Poker Day 429: Bama Jammed

What does an occasional poker player do on his vacation?  He plays a little poker, of course - so this afternoon found us at Winners Cardroom.

That place now has a Sunday freeroll for $500.  But it starts at 4:00 p.m., and our all-night work schedule has made us hesitant for us to play since we didn't know how long the tournament would last.  Vacation week means no work concern, no money to play -- so would everything else go right for us?

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: A-J of spades

We scored an early big gain with pocket Aces, when a third Ace landed on the turn.  Then we gave a big chunk of it back.  It's been that kind of up-and-down day.  Now we've just been knocked down again, with 8,500 chips out of a starting 10,000.

The man sitting to our right is wearing a University of Alabama cap, reminding us of where we used to live.  He raises to 1,000, and gives us a challenge.

"I'm probably asking for it," we say, "but I'll call."  A couple of other players at the table of 8 call as well.

ON THE FLOP: 6-4-8 (third card may not be precise, but it didn't pair)

Was anyone really looking for that flop?  Apparently not, because the table checks.  We check as well, with no flush draw.

ON THE TURN: 3

Is there a jackpot card now?  Perhaps not, because the table checks again.  Suddenly we wonder about the value of our Ace.

ON THE RIVER: J

Too bad - our Ace missed.  The man who raised pre-flop finally takes a plunge, tossing in 5,000.  Only at that moment do we realize something - we still have a Jack!  We have top pair and top kicker!  And even though we only have 7,500 left, we have to give it a try.  We call; the other players fold.

"I hit the river," we admit.

"With an Ace?!?" Our opponent sees our cards, barely flips over his (we think he had Q-J) - and he leaves.  Only then do we realize something else: he was all-in.  He never said so.  But our kicker card kicks that Alabama fan packing like a last-second kick return by Auburn - and we regain to nearly 20,000 chips.

We reached the second hour of play with 18,000 chips.  Then a few minutes into hour 2, we saw J-J with 14,000 chips and pushed.  That pair had brought us one of those big gains earlier.  But this time a man called and showed K-K.  The board didn't come to our rescue, and our not-so-big pair sent us to the rail.  We finished in about 90 minutes, in 30th place on a day with four-plus tables.

MINISTRY MOMENT: For the first time since moving to our new home, we pulled out the "Lord's Supper" card protector with a depiction of Jesus on the flip side.

"What do you think of Jesus?" we asked a man to our left.  "Is he your Savior and Lord?"

The man gave a very indirect answer.  "I haven't been to church in a couple of years.  My mom keeps trying to get me to go."

We think Mom is on the right track - because that's what the early New Testament church did:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.... All the believers were together and had everything in common... Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. - Acts 2:42, 44, 46

We heard a church message this weekend along those lines.  The theme was community -- people joined together by a common interest and belief.  But we think you have to be careful about which church community you join.

"It's important," we told the man, "to attend a church which really preaches the word of God."

The man agreed: "It's not about a man, but about the word of God."  But how will you know if a man is really preaching Bible truth?

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. - Acts 17:11

The people in Berea double-checked what the apostle Paul preached, against the Old Testament Scriptures they had -- and scrolls of the Old Testament were valuable items in those days.  In our day, you can read the Bible online or on a smartphone.

However you do it, it's important that you do it.  Make sure church pastors, radio preachers and even poker bloggers are accurately presenting truth from the Bible.  If they are, be thankful and learn from them.  If not.... well, if we're off-base in something, please let us know.  We don't claim to know everything about the Bible, much less victorious poker.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 151 final tables in 429 games (35.2%) - 25 cashes.

Playing Loose

"Is He my Savior?!?" a man asked aloud at our last poker outing.  We'd asked the player to our right about Jesus, of course.  But as he pondered how to answer, he realized something.

"I left my keys in my truck," he said after patting his pockets a couple of times.  That's potential trouble - that actually might it more imperative to win the tournament.  If he locked himself out, he'd need to pay for a locksmith to come to his rescue.

After talking and thinking about his situation for a few minutes, the man left the table for a moment.  He came back with good news.

"It wasn't locked!" he told the table.  Then he looked toward heaven, raised his hands a little and gave thanks.

"Praise the Lord," we said in agreement.  Leaving his keys in an unlocked truck invited something potentially more expensive -- auto theft.

That man topped us a few times at the table during the tournament.  But that's OK.  What happened with his keys is a lesson for all of us.

Indeed, we all make many mistakes.... - James 3:2 (NLT)

If there's ever been a poker tournament in which a player won every single hand, we haven't heard of it.  Bad reads and judgment can happen -- and sometimes the 3-4 you fold pre-flop can become quads by the river.

