Poker Night 348: Big? Gulp!

(HAND CORRECTED 9.14.12)

We might as well have been playing online poker at Lil Kim's Cove tonight -- at least at the beginning.  A man walked in, sat down to our left and went all-in on the first two hands.  No one took him on.  But maybe he gave us an unconscious urge to loosen up our game....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

We started with 7,000 chips (2,000 extra for buying soda).  But we haven't won a hand, whiffed on some hopeful hands at the flop, and start this one with 4,375.  Sitting in the Small Blind at a table of seven, no one raises ahead of us.  We think a moment about these cards, and decide it's time to make a move.

"Raise - a thousand," we say.  That's on top of the 200, but no one makes a fuss over that (see our previous post).  Only two players decide to take us on -- a mother and son, we believe.

ON THE FLOP: Q-J-9

The cards are all black, but the presence of top pair looks golden to us.  Our opponents check, but we make a follow-up bet of 1,000.  That chases the son away, but Mom takes us on by calling.

"You ought to just go all-in," the player to our right suggests quietly.  He hasn't seen our cards.

"It's the frog in the pot theory," we explain -- as in slowly turning up the heat.

ON THE TURN: K

Now our pair comes with a large side order of trouble.  Four cards now are showing for a straight.  We check out of caution -- only to see Mom bet 2,000.  Maybe the man to our right knew what he was talking about!

We have 2,175 remaining, which makes this an agonizing decision.  We look at our opponent for a clue.  She simply smiles for a moment, then puts the "poker face" back on.  Something tells us she's bluffing - and we've played her enough in the past to know she might.  After a long thought, we accept that reasoning.  We call.

ON THE RIVER: 10

Our opponent openly disapproves of this card.  It puts a straight on the table, and we have the Ace to make a top straight.  Our move is obvious: all in for the last 175 we have.  She calls.

"I had the Ace and the 10," she says as she shows.  Our read was wrong, but the river bails us out.  We split the pot, actually gaining a bit to 5,350.

We were moved back to our original table minutes later, and saw another chance to hit it big.  Pocket Kings came to us in lead position, and we bet 1,000 with them on the flop after limping in.  But that flop brought a Queen, and a man with pocket Queens eventually moved us all-in.  He led all the way, made a full house and sent us packing in 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A man came to one of our tables tonight with a new tattoo of John 3:16 on his left arm.  No, we don't mean the words "John 3:16."  The entire verse is on his arm -- plus the Scripture reference.  (He wouldn't allow us to take a photograph, but it looks different from our illustration posted by a tattoo artist.)

We know some Christian ministers who still can't accept the idea of wearing "W.W.J.D.?" wristbands.  This approach goes even farther -- and unless he chooses to go through the pain of tattoo removal later, it's a permanent commitment to these classic words:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 (KJV)

We've mentioned before that we're skeptical about tattoos for Biblical reasons.  This is not the sort of thing we'd personally put on our body.  But just as poker players become "pot-committed" with a big investment in a hand (as we did above), Jesus does desire a full commitment from His followers.

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:61-62

To borrow from a pro football legend's autobiography: God should come first.  Friends and family come second.  Then you come third.  Is that your order in life?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 123 final tables in 348 nights (35.3%) - 19 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 267 point wins in 1,147 games (23.3%), 82 final tables, 10 cashes, 10 outright wins. No-River Hold 'em - 11 point wins in 48 games (22.9%), 10 final tables, 1 cash for a win.

The full-tournament week score was quite misleading -- as in midday "speed freerolls" with about 800 players, we finished in the top 50 four times.  NLOP used to award points in those tourneys (and we'd easily earn money in casinos), but not anymore.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $81,941, down $227.