Well, let's be realistic. Not all poker players are gazillionaires. Some do well simply to make a living at the tables - and some may be trying to cheat you out of yours.
An essay posted by the New York Post reminded us of this. It's about an Australian player who talks about losing or winning more than $1,000 a day - and does it by playing ten hours a day, five days a week. In other words, "professional poker" becomes a job.
But it seems this job is an exception to what the Bible says about work:
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. - Proverbs 14:23
Is that a guaranteed paycheck in poker? Unless you have a sponsorship deal, the logical answer is no. What you earn depends on how long and how well you.... uh.... play?! Work?! Whichever.
The key comes in knowing what you're doing, and doing it well. That's not only true for poker players, but in other walks of life. For instance, farming come to mind....
The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. - I Corinthians 3:8
That principle will be true at the end of our lives as well, no matter how long we play poker:
....You, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. - Psalm 62:11-12
But don't overlook one important standard God uses in figuring that reward....
The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. - Psalm 18:20
Do you "labor" in poker in a clean way? An ethical way? A way which sets an example for others of proper (even godly) conduct? That kind of work will bring a good reward - including the hope of eternal life with Jesus Christ.
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