Poker Night 373: Welcome Wagon

"I've never seen you play before," the man with the big stack said to an opponent across the table.  That opponent had made a big bet in the second hour of action at Lil Kim's Cove.  But it wasn't his first one of the night.  There's a story to tell about that one....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: Ace-Jack of diamonds

We sit in the Big Blind with a relatively big stack of chips -- as an "on-time bonus" plus a soda ballooned our starting total to 13,000.  We've made only a couple of small entries, and lost those to drop to 12,275.  Now no one at our full table has raised (a bit unusual for this group tonight), so we're tempted to do it.  But our instinct says check, and we do.

ON THE FLOP: 6d-8d-5c (not exactly sure about last card's suit)

We have a nice flush draw, so we check.  But the man we were talking about sits two seats to our left, and he's not waiting.  He bets 2,000.  Several players call.  And since we have a lot of chips at our disposal, we call as well.

ON THE TURN: Jh

This gives us top pair, but we're still a bit wary.  We check again -- and the man at our left increases the bet to 3,000.  That runs a few players away.  But strange as it may sound, we're growing in confidence about this.  And with a big stack for support, we dare to call again.  A woman sitting between us calls as well.

ON THE RIVER: 5d

This pairs the board, and admittedly opens the door for a full house.  But we think this flush card is the perfect fit -- and perfect for a trap play.  We check once more.  The woman checks.  And indeed, the big bettor offers 5,000.

"I'm all-in," we say as we pick up our chips and count them.  It's a raise to 7,225.

The woman at our immediate left now thinks out loud.  "You might have two pair.  You might have a flush."

We agree.  "I might have a lot of things."

The woman ponders it so long that other players have to provoke her to make a decision.  She folds.  She wasn't our target, anyway.

"I know he's got me beat," the big bettor mutters.  He's all set to limit his losses and fold.  But finally he decides, "I've got to see it."  He calls, and our punch line is ready.

"You can call me Planters, because I've got the nuts."

That draws a laugh from several players.  Our opponent turns over 8-6.  He had two pair on the flop, so it's no wonder he bet so much.  But a little stubbornness on our part paid off, and we claim a huge early pot in the 40,000-chip range.  With a smaller stack, it admittedly would have been a tougher decision.

We rode that big win for a long time, while quality cards became rare for us.  Deep in the second hour of play, only ten players remained -- and then it happened.  We had Q-J in the Big Blind.  No one raised pre-flop.  The flop showed Queen high -- and we went for it, going all-in with 16,000.  A man with an enormous stack called with J-10.  And (of course), 9-8 came to give him a winning straight on the river.

For the second live tournament in a row, we missed the final table by one skinny hand.  It's another tenth-place finish.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "A rusty nail is bad luck," a man said as he joined our table and noticed our card protector.

"It is?" we asked.  That was a new one to us.  (Curiously, an online check found a list suggesting exactly the opposite.)  But that's not why we brought it.

"A lot of people are talking about Jesus at this time of year," we explained.  "But this is why He came."  The man agreed with that, and affirmed his belief in Jesus.

We personally don't keep Christmas, and we've heard some people in our congregation claim religious "Christmas stories" usually leave Jesus in a manger without going farther.  That seems like an exaggeration.  But we need to remember at all times of year why Jesus was born....

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.... Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save me from this hour'?  No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." - John 12:23, 27

The Lord is talking here about His upcoming death, which followed God the Father's master plan for saving humanity.

"I know that his command leads to eternal life.  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." - John 12:50

A few "songs of the season" actually address the purpose for Christ's coming.  This one with a contemporary beat actually makes the message seems timeless.  Consider the words -- and the full story about God coming to Earth.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 129 final tables in 373 nights (34.6%) - 20 cashes.  Turn this week's "tenths" into "ninths," and the percentage would be back above 35.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 275 point wins in 1,281 games (21.5%), 86 final tables, 10 wins, 11 cashes.  No-River Hold 'em - 21 point wins in 79 games (26.6%), 16 final tables, 1 cash/win.

We're counting our "in-the-money" finish in Sunday's weekly championship as a point win, even though no NLOP points were awarded.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $92,378, up $2,620.  We topped $90,000 to stay (hopefully) Tuesday night, and currently sit at a record high!