonds
We call when our turn comes. But a man sitting to our left has been betting big to steal pots. He raises to about 2,000, and we join two others players in calling.
(To be honest, we're a bit uncaring about our outcome at this point. We're on the road, and have to get back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.)
ON THE FLOP: 6d-8d-9c (not sure about the suit of the 9)
We're first up to bet, and check with a flush draw. The man to our left bets 1,000. Everyone around the table calls, and so do we.
ON THE TURN: Q (not a diamond)
We check again. The man to our left plunks down 2,000 -- and in the process puts two other players behind him all-in. It's a "truth or dare" moment, and we call again. (Recall the note in parenthesis above.)
"Flip over your cards," the female dealer says.
"Hold it!" we say to stop her -- although the all-in players already had done it. "I still have chips left." Only 500 remain in reserve, but we have some.
ON THE RIVER: 5h
We miss the nut flush, but gain a very hopeful card. The man to our left bets to put us all-in for the last 500.
"I was hoping to hit a flush," we announce, "but on the river I hit a straight."
The man to our left stares at us -- then slightly nods his head. We've got him. He had K-J of diamonds, and missed the flush as well.
"And he had an Ace kicker!" another player says in amazement. We're not going back to the hotel now -- not with our stack up to about 30,000.
The momentum grew from there on the next hand. The big bettor to our left made a raise before the flop, and we were the only player to call holding J-J. When a Jack came on the flop, we knew what to do -- and checked.
"I'm all-in," the man said after a moment.
"Call," we answered without hesitating. "Jack-Jack-Jack!"
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!" Our opponent started shaking us -- and might as well have been a melting witch in The Wizard of Oz. He had pocket Aces, and we wound up cracking them and eliminating him when a third Ace failed to show. In two hands, we sent him reeling from bully to beaten.
The stack built from there, and our top at the final table was about 84,000. The night ended with the bar's Thursday night points leader across the table from us -- but needing to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to the west coast. We settled on him receiving first-place in club points, while we received the first-place prize: a 50-dollar Benefield gift certificate! (The top three players win "bar cash.")
In the process, we picked up 249.8 points -- and jumped into the top 500 for the winter season and 16th in Benefield's Thursday night competition. All in simply one night.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A late night allowed us to show our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to several people at the table. All said they agreed with the message. "Morning, noon and night!" one man declared. Good for them.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 57 final tables in 138 nights (41.3%) - 11 cashes.
This was our first "cash" win since the northwest Florida trip in October. And we've made final tables in five of six February live tournaments -- gaining league points at eight in a row.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 3-7-3-1-0. Full tournaments - 10 final tables in 159 games (6.3%), no cashes.
We finished sixth out of 232 players in a Presidents' Day afternoon game. But online poker probably will stop for awhile, because of a busy spring-cleaning schedule.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: $15,573 - up $5,088.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Poker Night 137: A Trip to the River
We're not sure how the last card on the board in a poker hand came to be called "the river." The Christian side of us guesses it comes from the Jordan River, which Israel finally crossed to enter the promised land (Joshua 1:2). Yet earlier today, we heard a deceased radio pastor declare people who build close to rivers are guilty of "greed and avarice." (He somehow pulled that out of James 1:13-15.)
At Club Eighty-Five tonight, we saw several cases where people may have come to the river card thinking greedily of winning a pot -- only to see someone else cross on to victory. Take this case....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 9-10
We started with 5,500 chips, but haven't won a pot yet and are down to 4,350. A player to our immediate right raises to 400. Looking for something to mount a comeback, we call. So do a couple of others.
ON THE FLOP: 9-3-9
The man who raised before is being incredibly quiet -- except to tell people to watch him, instead of waiting for him to say something. Now he simply sets his stack of 1,025 chips on the table.
"I've gotta call," we say. No one else does. We show our set of 9's. The bettor doesn't turn his cards over.
ON THE TURN: 6
"That's good," we say.
ON THE RIVER: K
That's bad. The opponent flips over K-K -- still saying nothing. The cards speak volumes, as he hits the river and more than doubles up. (Oh yes -- we weren't greedy. Simply hopeful.)
The cards eventually came our way in one hand -- as a King on the turn gave us a K-9 straight. Our all-in bet of 2,125 came through as a triple-up. We held on from there to finish ninth on the night -- and in the process, making the final table on Monday night for the sixth week in a row!
MINISTRY MOMENT: A young man we'll call Hubert grabbed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin from our seat during the evening, and gave it a close look.
"Do you believe that message? Is Jesus your Savior?" we asked.
"Yes. Absolutely," he said.
Hubert stunned the poker room with something else tonight -- he's decided to give up alcohol. During a break, he explained he reached this decision after a recent DUI arrest. "I decided it was either give up beer, or give up driving. And I can't give up driving." We think Hubert made a wise decision -- and maybe that's why he lasted at the final table longer than we did.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 56 final tables in 137 nights (40.9%) - 10 cashes.
That's four final tables in our last five nights - but it appears a busy schedule will require us to take a break from live tournaments for the next week or so.
