BLINDS: 200/400
IN THE POCKET: Ace of spades-Ace of clubs
Starter cards don't come much better than this! And we're in the starting position for this hand, sitting to the immediate left of the Big Blind. So we apply an old strategy: limp early, bet late. We call. A man across the table to our left raises to 1,200. A young man across and to our right calls. Other players to our right fold.
What would you do in our situation? This looks like a perfect moment to three-bet. We raise to 3,400. Others who tried to limp in now fold. The man who raised thinks it over, then calls. So does the man to our right. So three players are in.
ON THE FLOP: Q-5-6
Harmless looking to us! Still in lead position, it's time for the stereotypical continuation bet.
"I'll be consistent," we say - and bet 3,400 again. The man to our left gets the hint, and folds. But the young man to our right dares to take us on - and raise to 10,000.
What could this be about? We don't think he has pocket Queens, because he probably would have three-bet pre-flop before we did. We conclude he's overconfident with A-Q, so we go for it.
"I'm all-in," we say. A few early wins gave us a top score of 29,900 chips from a starting 25,000. We do this from a hand-starting total of about 26,000.
"I'll call," he answers - as we expected, given his raise. "Two pair."
Whaaaaattt? He turns over 5-6! Phil Hellmuth might call him a "donkey" on the spot. We don't. That's not our way. Instead, we hope for cards to bail us out. Preferably a Queen, for a better two pair. Another 5 or 6 will give our opponent a full house.
ON THE TURN: 2
No help there. One card to go, and we count five outs.
ON THE RIVER: 3
It's a painful, stunning loss. Our opponent's big gamble gets a big payoff, and we leave the table after only an hour of play - eighth out of nine players at our starting table.
MINISTRY MOMENT: A man to our right wondered if he could promote an upcoming local church festival with a poster in the poker room.
"They won't let you," the dealer quickly responded. This is a casino, not the corner store.
But that didn't stop us from promoting our upcoming festival, by word of mouth. "The church group I attend is planning a big festival in October," we said. It's so big that a hotel in Cincinnati has been reserved for it.
The other man was intrigued, so we explained. "It's called the Feast of Tabernacles, based on the Old Testament - and it runs for eight days."
Have you heard or read about this event? It's mentioned several times in the Bible. Even Jesus attended it....
But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.... after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. - John 7:2, 10
Don't be fooled by that "Jewish" label. For one thing, Jesus Christ was Jewish:
For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. - Hebrews 7:14For another thing, the Biblical command to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (which has several names in Scripture) was given to all the tribes of Israel - all the way back at Mount Sinai:
...Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. - Exodus 23:16Several churches in our area have weekend "festivals" during the summer. This festival is commanded by God and lasts an entire week - with an eighth-day holy day to wrap it up (Leviticus 23:36, 39).
If you'd like to know more about this "fall Feast," it's not too late to join in - and there are places to celebrate it around the world. Many groups will start it off with a Sunday night worship service on October 13. This independent site explains what the Feast of Tabernacles is, and how to find a location near you. (We've even played poker during it, and sometimes done very well.)
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 222 final tables in 579 games (38.3%) - 48 cashes.
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