Poker Day 480: One Expensive Trip

One of the first places where we played live poker for money was Harrah's Casino in North Kansas City. There have been times when every table was full for a weekday tournament. But with competing casinos now in the area, the Friday midday game can't even fill two tables. The better for us to make a final table while on a weekend road trip.... right?

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: J-9 offsuit

Well, maybe not so right. We were given 10,000 chips to start the day. After winning a small early pot, we lost a large one to a man with three 5's. Now we're in the Big Blind, starting this with only 4,500. No one raises at this table of eight, so we check and hope something big is about to break.

ON THE FLOP: J-3-2 (two cards are clubs; we don't recall which ones)

That's certainly a good start, and we're optimistically encouraged to see the Small Blind (first to act) betting 600. We call to tag along. A player to our left calls as well.

ON THE TURN: 9s

Even better! And now Mr. Small Blind bets 1,000. The play for us seems obvious.

"The bundle," we declare - and our last 3,500 comes forward.  But then the man to our left does the same thing - and he has 3,500 as well!

"Maybe great minds think alike," we say - because even a split would look good now. But the Small Blind calls, too! We could triple up!

But then the Small Blind shows.... 2-2! We're in "trip trouble" again. The man to our left shows A-5 of clubs; he has both straight and flush draws. It all comes down to one card....

ON THE RIVER: Qc

The flush hits. That man is relieved. We miss; we're not. On a day with only 17 players, we finish 17th. But at least the poker room had free donuts and cookies.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We didn't take a good "card protector" on the trip, so we grabbed a packet of artificial sweetener from a casino restaurant and improvised.

"I picked this up to remind me," we said to a man at our left, "that the word of God is sweet."

The man chuckled a little at that - but we hope at some point he thinks over what we said:

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! - Psalm  119:103

We don't think sugar cubes were around in Old Testament times. Packets of "Equal" certainly were not. So honey was the standard of sweetness for people. And it applied to more than simply the words God said....

The fear of the Lord is pure. enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.... they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. - Psalm  19:9-10

An "ordinance" of God is a rule He establishes for us to follow; it could refer to the "Ten Commandments" law, but not necessarily. So His rules can be sweet as well. But here's the amazing extra:

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. - Proverbs  16:24

Are these God's words? They can be - but we think it can apply to human words as well. The right comment at the right time can uplift and encourage other people. So be thankful for the sweet words God provides, in the Bible and in other ways - and see if you can stir something sweet into what you say at a poker table.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 178 final tables in 480 games (37.1%) - 34 cashes.