The Art of the Deal

Our last post mentioned what should have been a big disappointment for us - falling one spot short of the money at a poker tournament. But instead, we wound up with a "bubble boy" consolation prize from the other players. It was three-fourths of our $80 buy-in.

How did we do that? Well, we've never read the Donald Trump book that inspired our title. But here are some things that we think helped our cause - and they could help you in poker someday as well:

1. Be friendly. Some players show up at the table like poker is something between a workday at the office and a prelude to World War III. But we're reminded of a verse our long-time pastor in Georgia quoted often....

A man that has friends must show himself friendly.... - Proverbs 18:24 (KJV)

If Mr. Grumpy Grinder had finished fourth on Sunday night, then stormed away from the table, there's no way the other players would have offered to help him. But we tried to be friendly all evening, and it paid off.

2. Be a good sport. Related to #1, be willing to encourage other players when the moment is appropriate. Consider these words to a church group long ago....

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. - I Thessalonians 5:11

Keep the trash talking to a minimum. We also make sure we shake hands with the player who knocks us out of a tournament. Many of them are stunned when we do that.

3. Develop a sense of humor. Long-time readers of this blog know we wrote a mostly-comedy blog first, and had a subscription comedy service before that. So we've developed a good sense of how to keep things light during a tournament. And believe it or not, the Bible supports laughing....

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.... a time to weep and a time to laugh.... - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

There had been talk of splitting the prize money late in the final table. But after we were eliminated, we said tongue-in-cheek to the dealer, "You'll notice no one talked about 'Bubble Boy' money here." That little one-liner inspired the donations!

One of the final three on Sunday night said it was a "very entertaining" tournament. That's part of our goal, but only a part. To borrow from a church bulletin we saw years ago: to get them listening (as in comments about God and Jesus), get them laughing.

If you have other ideas, feel free to leave a comment. And may your poker days be not only profitable, but even a little fun.