It took a sit-n-go win at 2:45 in the morning, but we qualified for the NBC Sports poker room weekly championship tonight. And if they had awarded money for the top ten percent of the players, we would have taken home some -- finishing a best-yet 55th place out of 697 players. (Sadly, only the top three get checks.)
How did it go -- and how in the world did we get that title? Here's a summary....
:08 IN: We finally reach an online table, after our computer starts freezing at 6:57 pm. We're convinced it was another one of those "mal-ware" attacks to lock us out.
:16 IN: We have A-K, and a player ahead of us pushes all-in. "Daring us, eh?" we write -- and we wind up all-in with him. Our opponent has A-Q -- but a King on the flop wins us $1,720.
:22 IN: We're in the small blind with A-K. We decide to limp -- and are rewarded when no Ace or King comes up. The loss is minimal.
:32 IN: We play K-9 suited. The flop is K-3-3. Another player with more chips goes all-in. We fear the worst, but dare to call. Indeed, that opponent has A-A. BUT a King on the turn gives us a full house, for $3,270. "Alleluia," we write.
:42 IN: Our computer slows markedly, and a "latency" message appears on the screen telling us we're hopelessly behind play and need to reset. The thing is, the poker game is the ONLY thing open on our computer. We're delayed a few minutes getting the game reset, and return just in time for....
:47 IN: Q-K. We play it, and the flop is K-4-6. Our small bet with top pair is called. The turn is a 4. Our bet is called again. The river is a 9. Both of us check, and we beat the opponent's K-5 to gain $3,400.
:55 IN: K-K with cautious betting wins us $2,850 more.
Then comes the one-hour break, with our stack at $6,545 -- 23rd place our of 149 still playing. An opponent notes 500 players were dismissed in an hour, and we answer: "More pushers than at a drug addiction clinic."
1:25 IN: The first good hand in awhile comes our way -- A-K. A King on the flop brings a $2,900 all-in bet from us. The opponent folds, and we're back to $5,395.
1:30 IN: At about this point, our older brother calls from another state. We seek his advice with an A-8 before us, but he's admittedly a poker novice and doesn't really know what to do. We call, but miss the flop and lose about $1,200 to rising blinds.
"Bet you never thought you'd hear running poker commentary when you called me," we joke. Big blinds and antes erode our stack during the discussion, and then just as our brother is about hang up so we can "concentrate on the game"....
1:45 IN: We're down to about $2,400 with Kc-8c. With blinds at 1,600, we dare to raise all-in. But Queens and 9's come instead, and we're out.
We promised our brother we would NOT blame him for the outcome. So there, we didn't. :-)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Need Some Help?
A digital TV channel in our city shows the Retro Television Network -- and it's showing 40-year-old reruns of Dragnet every afternoon, right before dinner.
Today's episode caught our attention because poker came up. Detectives followed a suspected embezzler to a town 100 miles from Los Angeles, where he played draw poker at a card club.
The episode ended with the man confessing the crime, and pretty much admitting he was addicted to gambling. Harry Morgan's character then reminded him an organization called Gamblers Anonymous can help people come out of that addiction.
We recommend the "20 questions" link at the G.A. web site, if you think you or someone you know is falling into gambling addiction.
But we also noted the suspect's statement to police: "I prayed." Jack Webb's character responded with what he admitted was a guess about how prayer works: "You have to ask for the right things."
Sgt. Friday had a good point. "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
If you pray about gambling, what exactly are you praying for? Help in overcoming an addiction? The book of James offers advice about that, too. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)
Pray to hit the jackpot, and odds are you'll come away disappointed. Seek wisdom in doing God's will, at a poker table or in the general challenges of life, and He's willing to provide.
Today's episode caught our attention because poker came up. Detectives followed a suspected embezzler to a town 100 miles from Los Angeles, where he played draw poker at a card club.
The episode ended with the man confessing the crime, and pretty much admitting he was addicted to gambling. Harry Morgan's character then reminded him an organization called Gamblers Anonymous can help people come out of that addiction.
We recommend the "20 questions" link at the G.A. web site, if you think you or someone you know is falling into gambling addiction.
But we also noted the suspect's statement to police: "I prayed." Jack Webb's character responded with what he admitted was a guess about how prayer works: "You have to ask for the right things."
