Poker Night 359: Having a Good Time?

As the "October Nine" sat down to play at the World Series of Poker Main Event tonight, an any-ol'-time group of 28 began dealing cards at The Red Barn.  And one man acted quickly to give us plenty of time to watch ESPN2....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: Q-J offsuit

It's the very first hand of the tournament, and we're sitting one behind the dealer at a table (actually a bar counter) of six.  We're willing to start things slowly with two face cards.  But the Small Blind opposite us has another idea.  He raises 300, and we call along with most of the group.

ON THE FLOP: J-3-3

Two pair looks quite nice - and the Small Blind checks, perhaps to help us.  The play checks to us, and we bet 300.  But then the Small Blind pulls a fast one, and raises - to 5,000.  Other players bail out, leaving us alone with a tough guy on Fourth Street.

"You want to take me out and send me home on the very first hand," we say as we ponder.  A call would leave us with only 1,350 chips (from a starting 7,000, enhanced by purchasing soda); he has much more, due to food and beer buys.

"You can let me have it," our opponent says - as if we have no chance.  Or is he being a bluffing bully?  We think long and hard about this, then decide it's too early to take a big risk.

"I'm going to fold," we say without showing our cards.  He doesn't show, either.

"Bullying is not nice," we then tell a couple of nearby players.  But the pot winner has a different explanation.

"I've had too many bad beats," he says.  "I had a small boat.  If a Jack had come, I would have had a big boat."

Assuming the Small Blind is telling the truth about a full house, the only hand he could have had is J-3 -- yet he also makes a rambling comment about having Queens.  We ask twice for a complete statement of his hand, but he doesn't really provide it.

At least the loss was small -- but the trouble is that the losses kept coming, as our timing was terrible all evening.  A big bet on the flop ran us off K-9, but then K-9 turned up for what would have been a winning two pair and a 5,000-chip "Rodney bonus."  Another bet on the flop turned us away from A-2 -- but then running spades came, and we would have had a winning nut flush.

We finally went all-in for our last 1,500 with K-9.  But the board didn't pair for us, and a man with a 6 eliminated us.  No final table spotlight for us -- merely a 21st-place finish and a lot of head-shaking.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Earlier in the day, an online player with a thought-provoking screen name wrote a thought-provoking chat comment....

BurnNHell:  nothing more dangerous than a player ho ONLY sees and thinks about HIS hand

Of course, we were moved to respond:

Me:  Profound.
Me:  Others + self
Me:  Otherwise you might....
Me:  well, that's his screenname

We were out of the hand which brought this exchange.  But the discussion connects well to the Red Barn hand above.  We knew better than to make a big bet on the flop with two pair -- especially with two 3's showing.  Someone with three of a kind could (poker pun alert) trip us up.  But the principle applies outside poker as well.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:3-4

Our Pastor once gave a sermon called "When Self Gets in the Way" - pointing out the troubles that can happen, such as neglecting God.  But beyond that....

Jesus replied, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:37-40

If you only care about yourself at the expense of others, Jesus says you're breaking a major commandment.  And if you don't repent of that, we fear you're at risk of burning in "Hell" or Gehenna fire.  So take time to think about the cares and concerns of others - because if you do, you could avoid a major loss.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 124 final tables in 359 nights (34.5%) - 19 cashes.  We'll have no more live tournaments this week; an upcoming post will explain why.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 269 point wins in 1,195 games (22.5%), 83 final tables, 10 cashes, 10 wins.  The Senior Championship didn't award any points; we probably would have won some if it had.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $87,822, up $201.