The following is the transcript of an actual recent chat between your blog and "pokergod" at an online poker table. But first, the hand which led to it....
BLINDS: 30/60
IN THE POCKET: 2d-3d
We take a chance on suited connectors and call.
ON THE FLOP: A-Q-J, no diamonds
"pokergod" is the only player in the hand with us. He bets small. We fold.
pokergod1971: someone always calls [describing a big win of the previous hand]
Dealer: pokergod1971 wins Main Pot ($210)
pokergod1971: A Q
Me: I call on God a lot.
Me: More careful about calling you.
Me: ;--)
pokergod1971: he wasnt with you there
pokergod1971: less he said fold
Me: Well, this is a little poker game.
Me: And when you try to play 2-3 suited and miss.....
pokergod1971: hes busy right now
Me: God can give wisdom, too.
pokergod1971: fo sho
+++
If you fail to win every hand at the poker table, has God deserted you? We really don't think so.
"In this world you will have trouble," Jesus warned in John 16:33. Thankfully, the Lord didn't stop there. "But take heart! I have overcome the world."
James 1:5 adds this advice, which we tried to bring out: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it shall be given him."
Believers should ask God often for wisdom -- whether they're playing poker, overseeing their families or running a business. It appears even Jesus did this as He grew up, because Luke 2:52 reveals, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature...."
God's wisdom is much better than ours. And by applying it properly, you might save yourself from an embarrassingly big loss.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Poker Night #78: A Different Kind of "Thriller"
"Michael Jackson" were the first two words we heard as we walked into Lil Kim's Cove for tonight's tournament. A woman was on a cell phone, telling someone about the singer's sudden death. It was the talk of many in the club. But the players were there for poker -- and this hand brought a play some could call "Human Nature"....
BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: K-10
We won an early pot with pocket Aces, so we have about 9,000 chips. A call is affordable, and several players join in.
ON THE FLOP: Q-J-9
A room-service straight! The only problem is that we're first in line to bet. At the back of the line, we could create something in reaction to other players.
We decide to go big, which goes against our usual game plan -- "3,500."
"That's a bold bet," says the woman to our immediate left who has folded. (She eventually builds an enormous chip stack by eliminating several players.)
"K-10?" a man to her left asks. (He's folded, too.) We pretend to ignore him. Only one man, who may not have heard that, chooses to take us on.
ON THE TURN: Q
A pair on the board opens the door for a possible full house. But we refuse to back out of the throttle -- "3,500 more." The other man calls.
ON THE RIVER: 5
Seemingly harmless -- but why does that other player keep calling? We slow down slightly and bet 3,000.
"All I have is 1,525," that man says. He calls, going all-in.
"You guessed I had K-10?" we say to the man who posed the question. "You're right" and we show it. Our opponent had A-10, and missed the straight. It's a bounty tournament, so the knockout earns us a 5,000-chip bonus -- on top of the 8,500+ the opponent had.
That was the high point of the night for us, as good cards didn't come often after that. We held on to take 10,000 chips to a nine-player final table. But on the first hand at the final table, our pocket Aces were stymied by another player who went all-in and wound up with three 9's.
P.S. There was NO "Michael Jackson luck" for us during the tournament tonight. We really don't believe in such things -- so when we were dealt J-5 of hearts at one point in the night, we folded a "Jackson-5" hand. It would NOT have won.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The NBC Sports online poker room frustrates a lot of players by occasionally kicking them out due to computer "latency" problems. (In our case, automatic anti-virus updates can do it.) During a tournament earlier in the day, one player wrote: "JesusChrist got booted for a f***in 10 mins."
"I've been booted, too," we respond. "And I like Jesus Christ." No one responded to that.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 34 final tables in 78 nights (43.6%) - 8 cashes.
We've made six final tables in the last eight, eight in the last 12 -- and let the record show we were the only player to make the final table both Wednesday and Thursday night this week.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,211 - RECORD HIGH, up $129.
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player games - 17-20-2-3-5; cash tournaments - 4 final tables in 52 games (7.7%), no cashes.
Our best result yet there occurred last Friday -- an 8th-place finish out of 146 players. We've wound up in the "top 25" in four of the last ten tournaments.
BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: K-10
We won an early pot with pocket Aces, so we have about 9,000 chips. A call is affordable, and several players join in.
ON THE FLOP: Q-J-9
A room-service straight! The only problem is that we're first in line to bet. At the back of the line, we could create something in reaction to other players.
We decide to go big, which goes against our usual game plan -- "3,500."
"That's a bold bet," says the woman to our immediate left who has folded. (She eventually builds an enormous chip stack by eliminating several players.)
"K-10?" a man to her left asks. (He's folded, too.) We pretend to ignore him. Only one man, who may not have heard that, chooses to take us on.
ON THE TURN: Q
A pair on the board opens the door for a possible full house. But we refuse to back out of the throttle -- "3,500 more." The other man calls.
ON THE RIVER: 5
Seemingly harmless -- but why does that other player keep calling? We slow down slightly and bet 3,000.
"All I have is 1,525," that man says. He calls, going all-in.
"You guessed I had K-10?" we say to the man who posed the question. "You're right" and we show it. Our opponent had A-10, and missed the straight. It's a bounty tournament, so the knockout earns us a 5,000-chip bonus -- on top of the 8,500+ the opponent had.
That was the high point of the night for us, as good cards didn't come often after that. We held on to take 10,000 chips to a nine-player final table. But on the first hand at the final table, our pocket Aces were stymied by another player who went all-in and wound up with three 9's.
P.S. There was NO "Michael Jackson luck" for us during the tournament tonight. We really don't believe in such things -- so when we were dealt J-5 of hearts at one point in the night, we folded a "Jackson-5" hand. It would NOT have won.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The NBC Sports online poker room frustrates a lot of players by occasionally kicking them out due to computer "latency" problems. (In our case, automatic anti-virus updates can do it.) During a tournament earlier in the day, one player wrote: "JesusChrist got booted for a f***in 10 mins."
"I've been booted, too," we respond. "And I like Jesus Christ." No one responded to that.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 34 final tables in 78 nights (43.6%) - 8 cashes.
We've made six final tables in the last eight, eight in the last 12 -- and let the record show we were the only player to make the final table both Wednesday and Thursday night this week.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,211 - RECORD HIGH, up $129.
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player games - 17-20-2-3-5; cash tournaments - 4 final tables in 52 games (7.7%), no cashes.
Our best result yet there occurred last Friday -- an 8th-place finish out of 146 players. We've wound up in the "top 25" in four of the last ten tournaments.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Poker Night #77: Escape Artists
We know from our search results that many people visit this blog to see about poker locations in Columbus, Georgia, which is where we're based. Wednesday nights are now filled with options: Club H2O on the north side, Soho Bar and Grill in the northeast, and Lil Kim's Cove near South Commons.
Lil Kim's added a Wednesday night game for the first time tonight -- and since it's walking distance from where we live, that's where we played. It was a good choice, as only about 20 players showed up and we finished fifth. We might have finished higher, as we had a big stack of chips for awhile -- but opponents who went all-in against us beat us twice. Eventually it was our turn....
BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: As-Kh
At one point we had more than 22,000 chips. (Yes, we keep track as the game goes along.) But at this point, we're down to 6,500. We can't assume anything better is coming, so we go all-in. Four different players wind up calling, including a second player all-in for a higher amount.
No one else has an Ace; one man has a small pair (we think it was 9-9).
ON THE FLOP: Q-5-? (don't recall third card)
One man had a Queen, so he's smiling.
ON THE TURN: 10.
No help to anyone.
ON THE RIVER: K.
Saved by the river! Our chip stack jumps to about 18,000.
But the blinds kept rising -- and after the two-hour color-up we were left with 10,000 chips and blinds at 5,000/10,000. In the big blind, our J-7 was no match for higher cards.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A woman to our immediate left works in a bar by day, and plays poker by night. We showed her our "Jesus as your Savior" card protector coin, and she said she really agreed with the message. Trouble is, her language at the table would leave you thinking otherwise. That's a topic for another day.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 33 final tables in 77 nights (42.9%) - 8 cashes. See you there tomorrow night?
Lil Kim's added a Wednesday night game for the first time tonight -- and since it's walking distance from where we live, that's where we played. It was a good choice, as only about 20 players showed up and we finished fifth. We might have finished higher, as we had a big stack of chips for awhile -- but opponents who went all-in against us beat us twice. Eventually it was our turn....
BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: As-Kh
At one point we had more than 22,000 chips. (Yes, we keep track as the game goes along.) But at this point, we're down to 6,500. We can't assume anything better is coming, so we go all-in. Four different players wind up calling, including a second player all-in for a higher amount.
No one else has an Ace; one man has a small pair (we think it was 9-9).
ON THE FLOP: Q-5-? (don't recall third card)
One man had a Queen, so he's smiling.
ON THE TURN: 10.
No help to anyone.
ON THE RIVER: K.
Saved by the river! Our chip stack jumps to about 18,000.
But the blinds kept rising -- and after the two-hour color-up we were left with 10,000 chips and blinds at 5,000/10,000. In the big blind, our J-7 was no match for higher cards.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A woman to our immediate left works in a bar by day, and plays poker by night. We showed her our "Jesus as your Savior" card protector coin, and she said she really agreed with the message. Trouble is, her language at the table would leave you thinking otherwise. That's a topic for another day.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 33 final tables in 77 nights (42.9%) - 8 cashes. See you there tomorrow night?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Where Do You Walk?
One player had pocket Aces at the online table. But "John" made three of a kind and won a big pot. That led the loser to remark: "John is a water walker."
We honestly were unsure what that player meant. But we commented that we believe in "Someone" who really has walked on water.
No one at the table replied to our comment. But in case you're puzzled by it, we're talking about Jesus. "In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea," says Matthew 14:25 (KJV).
Read a few verses beyond that and you'll find Peter tried to do what Jesus did. It worked for awhile, but then Peter "was afraid" and started to sink (verse 30). Jesus offered this analysis of what happened: "O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?" (verse 31)
If you have the "faith" or daring to make a big bet on a straight or flush draw (or even less), why not try to have faith in Jesus? He's a much more certain bet -- especially beyond this life.
We honestly were unsure what that player meant. But we commented that we believe in "Someone" who really has walked on water.
No one at the table replied to our comment. But in case you're puzzled by it, we're talking about Jesus. "In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea," says Matthew 14:25 (KJV).
Read a few verses beyond that and you'll find Peter tried to do what Jesus did. It worked for awhile, but then Peter "was afraid" and started to sink (verse 30). Jesus offered this analysis of what happened: "O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?" (verse 31)
If you have the "faith" or daring to make a big bet on a straight or flush draw (or even less), why not try to have faith in Jesus? He's a much more certain bet -- especially beyond this life.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
NBC Championship #1: The 22-Minute Workout
Well, that didn't take long. And that's too bad. Our first appearance at the NBC Sports Sunday evening "weekly championship" had a lousy-luck ending for us. Here's how the evening went, with play starting at 7:00 p.m. U.S. ET:
7:05: We play 3-5 suited with the blinds at a minimum 15/30. On the Flop: A-2. A player ahead of us makes a $220 bet -- too much for us to chase a straight draw this early. We fold. Then, of course, there's a 4 on the turn. A pair of aces take the pot. Boo-hoo.
7:12: We play suited hearts, and hit a flush on the river! Players were making minimum bets to that point. We bet $500, with about $780 left. Everyone folds. We don't show what we have.
7:22: BLINDS: 30/60
IN THE POCKET: A-K.
We're near the end of the line to bet at a full table. A man ahead of us raises to $180. With about $930 in chips, of course we'll call. Two other players do.
ON THE FLOP: A-3-5.
Top pair + top kicker looks good. The player who bet first before bets $220. We call, as do the other two.
ON THE TURN: 5.
Top two pair + top kicker! The first player in line checks. We check, choosing to lay low. But the next man up makes a big bet to push the first two of us all-in. Both of us do it -- and we personally hope nothing will go wrong. The man who made the big push has A-10.
ON THE RIVER: 10.
Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! A classic "suck out" gives the pusher the pot. Our final score: 480th out of 669 players. No money tonight.
One general impression of our short game: several players took pots simply by making "all-in" bets before the flop. Who knows whether or not they had a hand. Careful players gave them the benefit of the doubt. "Push first and win" poker isn't a style we like, but it worked for a few people.