Sgt. Friday had a good point. "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
If you pray about gambling, what exactly are you praying for? Help in overcoming an addiction? The book of James offers advice about that, too. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)
Pray to hit the jackpot, and odds are you'll come away disappointed. Seek wisdom in doing God's will, at a poker table or in the general challenges of life, and He's willing to provide.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Poker Night #96: Adding Up to Nine
What do poker players do when they're "in the tank?" Deep in thought about how an opponent plays a hand, and how they should respond? We heard an out-loud example of one player's analysis tonight at Lil Kim's Cove -- and it was directed toward us.
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 9-9
Standard calling goes around the table. Holding "Gretzkys," we choose to call instead of raising.
ON THE FLOP: 9-7-6 offsuit
A top "trip" comes our way! A player ahead of us bets 500. We raise to 2,000 -- a raise that's a bit daring, because a straight is makeable from the abord. About three other players take the dare and call.
ON THE TURN: 2
Two clubs now are showing. The player ahead of us checks. We're a bit concerned about all these callers, so we slow down and bet 1,000.
After one player calls, a man across the table takes a moment to talk pretty much to himself and think about this. "I know you don't have 8-10." (That would make a straight.)
"I don't?!?!" we ask to play along.
"No, you don't.... You limped in. Then you checked, and bet 2,000." (Not quite true; a player bet ahead of us.) "Now you're betting 1,000...." Our opponent pauses for a moment. "And I'm on a draw. I'll admit it. And it's the nut draw."
Our opponent keeps talking as if he wants a discussion which might reveal something, but we say no more. Finally he decides: "You must have hit trips on the flop. I'm gonna fold." Was he right or wrong -- all in all?
ON THE RIVER: 5 (not a club)
The straight chance is more likely now. We check. The player to our left does as well.
"You're right, I did have trips on the flop." Our three 9's leave the others frustrated, and leave us with thousands of extra chips (including 500 tossed in by the Tournament Director just for fun).
We were at 15,000 chips at the one-hour break -- but a couple of promising hands didn't go our way, and we wound up losing at the semifinal table in 14th place. With the blinds at 4,000 and our stack dwindling to 3,500, we joined another player all-in with K-10 -- but that other player made Aces to knock us out.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Early in the evening, the Lil Kim's Cove jukebox played a surprising song for a nightclub -- Josh Turner's big country hit "Long Black Train." We happened to be dealing at the time, and said some of the lyrics out loud. "Don't go riding that long black train.... There's victory in the Lord."
"You like that song, don't you?" a woman sitting to our immediate left said after it ended and the deal had moved on.
"Yes, I do. Do you agree with that song? That there's victory in the Lord?"
"Oh, I do. Really, really, really do." Good for her. How about you?
"With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies." - Psalm 60:12. It may not always happen at the poker table, but believers have faith Jesus will return to bring victory over death and the grave.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 96 nights (41.7%) - 9 cashes. We should note live poker games may not happen next week, due to another commitment.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,226 - unchanged. (Haven't played there in 16 days; no real money)
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 28-34-10-5-8. Full tournaments - 19 final tables in 139 games (13.7%), 2 cashes.
We came close to a $20 top prize in an afternoon tournament today, finishing fourth out of 137 players. Hopefully we gained enough poker points to clinch a spot in Sunday night's weekly championship.
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: 9-9
Standard calling goes around the table. Holding "Gretzkys," we choose to call instead of raising.
ON THE FLOP: 9-7-6 offsuit
A top "trip" comes our way! A player ahead of us bets 500. We raise to 2,000 -- a raise that's a bit daring, because a straight is makeable from the abord. About three other players take the dare and call.
ON THE TURN: 2
Two clubs now are showing. The player ahead of us checks. We're a bit concerned about all these callers, so we slow down and bet 1,000.
After one player calls, a man across the table takes a moment to talk pretty much to himself and think about this. "I know you don't have 8-10." (That would make a straight.)
"I don't?!?!" we ask to play along.
"No, you don't.... You limped in. Then you checked, and bet 2,000." (Not quite true; a player bet ahead of us.) "Now you're betting 1,000...." Our opponent pauses for a moment. "And I'm on a draw. I'll admit it. And it's the nut draw."
Our opponent keeps talking as if he wants a discussion which might reveal something, but we say no more. Finally he decides: "You must have hit trips on the flop. I'm gonna fold." Was he right or wrong -- all in all?
