Poker Day 412: Better Late Than Never

We backed our car into a parking spot at Arrowhead Poker.  We got out of the car, having already checked our pockets for our poker tools (note pad, pencil, prop).  Then we realized we'd forgotten one very important thing.  It was a Sunday tournament with a $20 buy-in -- and we'd left our wallet at home.

Instead of going inside feeling embarrassed, we drove back home muttering about our own stupidity.  We could have said "Forget it" and worked on other things the rest of the day.  But we finally decided to grab our wallet and go back -- even though it meant showing 25 minutes after the starting time.

The poker room manager was reluctant for a moment -- but eventually split the one table of play into two, so we could have a seat.  Our chip stack was deducted for one round of missed blinds, so we had some catching up to do....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: 4 of diamonds - 6 of diamonds

We regained our deduction right away, winning two pots in a row as soon as we sat down.  Now we're at around the starting number of 20,000, sitting in the Small Blind.  The group of five is playing somewhat tight, so no one raising before the flop allows us to simply call.

ON THE FLOP: A-4-2

It's a pair -- albeit a drab one.  We're first to act, and check.  But we're a little comforted to see the rest of the table checking as well.

ON THE TURN: 5

This brings four cards to a straight.  We decide to test how serious the table is, by betting 600.  (We do have a pair, after all.)  Two players call.  But something also tells us a good card is about to come....

ON THE RIVER: 3

Indeed it did!  This puts a straight on the table -- but our 6 gives us a higher straight.  So we bet 2,000, in a "truth or dare" challenge.  One man folds quickly.  The other thinks about it several seconds, then thinks better and surrenders.

We're in a somewhat giving mood, so we turn over our cards.  "I knew you had a 6," one of the folders said.  He was wise.  We're still happy, gaining about 2,000 chips.

We slowly kept building our stack, and reached the final table.  Then came some up-and-down moments, with a top of about 210,000 chips late in the tournament.  We finally held on to make the top three, which earned prize money!

But then a big all-in challenge when we held A-4 failed, as an opponent held A-Q and cleaned up.  That left us forced to go all-in with very little in the Big Blind, and our Queen-high lost to three of a kind.  Yet third place earned us $30 on a $20 investment -- not bad for someone who started the afternoon feeling stupid and ashamed.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our final-table seat was directly to the Dealer's left.  At one point he dealt the cards a bit loosely for a moment.

"I saw that," we said as he juggled a "burn card" back into the deck.

"What was it?"

"A red Ace."

Sure enough - it was the Ace of diamonds.  He displayed it to the other players.

"Thank you, sir.  Honesty is the best policy."

We agree with that -- but let's face it.  How many other poker players would agree with that view -- even serious ones?  The national news Sunday evening included a top U.S. military official who's under investigation for allegedly taking counterfeit chips to a poker room.

Some people think the phrase, "Honesty is the best policy," comes from the Bible.  That exact quote does not.  (We could find no original source for it.) But the principle is certainly Biblical:

Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.  Use honest scales and honest weights.... - Leviticus 19:35-36

This instruction probably refers to doing trade or business.  But shouldn't it apply to everything we do in life?  Look at what could happen if your answer is no....

Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?  Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.  Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins. - Micah 6:11-13

Verse 1 of this chapter makes clear God is saying these words.  Deceitful actions and words might make you rich in the short-term -- but God can make sure you pay for it in the long-term.  May our lives be like Shakespeare wrote in a play: "Every man has his fault, and honesty is his."

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 145 final tables in 412 games (35.2%) - 24 cashes.  Since moving to Kansas, our record has been strong: 6 for 8 in reaching final tables, with 3 cash wins.