We all make mistakes in our lives as well -- and some of them can go against God's laws which have been in effect for thousands of years.  Breaking them is called sin.  But thankfully, God provides a way so you're not locked out from Him forever.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ did for us. - Romans 5:8

Jesus Christ came to be our Savior - saving us from the ultimate death penalty for our sins.  We can be loosened from that by repenting of our sins before God.

O Lord, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains. - Psalm 116:16 (NLT)

Are you free -- loosened from chains of guilt over sin?  It's possible.  If you need help with it, leave us a comment; we'll be glad to offer support.

(P.S.  Our conversation with that man at the poker table isn't over yet.  There's more coming in a future post.)

Poker Day 428: Nice While It Lasted

The local poker rooms must be doing well these days.  The monthly Sunday special at Arrowhead Poker (which apparently has taken back its old name, after being River City Poker Room for awhile) had a $1,000 guaranteed prize pool today.  That guaranteed some serious action at times....

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

We won a couple of early pots, then lost a bundle when a straight we hit on the river ran into someone else's flush.  From a starting stack of 50,000, we're down to about 26,500.

Now we have the Dealer button at a table of seven, and a man two seats ahead of us raises all the way to 12,000.  We look at these strong starting cards and face a big decision.  If we call this big bet, we might as well be committed to going all-in with them.  So we call in hope -- only to find the lead player, a late arrival to the table, raising all-in for more than 40,000!

Other players are folding, but the man who raised ahead of us decides to call.  Realizing we dared to step into a deep swamp in the first place, we can't really fold now.  The cards simply are too strong.  So we call for our last 14,500.

The players who folded talk about their hands as the dealer sorts out the pots.  We hear at least one (maybe two) talk about having Queens.  That's potential trouble.  Then comes turnover time.  The raiser two seats ahead of us has 9-9.  The all-in man across the table shows K-J suited.  The race is on....

ON THE FLOP: Q-2-8

"There's a Queen," we declare - as if no one else at the table knows.  We seize the lead, and clap our hands a few times.

ON THE TURN: K

That's a King -- and more big trouble.  The man across the table now leads, and we need an Ace or a third Queen to stay alive.

ON THE RIVER: K

Running Kings give the third-place man a win at the wire -- and he takes two players out in the process.

"I'm surprised he pushed with that," another man at the table says.  It truly was daring -- but it worked.  Come to think, maybe we should have pushed earlier.  An all-in bet before the K-J player's turn might have pulled him off, to our benefit.  But what's done is done -- and we're "done," tied for 21st place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We somehow misplaced the "card protector" we put in our pocket for this game. So we reached into the car, and pulled out a small towelette packet from a restaurant.

"I brought this to remind me," we told a man who asked about it, "that I should stay clean and pure -- just as Jesus did."

"That reminds you of that?!?!" The man apparently thought we were bluffing.  But any little thing can be a good reminder of walking a Christian walk....

....And do not share in the sins of others.  Keep yourself pure. - I Timothy 5:22b

Perhaps you're as skeptical as that man next to us at the table.  What do purity and poker-playing have in common?  They can have a lot -- for instance, if you don't curse or drink alcohol to excess.  The main poker rooms where we play these days have no alcohol.  On the other hand, the WPT Amateur League location where we started in our current city was a bar -- and it's apparently now out of business.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to a idol or swear by what is false.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. - Psalm 24:4-5

That blessing may not always be financial, as in a final table.  Believers should look for the ultimate blessing - eternal life, ruling with Jesus Christ.

So where did our discussion go from here?  It turns out a surprising blessing came minutes later.  We'll get to that in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 151 final tables in 428 games (35.3%) - 25 cashes.  After starting 2014 five-for-five in reaching final tables, we've only reached one of the last six.

Remember As You Play....

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. - Proverbs 27:12

When you have 4-4 and the flop brings a third 4, that feels good.  But what if that 4 is a heart, and another heart is next to it?

Simply offering a small "come on in" bet could be asking for danger.  Many players with flush draws are likely to wager a little, in hopes of winning a lot if one more heart comes on the turn or the river -- then spring a big "gotcha" raise at the key moment.

One thing we've learned only recently is the importance of "throwing the block" in those situations.  A big bet on the flop could drive the "fishermen" away.  You might not win a huge pot.  But if you need to win a pot because your stack is low, at least you'll gain something.

Now let's reverse the roles.  If you're on a flush draw and someone makes a big "I dare you" bet, how do you respond?  Do you smell danger and cut your losses -- or "go forward in faith" (to borrow from Exodus 14:15) and risk missing the draw?

Decisions like that reveal what sort of poker player you are.  The answer can depend on how you read your opponent, how many chips you have -- and if you're not careful, even whether the dealer laughed at your joke attempt three hands ago.

We've never played the reality game Dungeons and Dragons.  But we've watched other people do it - and one thing they learn when they enter a new room is to "check for traps."  Be smart and aware of potential dangers during poker hands, and you're less likely to be trapped by an opponent.  Do that in life, and your days may be a lot longer.