ON THE RIVER: 5 (not a club)
The straight chance is more likely now. We check. The player to our left does as well.
"You're right, I did have trips on the flop." Our three 9's leave the others frustrated, and leave us with thousands of extra chips (including 500 tossed in by the Tournament Director just for fun).
We were at 15,000 chips at the one-hour break -- but a couple of promising hands didn't go our way, and we wound up losing at the semifinal table in 14th place. With the blinds at 4,000 and our stack dwindling to 3,500, we joined another player all-in with K-10 -- but that other player made Aces to knock us out.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Early in the evening, the Lil Kim's Cove jukebox played a surprising song for a nightclub -- Josh Turner's big country hit "Long Black Train." We happened to be dealing at the time, and said some of the lyrics out loud. "Don't go riding that long black train.... There's victory in the Lord."
"You like that song, don't you?" a woman sitting to our immediate left said after it ended and the deal had moved on.
"Yes, I do. Do you agree with that song? That there's victory in the Lord?"
"Oh, I do. Really, really, really do." Good for her. How about you?
"With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies." - Psalm 60:12. It may not always happen at the poker table, but believers have faith Jesus will return to bring victory over death and the grave.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 96 nights (41.7%) - 9 cashes. We should note live poker games may not happen next week, due to another commitment.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,226 - unchanged. (Haven't played there in 16 days; no real money)
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 28-34-10-5-8. Full tournaments - 19 final tables in 139 games (13.7%), 2 cashes.
We came close to a $20 top prize in an afternoon tournament today, finishing fourth out of 137 players. Hopefully we gained enough poker points to clinch a spot in Sunday night's weekly championship.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Poker Night #95: A Push Too Late
"To every thing there is a season.... a time to keep, and a time to cast away." (Ecc. 3:1,6, KJV)
At a poker table, good timing can make all the difference in the world. We think we had bad timing tonight, which cost us a final table finish at Lil Kim's Cove. The tournament was down to ten players, with five players at two tables, when the moment came....
BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: A-J of diamonds
"Blinds up next hand!" had been called by the tournament director moments before the deal. We're second in line to bet, with 13,000 chips.
Ali Nejad on Poker After Dark says when you have fewer than ten big blinds in your chip stack, it's "push or fold" time. We don't really believe that -- so we split the difference and raise to 6,000. A man in the small blind calls.
ON THE FLOP: Q-8-5 offsuit (admittedly unsure on the smaller cards)
We miss the flop. Both of us check.
ON THE TURN: Q
We miss again. Both of us check again.
ON THE RIVER: 6.
The small blind now bets 5,000. With 7,000 left, we think it over -- then fold. It's simply too risky.
We think we hear the other player confirm later he had a Queen. If we had gone all-in with 13,000 in the first place (especially knowing the blinds were about to jump to 2,000/4,000), we might have chased him away.
With only 7,000 left, we felt forced to push next hand with A-7. Two players called, and a young man gained 8-8-8 to knock us out in tenth place. We walked home concluding we handled the A-J wrong.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A loud clap of thunder was heard inside Lil Kim's Cove during the semifinal tables. "God going bowling," a man to our left jokes.
To which we respond: "If God decided to strike, you'd better split." This play on words has some Biblical basis; consider how God punished rebellion by Israel in the wilderness.
One hand later, we're moved to the other semifinal table to balance things out. As we leave, we tell the man to our left: "Remember, God is the REAL kingpin." Even over Jesus Christ, according to I Corinthians 11:3.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 95 nights (42.1%) - 9 cashes.
At a poker table, good timing can make all the difference in the world. We think we had bad timing tonight, which cost us a final table finish at Lil Kim's Cove. The tournament was down to ten players, with five players at two tables, when the moment came....
BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: A-J of diamonds
"Blinds up next hand!" had been called by the tournament director moments before the deal. We're second in line to bet, with 13,000 chips.
Ali Nejad on Poker After Dark says when you have fewer than ten big blinds in your chip stack, it's "push or fold" time. We don't really believe that -- so we split the difference and raise to 6,000. A man in the small blind calls.
ON THE FLOP: Q-8-5 offsuit (admittedly unsure on the smaller cards)
We miss the flop. Both of us check.
ON THE TURN: Q
We miss again. Both of us check again.
ON THE RIVER: 6.
