Poker Night 365: A Thanksgiving Miracle?

The first surprise came at mid-afternoon Thursday.  Someone posted a note on Facebook that there was Thanksgiving Night poker after all -- at The Red Barn in Phenix City, where we usually play on Mondays.  So we changed our evening plans, and paid it a visit.

The second surprise was inside The Red Barn, as a Thanksgiving spread was on one of the counters.  There was turkey, green bean casserole, rolls and apple pie -- all free!  "It's Thanksgiving," the Tournament Director explained.  So we filled a plate and enjoyed it before the game, buying soda for extra poker chips.

The third surprise came at game time, when an overseer of the tournament came to our table bearing 5,000-chip pieces -- with at least three for everyone!  Starting at 23,000 chips inside of the usual 5,000 allowed us a fighting chance against the "power poker" players.  And with only 15 players taking part, things looked good.  For awhile....

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: Q-Q

We've just been moved from a table where we recovered from an early setback with some creative betting (for us).  We reached the one-hour break with 25,500 chips, but lost a moderately-sized pot moments before to drop to 21,500.

We settle in "under the gun" at a table of six.  Even though the pocket pair is large, we choose to limp in.  But  the man behind the dealer raises to 5,000.  We resist the urge to push right now, joining one other player in calling.

ON THE FLOP: 6-5-2

This flop seems harmless, especially compared to the pre-flop betting.  We check to the raiser, who now throws out 10,000.  The third player in the pot folds.

We haven't seen this man play before, so we don't know his poker history.  But the trend at our local tournaments is for "newcomers" to bet big with hands which are little.  So we decide to reach for our chip stack and take a stand.

"I'm all-in," we announce -- adding our last 6,500 chips to the 10,000.  Our opponent doesn't hesitate to call.  We show our Queens.  He doesn't show his cards yet.

ON THE TURN: A

He now turns over.... a Queen.  Huh?!

ON THE RIVER: 7 (as best we recall)

And under our opponent's Queen, he reveals.... an Ace.

Ouch!  He takes us out quickly and painfully.  Yet we doubt this hand could have ended any other way.  If we had pushed pre-flop, he doubtless would have called.  And when we made the all-in decision, he didn't even have a pair -- simply two overcards.

On a night when the Thanksgiving table was set perfectly for us to make a third consecutive final table, we missed it.  Our finish was 12th place -- and if that wasn't enough, our next stop was Wal-Mart, where we simply wanted to buy groceries but wound up trapped in long lines of "Black Friday Eve" shoppers.  But that's another story....

MINISTRY MOMENT: That note about Thursday night's tournament was posted on the Facebook group for Big Dog Poker.  Trouble is, Big Dog Poker does not run The Red Barn's tournaments -- it's a separate entity.

In the late afternoon, someone overseeing the Big Dog Facebook group removed the first notice and replaced it with one saying the group was for Big Dog posts only.  An exchange of comments already had occurred involving the original poster.  So we added our own: "If Israel and Hamas can work out a ceasefire...."

By evening, the entire discussion was deleted from the group's Facebook page.  But it shows even in an area the size of ours, there's competition between poker "circuits." (As far as we know, The Red Barn's tournaments aren't played at any other locations.)

From what we understand, the two circuits developed due to some kind of disagreement involving Big Dog Poker operators.  But to carry it that far on Thanksgiving Day, when Big Dog didn't even have an evening venue, strikes us as something out of a Middle East feud -- and all too common in this world.

What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?.... You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God. - James 4:1-2

It happens between competing poker circuits, poker players, married couples, and even church denominations.  Yet here's what God wants us to do....

....Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. - Psalm 34:13-14

It's no wonder Jesus Christ is coming again someday as the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) - because humans tend to do a terrible job finding peace between each other.

If there are quarrels and feuds in your life, one suggestion we'd make toward starting a "peace process" is to simply let the other side have his or her say.  Let them spill, while you quietly listen.  Then switch roles, to start a dialogue.  As it happens, Friday is the National Day of Listening - a perfect time to sit down with others, prepared with open ears and minds.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 126 final tables in 365 nights (34.5%) - 20 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 273 point wins in 1,236 games (22.1%), 84 final tables, 10 wins, 10 cashes. No-River Hold 'em - 19 point wins in 68 games (27.9%), 14 final tables, 1 cash win.

We've had "poker room payoff" finishes in three huge NLOP tournaments in the past week -- among the top one percent, including a 21st-place finish out of 971 players on Monday.  But the freeroll tournaments don't award points, which hurts our record.  However, we came in seventh out of 60 in a No-River Hold 'em tournament Wednesday.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $86,038, down $2,016.

Poker Night 180: Eights Are Enough?

"You just can't play a bunch of...." Well, the man didn't finish that sentence with the word junk. But his point is well taken, when it comes to having success in a poker tournament. Tonight at Lil Kim's Cove, we saw low offsuit cards time after time. So we tried to borrow the Doyle Brunson line, and "go through the window" in one hand....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: 8h-7d

The closest we've come so far to being serious with a hand was an A-9 which missed on the flop, and we wound up folding. With 6,400 chips, we decide to try these mid-range connectors. A player across the table doubles the bet to 400, and half the table joins in.

