Poker Day 564: Going Up

The drive from our home to Jack Casino today was the fastest yet - only six minutes. But then came a jolt, and the day's first big decision.

"That's $120," the cashier said.

The normal price for a morning tournament is $80. So we wondered if this was a special New Year's event. Sadly, no. Without any advance notice (it's not yet posted on the casino website as we write this), Jack started a new 2019 poker schedule today. Morning tournaments will cost either $100 or $120, based on the day of the week.

"The price of playing poker just went up," we told a man sitting to our left as we reviewed the schedule. And this time, we did not mean higher blinds. But we paid the buy-in, anyway - and suddenly found ourselves in one of those higher-priced Jack tournaments. Could we make it worth the trouble?

BLINDS: 50/100/100

IN THE POCKET: Ace of clubs-Jack of spades

Oh yes - the rules for the morning tournament have changed as well. Now it's a "Big Blind Ante" game, with the player in the Big Blind paying an extra ante. In this hand, that's us. A few early feelers have failed, but this game also lets us start with 25,000 chips and 20-minute blinds.

So we can be patient - but not with these cards. No one raises, so we go up to 500. Three players at the table of seven call.

ON THE FLOP: Jc-9c-6s (last two cards may not be precise)

Top pair + top kicker = green light. "I'll bet the big one," we say - as in 700 chips, borrowing from a legendary Cincinnati radio station. Two men across from us call, but the fourth one folds. We think they're speculating, and we're in front.

ON THE TURN: 7c

This puts three clubs on the board. But we still have top pair, and one more club would give us the nuts. So why wait? We bet 1,000. The other guys call again.

ON THE RIVER: 2h

Are the flush-chasers happy or frustrated? We need to know, so we bet another 1,000. A man across from us calls; the other opponent folds.

"He has a Jack," we say as the other man shows.... J-10. "And I have a Jack." But our kicker is superior, and we win several thousand chips.

A few big gains in the first period (now one hour, 40 minutes) brought us to a high of about 30,500. But we reached the break at 24,625. Then a couple of all-in wins kept us going in the second term, including an A-10 which beat A-7. But we had a precarious 18,100 at the second break.

The third term brought a dramatic win over a man with a huge stack, as our K-K beat his Q-Q. That allowed us to reach the final table at 29,600. But then we pushed again with A-J of hearts. That same man had pocket 7's, and they won the race.

We finished in tenth place out of 33 players, with money only going to the top four. We left thankful to make a final table against what we consider quality competition. But if Jack is going to keep the poker prices high, we'll be making many more drives to the competition in Indiana.

MINISTRY MOMENT: One awkward part about the Big Blind Ante format is that the ante doesn't always match the Big Blind. That requires a lot of shuffling of chips among players to make correct change.

After one such shuffle in our Big Blind where we lacked change, we told the dealer, "To borrow from an old song: 'From whence, from whence shall come my help?'" In this case, another player provided the change. "But ultimately," we added, "my help comes from the Lord."

"That's where my help comes from, too," the dealer said. Hooray - someone else who looks to the Lord! But is that where your help lies? If not, consider this....

I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT)

This world teaches a self-reliant spirit - that you should take charge of your own life. Poker games reinforce that, because no collusion or tag-team action normally is allowed. But there's a problem with that. We can't live forever.

It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate.... The living at least know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing.... - Ecclesiastes 9:3, 5 (NLT)

Life can look very helpless - but it doesn't have to be that way. Believers in God and Jesus Christ should have a hope that help is coming....

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13 (NLT)

The believer's hope is in a resurrection to eternal life when Jesus Christ returns. May that hope fill you in the months and years to come. What other hope beyond this life do we really have?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 213 final tables in 564 games (37.8%) - 45 cashes.