At Club Eighty-Five tonight, we saw several cases where people may have come to the river card thinking greedily of winning a pot -- only to see someone else cross on to victory. Take this case....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 9-10
We started with 5,500 chips, but haven't won a pot yet and are down to 4,350. A player to our immediate right raises to 400. Looking for something to mount a comeback, we call. So do a couple of others.
ON THE FLOP: 9-3-9
The man who raised before is being incredibly quiet -- except to tell people to watch him, instead of waiting for him to say something. Now he simply sets his stack of 1,025 chips on the table.
"I've gotta call," we say. No one else does. We show our set of 9's. The bettor doesn't turn his cards over.
ON THE TURN: 6
"That's good," we say.
ON THE RIVER: K
That's bad. The opponent flips over K-K -- still saying nothing. The cards speak volumes, as he hits the river and more than doubles up. (Oh yes -- we weren't greedy. Simply hopeful.)
The cards eventually came our way in one hand -- as a King on the turn gave us a K-9 straight. Our all-in bet of 2,125 came through as a triple-up. We held on from there to finish ninth on the night -- and in the process, making the final table on Monday night for the sixth week in a row!
MINISTRY MOMENT: A young man we'll call Hubert grabbed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin from our seat during the evening, and gave it a close look.
"Do you believe that message? Is Jesus your Savior?" we asked.
"Yes. Absolutely," he said.
Hubert stunned the poker room with something else tonight -- he's decided to give up alcohol. During a break, he explained he reached this decision after a recent DUI arrest. "I decided it was either give up beer, or give up driving. And I can't give up driving." We think Hubert made a wise decision -- and maybe that's why he lasted at the final table longer than we did.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 56 final tables in 137 nights (40.9%) - 10 cashes.
That's four final tables in our last five nights - but it appears a busy schedule will require us to take a break from live tournaments for the next week or so.
On the Other Hand UPDATE
We're still reviewing the sermon against poker which was posted by a Seventh-Day Adventist minister. We're going through it verse by verse, as a Bible study. It's becoming clear we're going to need our own lengthy article to give a full response -- as opposed to a simple blog post.
For now, we'll start with this. Yes, the Ten Commandments say, "Thou salt not steal." (Exodus 20:15) And yes, poker players talk of "stealing pots."
Does that mean our minister wants Christians to avoid ALL sports where stealing takes place? Is he against baseball? Football (interceptions)? What about basketball -- where an Adventist college's varsity team seems to support players stealing the ball?
Much more is coming on this.... stay tuned.
For now, we'll start with this. Yes, the Ten Commandments say, "Thou salt not steal." (Exodus 20:15) And yes, poker players talk of "stealing pots."
Does that mean our minister wants Christians to avoid ALL sports where stealing takes place? Is he against baseball? Football (interceptions)? What about basketball -- where an Adventist college's varsity team seems to support players stealing the ball?
Much more is coming on this.... stay tuned.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Poker Night 136: Clash of the Titans
The local poker tournament director started a points system in early January, a la NASCAR. Using that as a measure, we're doing well. We made the points at Lil Kim's Cove tonight, giving us six nights in a row where we finished in the top ten! Trouble was, we finished tenth -- missing the final table (our standard of success) by one hand and one player.
But the hand of the night was one we merely watched. It's a case of what can happen when someone tries to be the bully of the table....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 9-2 of diamonds
A man named Lee sits to our immediate right. He went all in on the previous hand after the flop with about 12,000 chips, and the table folded to him. We think we saw him show A-3. Now Lee pushes all-in before the flop. There's no way we're pushing with this, so we fold.
"How much is it?" asks a man wearing a cowboy hat to our left. We'll call him Tex.
"12,750," Lee answers.
Tex takes his good sweet time stacking up that many chips. Then he surrounds them with his hands, stares at the cards again and finally decides to call. Everyone else bails out.
Tex shows A-J. Lee shows A-K, and takes the lead. The dealer flips the cards over with dramatic slowness.
ON THE FLOP: 2-J....
Tex is on his feet, and is understandably thrilled to see this.
....J
The table is cheering Tex on. It appears Lee pushed one time too many.
ON THE TURN: J
Three Jacks in a row gives Tex quads! The table is in an uproar, while Lee is slumped in disbelief. (Notice we would have had a full house at this point, yet would have been doomed.)
ON THE RIVER: 2
A full house is on the board. But the extra Jack gives Tex a huge pot, while kicking Lee out of the game. Tex was still playing, when we were eliminated.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed a new female player our "Jesus as your Savior" coin tonight. "Do you agree with that message?" we asked.
"Yes. Definitely."
"Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?" This is a question we admittedly haven't asked much at the table -- an "all-in" question in its own way. Happily, the woman said she had.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 55 final tables in 136 nights (40.4%) - 10 cashes.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 3-7-3-1-0. Full tournaments - 9 final tables in 153 games (5.9%), no cashes.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: $10,485 - up $123, all from pretend cash games. (No tournaments.)
