BLINDS: 150/300
IN THE POCKET: Q-Q
We won one early pot, but otherwise have struggled. A-Q and 8-8 both missed the flop and got us chased away. Now we have a nice pocket pair in the Small Blind, holding about 9,000 chips. But a player to our right raises to 1,000. Sorry, these cards are too nice. We call, and we're heads-up.
ON THE FLOP: 2-4-10 (suits are not an issue)
These cards mean we have an overpair - and now we're first to act. We follow our opponent's lead and bet 1,000. He calls.
ON THE TURN: 3
The lower, the better - or at least that's what it seems. In the spirit of a "turbo" tournament, we quickly offer 1,000 again. He quickly calls.
ON THE RIVER: 2
This pairs the board - but we can't imagine our opponent is holding a 2. We quickly try another 1,000. He quickly calls again. What does he have?
"I have Queens," we say as we show.
He shows.... well, no, he doesn't! He folds, never saying a word. We're left to guess. Maybe A-K?! Whatever it is, we'll happily take a pot of more than 8,000 chips.
On another slow Sunday night with only 16 entries, we reached the final table with 10,050 chips. After winning a hand there, we tried to limp in with 9-9 and the button. When no one bet a flop of J-8-7, we went big and bet 4,000. That led the leadoff player to push, and we called.... except he had J-8. His well-played trap held up, and we were eliminated in ninth place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A man we've met before remembered our "Lord's Supper" card protector, and felt led to talk quietly about his church life. He attended church with his family from roughly ages 14-24, then apparently stopped for awhile.
"I've been attending the Church of Christ down on Third Street," he told us - but admitted he hasn't gone there in more than a month.
"I think it's good to go to church on a regular basis," we responded, "so we can be reminded of what God is doing for us, and what we need to do for Him."
Let's take those two things in order. The apostle Paul gave a young evangelist this advice:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. - II Timothy 4:2
We think a good church will emphasize "the Word" - and that means more than simply the Bible:
In the beginning was the Word.... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1, 14
This only could be talking about Jesus Christ. His example and the Bible in general corrects us of our misunderstandings, rebukes us of sins and errors, then encourages us to walk in step with God.
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. - II John 6
Can you "walk in love", even in a poker room? We think it's possible. We'll explain how in an upcoming post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 210 final tables in 558 games (37.6%) - 44 cashes. Tonight marked our seventh final table in a row, going back to Labor Day!
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