Chances Are....

For some reason, poker never came up  Nor did other "games of chance" you might play in a casino.  But we were drawn to a public radio series this past week on "Risk and Reason" - examining how statistical probability plays a factor in many things we do.

One basic example is the weather forecast.  How do you prepare for a "20-percent chance of rain"?  Your answer may say a lot about you.  Let's translate that to some examples at a Texas Hold 'em poker table:

* If you have a "gutshot" straight draw - such as 5-6-_-8-9 - your chances of making it with a 7 on the turn are 4 in 47, or 8.5%.  The chance of making the straight on the river is actually slightly better, because there's one fewer mystery card.  It becomes 4 in 46, or 8.7%.

* If you have four cards to a flush after the flop, the chance of completing it on the turn is 19.1% (9 remaining cards in a suit out of 47).  On the river, it's 19.6%.

(Yet a flush beats a straight at showdown.... but that's another topic completely.)

Good poker players constantly figure the odds and probability in their heads.  Yet the NPR series showed if you avoid casinos because you don't like "games of chance" -- sorry.  You live in a world where the figuring of probability and chance abound.

If you're looking for a sure thing, consider this: 100 percent of all human beings who lived in the 18th century died.  And unless something unusual happens, so will you.  So will we.

But believers in God and Jesus Christ keep a "long shot" in mind -- that something unusual can happen.  In fact, the Bible offers it as hope beyond this life.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel  and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. - I Thessalonians 4:16-17

Did you notice the apostle Paul wrote those verses somewhat in the present tense?  "We who are still alive...."  From all we know, Paul eventually died -- but he had that "long shot" hope.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet shall sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. - I Corinthians 15:51-52

The chances of hitting a straight flush card on the river (if you have the other four) is only two percent.  Believers in Jesus should live each day in faith, keeping the "chance" in mind that God could prove His word true and send Jesus back to Earth at any time.  That will be hitting the sweetest "jackpot" of all.

Big Wins, Little Wins

We'd almost forgotten to check back on the World Series of Poker Main Event.  It's down to the "November Nine," including one man who made the final table for the second year in a row.  We should have plenty of time to talk about them in the weeks ahead.

But right now, we want to congratulate a smaller-scale champion in our old stomping ground.  Victor won the "Wednesday quarterly" title at Players, one of the bars in Georgia where we played from time to time.  But we wonder how many other people at Players know what he does for a living -- directing a faith-based charity which helps homeless families.

It's Victor's job to give and serve people who don't physically have much.  (He's even helped us a couple of times, when we had small needs.)  So we think it's only right that he was blessed with success in other things, such as poker.  He displays a Bible principle....

....For God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. - II Corinthians 9:7-8

Charities such as Victor's sometimes can have tight moments financially.  So can poker players.  But this section of the Bible has a promise for those who give:

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread or food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in Thanksgiving to God. - II Corinthians 9:10-11

We're tempted to say at this point: To Victor go the spoils.  But he'd probably tell you God has spoiled him -- and he's trying to pass on blessings to others.  May you realize how much God has given to you, and be ready to pass on gifts to those in need as you're able.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! - II Corinthians 9:15

What the World Needs Now

To borrow a radio news phrase: If you miss a week on the local poker circuit, you can miss a lot.  We were reminded of that today, as the Sunday 2:00 p.m. freeroll has moved to 4:00 p.m. -- a little late for our schedule.

At least we could play in an online tournament.  And we came upon something surprising at National League of Poker, which we simply had to chat about:

Me: 　Hmm - my screen shows an ad
Me: 　"How Jesus Christ can bring you peace"
The ad apparently was placed on NLOP by the Latter-day Saints church.  We don't agree with everything the LDS teachers, but this allowed us to start a conversation -- and it brought a response:

Gou: 　I thought that was Obama
Me: 　Guess not. :-/....
Me: 　Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
No one responded to that - but that's how the Bible describes Him:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

Jesus is given several titles here, and a couple of them may seem confusing. But we want to focus on the last one - "Prince of Peace."  The news of the last week was filled with deadly violence around the world.  If ever this world could use a "Prince of Peace," it's now.  And the Bible promises Jesus - but not in the way you might think:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. - Revelation 19:11 (KJV)

Verse 16 identifies this "Person" as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."  And another part of Revelation makes the identity clear....

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings.... - Revelation 17:14 (KJV)

The "Lamb" of God we call Jesus is coming to bring peace -- but did you notice He'll "make war?"  He'll be using language the nations of this world sadly understand too well:

And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.... - Revelation 19:15 (KJV)

In poker terms, Jesus is going to win the final showdown of this age -- and punish the losers.

One way to be part of God's ultimate peace is to get on the side of the Prince of Peace.  Have you repented of your sin, and turned to Jesus for salvation?