May Senior Championship: Times of Testing

We've attended church groups which like to suggest 40 is a "test" number -- such as Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness before Satan tested Him (Matthew 4).  Big tests came our way tonight at the National League of Poker Monthly Senior Championship.  But when we see 4-10 (which multiplies to 40), we tend to fold that....

:01 IN: We have Ax-4c.  The flop is 2c-K-8c.  Everyone checks.  The turn is Qc, giving us a flush.  A player bets 70 -- and even though our flush card is weak, we call.  The river is Qs.  The table checks -- and our A-4 flush is topped by a player with Ax-5c.  "Winner by a nose," we write.

:05 IN: After the first three hands of the night are won with club flushes, we have 8c-Kc.  The flop is 6-8-6, with one 6 a club.  We bet 60 with two pair, and the table folds.  We gain $210, and admit: "I had clubs."

:10 IN: We have K-5 in the Big Blind.  The flop is 6-J-K.  We bet 80, the table folds, and we gain $200.

:11 IN: The next hand brings us Q-Q in the Small Blind.  The flop is 9-6-Q (the first two clubs again).  We bet 150, and the table folds again.  We win $710, finishing a good round of blinds.

:20 IN: We have 6-A, and choose to fold to a raise.  We kick ourselves when the flop is 6-6-K.  But the turn and river are 9-9, and a player with a 9 wins with a full house which would have topped ours.

Then come a failed chase of a straight, along with K-10 which brought a pair of Kings on the flop only to lose to three 5's.  We reach the half-hour break tied for 254th place with 1,050 chips; 385 players remain.

:34 IN: We return from the break with K-Q.  The flop is J-10-Q.  With top pair and a big straight draw, we call a bet of 200.  The turn is 7h, putting three hearts on the table.  Our opponent bets 380, and we dare to call.  The river is 4 (not a heart).  The opponent bets 220, to put us all-in.  We fear we'll see A-K or two pair -- but it's Q-6!  Our kicker saves the day, and we jump to $2,500.

:46 IN: After seeing weak cards in the blinds, we have 8-8 on the button.  The flop is 10x-6s-5s.  We bet 200 after the table checks, and get callers.  The turn is a lovely 8s, and we bet 520 to put an opponent all-in.  That player calls with K-J, and Jc on the river isn't good enough.  We make a $2,000 win.

:50 IN: We have As-Js, and try to limp for 200. But a player to our left raises to 1,140.  We're quite wary of this, but after a moment thought choose to call.

ON THE FLOP: A-4-6

We check to the raiser, who follows up with a bet of 560.  But we have top pair and a nice kicker, so we're a bit more comfortable calling.

ON THE TURN: 2

We check again -- and now our opponent bets to put us all-in with about 1,120 left.  Something is telling us he has pocket Aces.  But after a moment, we decide that's unlikely.  We've rolled the dice before with success tonight, so we call -- and lo and behold, he has A-A.

The river card doesn't matter, because we're officially sunk.  We finish in 239th place, out of 1,106 players -- down 13 spots from last month's Senior Championship.

We don't play dice games in casinos, but this night reminded us you can roll them one time too many.  Or as Jesus said after those 40 days in the wilderness....

Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" - Matthew 4:7