BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: J-9 offsuit
We won a small pot with A-K in the first hour, and turned K-J into another winner early in the second hour. Now we start with 9,000 chips in the Small Blind (as best we remember) - and when no one raises in front of us, we seize the opportunity to simply call.
ON THE FLOP: 5-9-6
That's top pair, combined with a table made a bit more cautious by high blinds. So why not keep seizing? We bet the minimum 2,000. A couple of players fold, perhaps recognizing our overall quiet approach. But a man across from us calls. Hmmm....
ON THE TURN: 9
Ahhhh - now we have three of a kind. But somehow we have the feeling our opponent also has a 9. We doubt he hit a straight on the flop, because he would have raised on us then. So this time, we check.
"Two-thousand," the other man says. If that's all he's betting....
"All in," we declare - a raise of 3,000 more.
A check-raise clearly was not what our opponent expected. "I'd take a hit," he admits as he examines his stack of about 4,000. He's looking at what he has more than us, which makes us feel more confident.
"You might have a straight, might have trips," he thinks out loud. It all looks too negative for him, so he folds. Thank you very much.
"I think he had a straight," a player between us guesses. "Did you have 7-8?" he asks us.
"No, I didn't have 7-8."
"Did you have a 9?" the losing player asks.
"I didn't have 7-8," we repeat. Yes, we did hear that other question.
The next hand was even better for us, as the Ace of diamonds led to a "nut flush" on the river. We claimed 12,000 from the big bettor at our right by going all-in, and eliminated a player in the process. That put us at 63,000 chips, and we entered the third hour of play with 50,000.
But then an old headache came back to haunt us. A player across from us went all-in, and we saw A-J of hearts. Admitting we've lost with that recently, we called -- and the opponent's 5-5 wound up prevailing when the board didn't pair or flush for us. A big rally ended with a disappointing 14th place, and a promise to ourselves to avoid A-J for awhile.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We used a little rock for our card protector, and told a man to our left it's a reminder "Jesus is the rock of my salvation.... Is Jesus your Savior?"
The man answered yes - but so quietly that he almost didn't want to admit it. Some might take that lack of enthusiasm as a sign he's really not a believer. But we're leaving that in the higher hands of the One who said:
Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. - John 7:24We heard a female preacher claim on radio earlier this year the Holy Spirit should stir you to the point of shouting, dancing and getting your "hair messed up." If that's true, why would the Bible say this:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment.... Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - I Peter 3:3-4Some ministers seem to overlook the fact that God made people with different kinds of personalities. Just as some poker players are quiet and calculating while others are talkative and boisterous, we think believers in Jesus can be the same way.
There is a time for everything.... a time to be silent and a time to speak.... - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7If someone doesn't fit your mold of what should be a Christian, remember you're not the standard for them to follow. Jesus Christ is the standard - the highest standard anyone can have. Are they matching that? And more importantly, are you?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 124 final tables in 357 nights (34.7%) - 19 cashes.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 269 point wins in 1,185 games (22.7%), 83 final tables, 10 wins, 10 cashes. No-River Hold 'em - 16 point wins in 57 games (28.1%), 13 final tables, 1 cash win.
No-River is no problem for us lately - as we finished sixth in a 95-player tournament Tuesday afternoon.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $87,621, up $838.
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