7:05: We play 3-5 suited with the blinds at a minimum 15/30. On the Flop: A-2. A player ahead of us makes a $220 bet -- too much for us to chase a straight draw this early. We fold. Then, of course, there's a 4 on the turn. A pair of aces take the pot. Boo-hoo.
7:12: We play suited hearts, and hit a flush on the river! Players were making minimum bets to that point. We bet $500, with about $780 left. Everyone folds. We don't show what we have.
7:22: BLINDS: 30/60
IN THE POCKET: A-K.
We're near the end of the line to bet at a full table. A man ahead of us raises to $180. With about $930 in chips, of course we'll call. Two other players do.
ON THE FLOP: A-3-5.
Top pair + top kicker looks good. The player who bet first before bets $220. We call, as do the other two.
ON THE TURN: 5.
Top two pair + top kicker! The first player in line checks. We check, choosing to lay low. But the next man up makes a big bet to push the first two of us all-in. Both of us do it -- and we personally hope nothing will go wrong. The man who made the big push has A-10.
ON THE RIVER: 10.
Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! A classic "suck out" gives the pusher the pot. Our final score: 480th out of 669 players. No money tonight.
One general impression of our short game: several players took pots simply by making "all-in" bets before the flop. Who knows whether or not they had a hand. Careful players gave them the benefit of the doubt. "Push first and win" poker isn't a style we like, but it worked for a few people.
Potentially big Sunday
....and not only because it's Father's Day in the U.S.
We've won our way into the Sunday night NBC Sports weekly championship tourney. It's a first for us -- and we'll be part of 1,000 online players competing for an $800 first prize. (We've found only 600-700 actually show up to play, for whatever reason.)
We'll let you know how it goes.
We've won our way into the Sunday night NBC Sports weekly championship tourney. It's a first for us -- and we'll be part of 1,000 online players competing for an $800 first prize. (We've found only 600-700 actually show up to play, for whatever reason.)
We'll let you know how it goes.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Conversation with "god"
This god is in lower case, because he sat next to us at an online poker table this week. The man's table name includes the phrase "pokergod." For someone involved in poker ministry, this was too good to resist.
"So do you think you're a god?" we asked by chat.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, that's in your name."
Pokergod explained the name scares some opponents. Well, not us. As we chatted, we won a pot from Pokergod, and gave thanks to "the true God."
"I choose to stick to reality," he eventually said.
That's a crossroads point, when it comes to the true God. Is He real to you? Do you see God at work in your daily life?
Believers probably don't look for God's hand in the middle of poker hands. Missed flush draws happen. A lot. But believers see God's hand in plenty of other things -- from a beautiful sunrise to the wonders of animal life large and small.
To see that takes what Paul calls the "spirit of faith" in II Corinthians 4:13. He went on to write: "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (verses 17-18).
Do you have that sort of vision? A vision of the real God, not someone who simply takes that name -- and many ministers would warn take God's name in vain? (Ex. 20:7)
By the way: Pokergod wound up winning the tournament. We did well, finishing 14th out of 136 players. As we parted, Pokergod asked us to go easy on him here. Whether or not we have ultimately is a matter of perspective -- but we'd ask you which "god" is more worthy of fear and worship.
"So do you think you're a god?" we asked by chat.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, that's in your name."
Pokergod explained the name scares some opponents. Well, not us. As we chatted, we won a pot from Pokergod, and gave thanks to "the true God."
"I choose to stick to reality," he eventually said.
That's a crossroads point, when it comes to the true God. Is He real to you? Do you see God at work in your daily life?
Believers probably don't look for God's hand in the middle of poker hands. Missed flush draws happen. A lot. But believers see God's hand in plenty of other things -- from a beautiful sunrise to the wonders of animal life large and small.
To see that takes what Paul calls the "spirit of faith" in II Corinthians 4:13. He went on to write: "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (verses 17-18).
Do you have that sort of vision? A vision of the real God, not someone who simply takes that name -- and many ministers would warn take God's name in vain? (Ex. 20:7)
By the way: Pokergod wound up winning the tournament. We did well, finishing 14th out of 136 players. As we parted, Pokergod asked us to go easy on him here. Whether or not we have ultimately is a matter of perspective -- but we'd ask you which "god" is more worthy of fear and worship.
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