But the hand of the night was one we merely watched. It's a case of what can happen when someone tries to be the bully of the table....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 9-2 of diamonds
A man named Lee sits to our immediate right. He went all in on the previous hand after the flop with about 12,000 chips, and the table folded to him. We think we saw him show A-3. Now Lee pushes all-in before the flop. There's no way we're pushing with this, so we fold.
"How much is it?" asks a man wearing a cowboy hat to our left. We'll call him Tex.
"12,750," Lee answers.
Tex takes his good sweet time stacking up that many chips. Then he surrounds them with his hands, stares at the cards again and finally decides to call. Everyone else bails out.
Tex shows A-J. Lee shows A-K, and takes the lead. The dealer flips the cards over with dramatic slowness.
ON THE FLOP: 2-J....
Tex is on his feet, and is understandably thrilled to see this.
....J
The table is cheering Tex on. It appears Lee pushed one time too many.
ON THE TURN: J
Three Jacks in a row gives Tex quads! The table is in an uproar, while Lee is slumped in disbelief. (Notice we would have had a full house at this point, yet would have been doomed.)
ON THE RIVER: 2
A full house is on the board. But the extra Jack gives Tex a huge pot, while kicking Lee out of the game. Tex was still playing, when we were eliminated.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed a new female player our "Jesus as your Savior" coin tonight. "Do you agree with that message?" we asked.
"Yes. Definitely."
"Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?" This is a question we admittedly haven't asked much at the table -- an "all-in" question in its own way. Happily, the woman said she had.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 55 final tables in 136 nights (40.4%) - 10 cashes.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 3-7-3-1-0. Full tournaments - 9 final tables in 153 games (5.9%), no cashes.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: $10,485 - up $123, all from pretend cash games. (No tournaments.)
Mind Over Money
The American Psychiatric Association is proposing gambling addiction be considered a "mental disorder." If you feel compelled to play poker cash games night after night, this could describe you.
We realize there are many opinions on this -- but for now, we think control of your poker interest is like controlling liquor. Some people are able to handle things in moderation (Philippians 4:5, KJV), while others cannot.
If you're not sure how moderate you are, this article might be able to help you.
We realize there are many opinions on this -- but for now, we think control of your poker interest is like controlling liquor. Some people are able to handle things in moderation (Philippians 4:5, KJV), while others cannot.
If you're not sure how moderate you are, this article might be able to help you.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
By Any Other Name
We told you earlier this week about the young woman at our poker table who brought the ancient Greek god of wine, Dionysus. And we quoted a warning from the true God to Moses in Exodus 23:13. "Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips."
Does this mean the woman sinned by saying.... uh.... the D-word? This is where we sometimes might not want to take the Bible 100-percent literally.
Do a concordance check for the word "Baal" and you'll find it appears in the King James Bible more than 60 times. If a minister or worship leader simply read the Bible aloud, would he violate the warning of Exodus 23?
If so, then Elijah broke that warning when he challenged a crowd: "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (I Kng. 18:21) Yet God answered Elijah's prayer later in the chapter with a victorious and certain confirmation (verse 38) -- not punishment for saying the wrong name.
If all scripture is "given by inspiration of God" (II Tim. 3:16, KJV), we're led to conclude the warning of Exodus 23 is not an absolute for us today. After all, the Bible says the Lord is supposed to be a stumbling stone (Isa. 8:13-14) -- not the names of embedded false gods, which also appear in scripture under God's inspiration.
So you don't have to scold another poker player who might bring up Baal, Zeus, Dionysus or some other false god. But that moment might open a door for you to explain the One real God -- as we tried to do.
By the way: did you know the name Dionysius appears in the Bible? We found it in Acts 17:34 -- for a man who converted to Christianity at the preaching of Paul, and may have become a bishop in the first-century church at Athens. There's nothing in the New Testament to indicate he changed his name.
Does this mean the woman sinned by saying.... uh.... the D-word? This is where we sometimes might not want to take the Bible 100-percent literally.
Do a concordance check for the word "Baal" and you'll find it appears in the King James Bible more than 60 times. If a minister or worship leader simply read the Bible aloud, would he violate the warning of Exodus 23?
If so, then Elijah broke that warning when he challenged a crowd: "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (I Kng. 18:21) Yet God answered Elijah's prayer later in the chapter with a victorious and certain confirmation (verse 38) -- not punishment for saying the wrong name.
If all scripture is "given by inspiration of God" (II Tim. 3:16, KJV), we're led to conclude the warning of Exodus 23 is not an absolute for us today. After all, the Bible says the Lord is supposed to be a stumbling stone (Isa. 8:13-14) -- not the names of embedded false gods, which also appear in scripture under God's inspiration.
So you don't have to scold another poker player who might bring up Baal, Zeus, Dionysus or some other false god. But that moment might open a door for you to explain the One real God -- as we tried to do.
By the way: did you know the name Dionysius appears in the Bible? We found it in Acts 17:34 -- for a man who converted to Christianity at the preaching of Paul, and may have become a bishop in the first-century church at Athens. There's nothing in the New Testament to indicate he changed his name.
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