Poker Night 337: Hearts and Letters

Have you ever played poker against someone who seems to be weak, yet keeps winning pots?  The sort of player you want to get in a big hand when the right moment comes, so you can score a huge gain?  That situation faced us tonight at The Red Barn.  A man who said he "plays poker, but not Hold 'em" seemed unsure about what he was doing, yet kept building his stack.  Then came this....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-K offsuit

We've had mostly marginal cards all evening, and haven't won a pot yet.  A starting stack of 7,000 chips (helped by a soda purchase) has slowly dropped to about 5,500.

Now we're in the Big Blind at a table of six with our best hand of the night -- and the man with the big stack is two seats to our left.  The table calls to us, and we raise 500.  That man calls; in fact, most of the table does.

ON THE FLOP: 4-5-K

Top pair, top kicker -- top-notch for us!  When the Small Blind checks, we put in a continuation bet of 500.  But to our disappointment, Mr. Big Stack folds -- which surprises one player enough to point it out.  Only the Small Blind accepts our challenge and calls.

ON THE TURN: 7h

This puts two hearts on the board -- but all we're really noticing is the top King.  Our opponent checks, and now we bet 1,000.  She folds, and we win the hand.

"Can I see the last card?" a woman across from us (who also seems new) asks.

ON THE RIVER: 10h

"F**kin' A," she says.  We apparently chased her off a flush.  Good (giggle).  We recover to 8,100 total chips -- but this is a "Big Blind Special" we really hoped would be more profitable.  Should we have waited on that confident man to bet first?

We had little reason to be confident after that, because we didn't win any more pots.  We lasted well into the second hour, but finally went all-in with A-4 and failed to match the board.  A woman with two pair eliminated another player with us, and we finished tied for 18th.

But look at what happened to us online, earlier in the day!  A suited King-Queen in the Small Blind turned into a "diamond jubilee," as we made a royal flush on the river.

"Ralph" across the table made his own straight on the flop, but didn't make big bets to run us off.  The river card prompted the player at our left to go all-in with two pair.  Then Ralph made a big raise, to around 1,300.  We doubled that bet -- and wound up stunning the table.

That big win gave us enough cushion to reach the final table of this qualifying tournament, and finish fifth overall out of 63 players.  So we'll be back in the National League of Poker Senior Championship at the end of August.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Back at the Barn, a flop of 7-7-K prompted the man with the big stack of chips to have a moment of praise.  "How did you know, Lord?" he said in a loud voice.  "How did you know?!?"

"Because God knows everything," we answered him.  "He knows it all."

Yes, we realize that man probably was joking.  But he didn't comment on our serious response.  The Bible reveals a God of brilliance....

Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? - Job 21:22

Besides, God made the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  Have you seen any humans do that lately?  And God knows more than the big things of creation -- He knows you.  Personally.

Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.  Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry...." - Acts 1:24-25

When God looks at your heart, what does He see?  A life filled with vices, and corrupted by sin?  Or a heart you're trying to clean up, with His help?

Create in a me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10

King David knew he needed to ask God for help, in cleaning up His life.  And God knows how to do that -- if you'll ask Him for help.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 120 final tables in 337 nights (35.6%) - 19 cashes.