ON THE FLOP: Ks-8s-8d

Triple eight should be great! But players are betting all around us -- first 500, then 1,000. We call, and suspect most of the action is based on bluffs.

ON THE TURN: 4h

A seemingly harmless card doesn't slow anybody down. Now the bet to our left is 1,000 straightway. Two other players call, and we feel we must -- but is someone holding a full house here? Could an 8 on the river confirm our suspicions?

ON THE RIVER: As

The man who started the betting before now checks -- but the next man in line goes all-in. A player between us says he "has to call," and says something about there being a lot of options on the board. We thank him for saying that -- because we were about to go all-in for 4,000. But we then take a second look, and realize three spades are showing.

"I'll fold." We decide our three 8's are worthless. It turns out we were right; the first player who pushed made a flush, but the caller had A-8 and hit a full house on the river. We trailed in the hand all along.

We trailed all night long, in fact. We never won a pot, and tried to go all-in with 8-8 and 3,500 left. But big cards fell on the board, and a straight topped us. We did no better than fifth at the table.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "I'll stay out of the hands you're in," the man to our left said to the man to our right before the tournament began. But on the very first hand, they wound up heads-up after the flop.

"I thought you two had an agreement here...." we said mostly as a joke. The man to our left claimed otherwise after winning the hand.

"I don't play favorites when it comes to playing poker."

"So you're like God, then?" we answered. "The Bible says He's no respecter of persons." We repeated that explanation for the man to our right. They didn't really respond to it. If you'd like to respond, leave a comment; we'll have more on this in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 75 final tables in 180 nights (41.7%) - 15 cashes.

We understand a quarterly Big Dog Poker championship game is this weekend, and we qualified for it be placing 33rd in points. But again the tournament is on Saturday -- the Sabbath for us. Too bad.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments -- 64 point wins in 346 games (18.5%), 27 final tables, 1 cash.

This may have been our best week ever at NLOP, with five point wins in 11 games!

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $10,723 (unchanged).

Poker Night 148: Straight, No Chaser

We were on time for tonight's tournament at Lil Kim's Cove. But we sat down "late," because they started the clock about 12 minutes early. Then we didn't stay late, because we were ousted early. Hands like this one didn't help....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-9

We're in the small blind, and waiting for a good hand to play. One early try failed, but we call now. Several players enter the hand.

ON THE FLOP: K-Q-10

We're first in line to act -- and with top pair and a straight draw, we bet 300. It's a modest bet to see if someone with a bigger hand will raise, but no one does.

ON THE TURN: 3

Maybe we shouldn't feel more optimistic, but we do. People chasing straights missed with that card. So we move the bet up to 400. Our poker buddy Harry to our immediate left calls; everyone else folds.

ON THE RIVER: 9

It's amazing how a better hand can make you more cautious about it. Now we have two pair -- but we have to check, given what's on the board. Harry ponders a moment, then bets 2,000.

"Were you waiting on that river card?" we ask in hopes of a clue.

"Sometimes I don't even know what I've got," Harry answers. Well, sort-of answers. Most of the time, his bets reflect what he has -- but he's bluffed us out of pots before.

"I've got to see it. I'll call," we decide.

"Show him the Jack," a man across the table tells Harry.

Harry turns over -- yup, a Jack. He hit the river, and cost us about half our chip stack.

As if that wasn't bad enough, we decided to go all-in later for 2,025 with A-10. A woman called us with A-J. The board brought only a pair of Queens, and we were left with an estimated 35th place -- oh yes, and a basket of fries Harry didn't want after finishing his grilled cheese sandwich.

MINISTRY MOMENT: While we've missed five final tables in a row, we've played well enough since the start of 2010 to place among the top 30 players in Columbus's "Big Dog Poker" standings.

"What does that get you?" someone asked the Tournament Director before Wednesday night's game at Soho Bar and Grill.

"The top 50 get in a tournament, to win 1,000 bucks."

Good news for us -- maybe. "When's that going to be?" we asked.

"April 24th, at noon...."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Why?"

"Saturday is the Sabbath," we explained. Regular readers know we keep a seventh-day Sabbath -- and it's not merely based on the Ten Commandments.

"Jesus returned to Galilee.... He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom." -- Luke 4:14-16

There wasn't any "Christian church" before Christ walked the earth -- and since "our Lord descended from Judah" (Hebrews 7:14), He followed the proper Jewish religious tradition.

Some Sabbath-keepers would dispute this next point -- but we believe you can worship God and Jesus anytime you wish during the week. But the Sabbath remains the time God set apart as holy, so we make sure to worship Him then. Or as we told the Tournament Director, we put the "King of Kings" first.

The Director understood our reasoning, but said he didn't feel comfortable playing the $1,000 tournament on a Sunday because others might want to attend church then. Hmmmmm -- do you agree with that point of view? Or would most poker players put the opportunity before the worship service?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 59 final tables in 148 games (39.9%) - 11 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 26 point wins in 173 games (15.0%), 10 final tables, no cashes.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $15,863, up $75.