In live tournaments, we made the final table eight times in 33 games in the last year - not far from 25 percent. We earned money in five of those tournaments (more than $650 total), and would have earned cash in a sixth if Yvie's Bar and Grill paid money for second place instead of league points. That sixth would have matched our money-win count for 2015.
But 2016 was a difficult year for poker players in our area, as police moved to shut down all "card rooms" for not operating legally. Due to our work schedule, practically the only place where we can play tournaments now is a casino south of town, and the competition there admittedly is stiff.
Yet we made two final tables (winning money at both) in 17 tournaments at Kansas Star, coming close to a third this past Friday. It was a breakthrough year for us there.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER: One "top-ten percent" finish in 17 tournaments. Grand total: 285 point wins (top 10%) in 1438 games, 93 final tables, 10 wins, 13 cashes.
We were able to get into a regular Thursday night tournament habit with NLOP this past year. So far, it admittedly hasn't gone well. But NLOP has added "ring games", earning tokens in a cash-game format. In three tries there, we've gained 140 tokens; our best night was playing Omaha.
POKER STARS: 420,871 play money chips - up 84,159 at the table
We have to specify "at the table" because Poker Stars became a much more expensive place to play in 2016. Games with 1/2 blinds are gone; the minimum now is 50/100 with a 10,000-chip stack to start. But the site also became very generous in handing out free chips; we received 225,000 due to special promotions and a "free chips" button you can click simply for logging on.
MINISTRY MOMENT: As we write this summary, we're reminded of a question that sometimes comes up when we play. It came up again Friday: Isn't gambling a sin? Something believers in God shouldn't do?
If you look strictly from the accountant's view, you might say 2016 showed we're a gambling loser. The Kansas Star tournaments cost $850 to enter, and we only won $337. Yet what we're trying to do is more than that....
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." - Mark 16:15-16
In many ways, this is a big world. People have a wide range of interests. Jesus told His disciples to go into that world with a gospel (also known as "good news") message. Even poker players need to be introduced to that message - so we take it there, and talk about it here. We pray God will use what we do to bring people to Himself:
I planted the seed. Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - I Corinthians 3:6-7
We know what we can afford to do, and we keep a limit on our spending on tournaments at casinos. For instance, you'll notice no live statistics for 2016 cash games - because we didn't play any. We consider the tournament buy-in an "entry fee," much as someone would pay to enter a golf tournament or pie-baking contest. If we win something back, we thank God for it.
By the way, here's one final set of statistics: this blog had more than 700 views in December alone - which computes to perhaps more than 8,000 this past year. People searching for something about poker may be finding more than they expect. We pray it's a spiritual spark in their lives - yet not one person left a comment this past year. You're always welcome to offer some, either positive or negative. If we can bust out early at tournaments, we can take it. Really.
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