Poker Day 460: Double Your Pleasure?

So if we could win money playing poker on "Christmas Eve," could we sweep the weekend and win on "Christmas Day"? We decided to find out by driving to Kansas Star Casino. It's had a "High Noon" Friday tournament all year. But in a potentially troubling sign, it's being phased out - and the poker room has moved to a place with only eight tables, instead of 13.

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-10 of diamonds

We won an early pot with pocket 6's, but haven't done much beyond that. Hopeful chances have turned into problematic folds. We've reached the first break, but with only 1,000 chips out of a starting 3,500.

A change of dealers during the break has done us a favor. We were supposed to be in the Big Blind for this hand. Instead, the button was accidentally moved twice so we're in the Small Blind. Either way, this is a pushing hand for us. When one man raises to 300, we go all in. He calls.... and shows A-Q. Uh-oh.

ON THE FLOP: K-9-3 (middle card may not be precise)

No help for anyone - and no diamonds to let us dream of a flush.

ON THE TURN: 3

The board pairs, and actually gives us some hope. If a second pair comes....

ON THE RIVER: K

It does come! Two pair + Ace kicker = split pot. Too bad the other players folded, because our gain is small - from 1,000 to 1,200. But at least we escaped to fight another hand.

And on that next hand, A-10 came again. Again we bet the bundle, and the Small Blind called.

"Second verse, same as the first?!" We borrowed from an old pop song as we showed.

Well, not quite. Our opponent turned over A-J. The board didn't pair for either of us, and he knocked us out. No sweep this weekend, as we finished 27th out of 42 players - but at least we won back $35 of our $50 buy-in playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'em.
 

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Sir, that's a very unusual card protector," a man to our right said as the first hand was dealt. We used a small salt packet.... for that very inquiry.

"I brought it to remind me," we said as we looked at cards and folded them, "that Jesus wants me to be the salt of the earth."

The man simply stared, perhaps chuckling a little. "What do you think of Jesus?" we asked him. "What does he mean to you?"

The man stared a few more seconds, said nothing, then turned back to the poker action. We can only guess what he thought of us. Perhaps he thought we'd pulled a Christianized version of "Punk'd" on him.

But the Bible really does say:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. - Matthew 5:13

We're simply trying to add some flavor to a poker table that might otherwise be drab and quiet - and we're ready to talk about the things of God at the table. On this day, that man said nothing. But the day is coming when that's going to have to change....

....That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:10-11

We get the feeling this means every tongue - without exception. And if they don't confess? Read Revelation 20 for an idea of the answer. So how do you plan to respond?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 173 final tables in 460 games (37.6%) - 31 cashes. Our next scheduled post will wrap up the final totals from our 2015 poker activity.