The small blind now bets 5,000. With 7,000 left, we think it over -- then fold. It's simply too risky.
We think we hear the other player confirm later he had a Queen. If we had gone all-in with 13,000 in the first place (especially knowing the blinds were about to jump to 2,000/4,000), we might have chased him away.
With only 7,000 left, we felt forced to push next hand with A-7. Two players called, and a young man gained 8-8-8 to knock us out in tenth place. We walked home concluding we handled the A-J wrong.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A loud clap of thunder was heard inside Lil Kim's Cove during the semifinal tables. "God going bowling," a man to our left jokes.
To which we respond: "If God decided to strike, you'd better split." This play on words has some Biblical basis; consider how God punished rebellion by Israel in the wilderness.
One hand later, we're moved to the other semifinal table to balance things out. As we leave, we tell the man to our left: "Remember, God is the REAL kingpin." Even over Jesus Christ, according to I Corinthians 11:3.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 95 nights (42.1%) - 9 cashes.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Reward Point
You never know what might come up, when you play online poker. Take this exchange from the other day:
P [other player]: i missed the 25 cash due to door knockers jehova witnesss
Me: Did you agree with their message?
P: nope and they didnt agree with my pipe being lit
Me: Ohhhh.
P: lol
Dealer: flopblog [Me] wins Main Pot ($570) with One pair, jacks
Me: whoa didn't expect that
Pnder57: lucky with them high cards showin
Me: have you ever read their lit?
Pnder57: nh
Me: Thanks
Pnder57: wayyyyyy back
Me: I don't agree with all their points....
Me: but they're right when they talk about Jesus coming back someday.
No one commented further after we brought up the return of Jesus. So we'll ask -- do you believe He's coming again?
Denominations dispute the details of exactly how it will happen. But Jesus said this in Matthew 16:27 - "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." The Lord already was on earth when He said that, so that means Jesus is coming again.
If it happened right now, what would your reward be? Have you done anything spiritually lasting, to build what Jesus called in Luke 12:33 "a treasure in heaven?" For believers in Christ, that's a bankroll which isn't likely to drain away.
P [other player]: i missed the 25 cash due to door knockers jehova witnesss
Me: Did you agree with their message?
P: nope and they didnt agree with my pipe being lit
Me: Ohhhh.
P: lol
Dealer: flopblog [Me] wins Main Pot ($570) with One pair, jacks
Me: whoa didn't expect that
Pnder57: lucky with them high cards showin
Me: have you ever read their lit?
Pnder57: nh
Me: Thanks
Pnder57: wayyyyyy back
Me: I don't agree with all their points....
Me: but they're right when they talk about Jesus coming back someday.
No one commented further after we brought up the return of Jesus. So we'll ask -- do you believe He's coming again?
Denominations dispute the details of exactly how it will happen. But Jesus said this in Matthew 16:27 - "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." The Lord already was on earth when He said that, so that means Jesus is coming again.
If it happened right now, what would your reward be? Have you done anything spiritually lasting, to build what Jesus called in Luke 12:33 "a treasure in heaven?" For believers in Christ, that's a bankroll which isn't likely to drain away.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Can He? Could He? Should He?
Some people may remember this cute tune about Jesus from The PTL Club years ago. There's a variation of that in poker -- the "could-a, should-a, would-as." Or so this meditation says.
A minister in our city put it a bit differently in a Twitter message recently. To some extent or another, we're all "recovering grumblers." How many have you met at a poker table lately?
A minister in our city put it a bit differently in a Twitter message recently. To some extent or another, we're all "recovering grumblers." How many have you met at a poker table lately?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Poker Night #94: Ezekiel Saw the Wheel
That title was one of the first "spiritual" songs our junior high school chorus sang years ago. It's based on a vision a prophet saw in Ezekiel 1:15. "As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces."
Read the rest of the chapter to figure out what the vision means. (And if you need help, please let us know.) But we bring this up because in poker, a "wheel" refers to the lowest straight: A-2-3-4-5. And tonight at Lil Kim's Cove, we saw a wheel....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-3 offsuit
Standard calling takes place, and we join several at the table in this hand. Our chip count is about 7,500.
ON THE FLOP: 2-4-5
Wheel, wheel! A woman ahead of us seems confident for some reason, and bets 500. We're really confident, and raise to 1,500. One other player dares to call, and the woman reluctantly does as well.
