Poker Night 363: Fishing Expedition

"I think you're going to make the final table tonight," a man told us before the Lil Kim's Cove tournament began.  "Along with me."

"We'll see," we said quietly.  Our confidence level was low because for the most part, the day had not gone well.  For instance, we were a first-hand bust in an online tournament while holding A-K.  We put all the games in God's hands, praying for wisdom to do better in this one....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: J-J

Thanks to a soda and a 5,000-chip "on-time bonus," we started the evening with a competitive 13,000 chips.  We won a pot in the first hour, when two diamonds turned into a flush.  Then a bigger pot came our way when A-K became a winning pair of Kings.

Now two tables remain from a starting three -- but before we look at our cards, there's plenty of action.  A man across from us is ready to play dominoes, so he goes all-in for 6,500.  A man to his left does the same, with only 1,000 left.  Holding a large stack of chips and a high pocket pair, we call -- but then a man to our immediate left also goes all-in for 4,500 more.  We call that as well, sensing several players simply want to move on.

ON THE FLOP: J-3-6

Two players can still bet: the Tournament Director to our right and us.  She checks.  With three of a kind, we bet 5,000 -- and she folds.

"Jack, Jack, Jack," we say as we turn over our cards.  Memories of a similar winning hand in metro Atlanta in 2010 come back to mind.  We took out one player then.  Now no one has cards to top us, and the payoff could be bigger.

ON THE TURN: 2

The other players have far higher cards.  So this is harmless.

ON THE RIVER: 6

That gives us a full house, to win every single chip in the pot.  We knock out three players at once -- and because it's been declared a "bounty tournament," we collect a 5,000-chip bonus for each of those players!  Our "fishing trip" with a couple of "hooks" led to one of the catches of the day.

This win vaulted us to more than 74,000 chips, which filled a hat for a stroll to the final table.  Our "prophet" turned out to be accurate (and we thanked him).  The table of nine dropped to six, and then a player proposed a settlement: with $65 and a "bucket of beers" at stake, all six would win $10.  The game continued for five bucks and five beers.  "It's poor man's poker," we admitted.

Then we were dealt A-A, which led to a nice sidepot (losing the main pot to a man who hit a straight).  With only four players left in the third hour, we called with A-Q -- but a man to our left pushed, and we called him.  He had A-9, but found a 9 on the flop.  The board didn't pair for us.  But we walked home happy -- with our best finish in four weeks, and our first cash win since late June.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A couple of times when we were dealing, we announced the turn card this way: "In honor of Dr. Flakes.... Fourth Street."

The players around the table said nothing about this.  But we find it hard to believe no one understood our reference.

Lil Kim's Cove sits only one block away from Fourth Street Baptist Church, whose longtime pastor Dr. J.H. Flakes, Jr. died this week.  He was a relatively quiet voice for racial unity in our city, yet an influential one through the One Columbus organization.

Sadly, we heard more than one reference by African-American players tonight to the "N-word" - and even one disparaging comment about Hispanic people.  We don't think that's what God ultimately desires:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - II Peter 3:9

Anyone of legal drinking age can walk in the door on Thursday nights and play free poker at Lil Kim's Cove -- regardless of gender, skin color or skill level.  May we all come to the point where racial remarks are buried in the realization that God made us all, and wants us all in His Kingdom:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 125 final tables in 363 games (34.4%) - 20 cashes.  We're declaring that leftover Diet Coke from Monday night "liberated," after tonight's cash win.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 272 point wins in 1,227 games (22.2%), 84 final tables, 10 wins, 10 cashes.  No-River Hold 'em - 18 point wins in 65 games (27.7%), 13 final tables, 1 cash win.

While we went one-for-two on points in the No-River game this past week, we expect the point percentage in full tournaments to keep dropping -- because we're primarily entering big-money tournaments which don't award points to runners-up.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $88,054, up $1,605.