ON THE TURN: 5
The woman playing first tries to frighten us again, betting 2,000. There's no flush threat on the board.
"That's not enough," we say -- and raise to 4,000. The man to our left doesn't have nearly that much, but he goes all-in. After other people sort out what his total potential winnings would be, the woman who started this pounds her remaining stack of 1,850 chips onto the table. She's all-in as well.
"I flopped a straight," we say matter-of-factly. The woman defeatedly slams down J-J. But she could make a full house if....
ON THE RIVER: Q.
Thankfully, she didn't -- and the man to our left couldn't match us, either. We take out two players, and gain several thousand chips.
Our chip count zoomed to more than 20,000 at one point -- but after a strong early start, the cards didn't come and we lost some marginal hands. We survived to the final table, carrying only 4,500 chips with blinds in the 4,000 range. That meant a push-or-else moment, and our A-K push fell short to a man with two pair.
Yet by finishing ninth overall, we made the final table for the third time in the last four live games. And we're guaranteed to be no worse than 40 percent on final tables, when we hit the 100-night mark in a few weeks. We give God the glory for helping us play well -- although we're clearly not perfect yet.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to a man next to us tonight, and he agreed with the message. Unlike some players, he didn't curse very much either.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 94 nights (42.6%) - 9 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,226 - unchanged (no play there).
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 27-33-9-4-8. Full tournaments - 18 final tables in 130 games (13.8%), 2 cashes.
We sadly had to file a report with NBCSports.com today, after a "Trojan attack" interrupted our game for the second time in three days. Both attacks occurred at 3:57 p.m. ET. They froze our computer, then proceeded to shut it down and restart it with some kind of "Spyware 2010" program added. When he hurredly called the online poker room back up 10-15 minutes later, we could not return to our table. (A man at Lil Kim's Cove told us the malware seems to have that goal.)
Read the rest of the chapter to figure out what the vision means. (And if you need help, please let us know.) But we bring this up because in poker, a "wheel" refers to the lowest straight: A-2-3-4-5. And tonight at Lil Kim's Cove, we saw a wheel....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-3 offsuit
Standard calling takes place, and we join several at the table in this hand. Our chip count is about 7,500.
ON THE FLOP: 2-4-5
Wheel, wheel! A woman ahead of us seems confident for some reason, and bets 500. We're really confident, and raise to 1,500. One other player dares to call, and the woman reluctantly does as well.
ON THE TURN: 5
The woman playing first tries to frighten us again, betting 2,000. There's no flush threat on the board.
"That's not enough," we say -- and raise to 4,000. The man to our left doesn't have nearly that much, but he goes all-in. After other people sort out what his total potential winnings would be, the woman who started this pounds her remaining stack of 1,850 chips onto the table. She's all-in as well.
"I flopped a straight," we say matter-of-factly. The woman defeatedly slams down J-J. But she could make a full house if....
ON THE RIVER: Q.
Thankfully, she didn't -- and the man to our left couldn't match us, either. We take out two players, and gain several thousand chips.
Our chip count zoomed to more than 20,000 at one point -- but after a strong early start, the cards didn't come and we lost some marginal hands. We survived to the final table, carrying only 4,500 chips with blinds in the 4,000 range. That meant a push-or-else moment, and our A-K push fell short to a man with two pair.
Yet by finishing ninth overall, we made the final table for the third time in the last four live games. And we're guaranteed to be no worse than 40 percent on final tables, when we hit the 100-night mark in a few weeks. We give God the glory for helping us play well -- although we're clearly not perfect yet.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to a man next to us tonight, and he agreed with the message. Unlike some players, he didn't curse very much either.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 40 final tables in 94 nights (42.6%) - 9 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,226 - unchanged (no play there).
NBC SPORTS POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 27-33-9-4-8. Full tournaments - 18 final tables in 130 games (13.8%), 2 cashes.
We sadly had to file a report with NBCSports.com today, after a "Trojan attack" interrupted our game for the second time in three days. Both attacks occurred at 3:57 p.m. ET. They froze our computer, then proceeded to shut it down and restart it with some kind of "Spyware 2010" program added. When he hurredly called the online poker room back up 10-15 minutes later, we could not return to our table. (A man at Lil Kim's Cove told us the malware seems to have that goal.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)