Where Was the Love?

Our last post mentioned there was no "ministry moment" during the Thursday night cash back. No mention of God at all. In fact, our "card protector" was a makeshift straw wrapper we found at our seat.

So what changed? The day of the year. Thursday was Valentine's Day - and the church group we've attended for years is against keeping it. It's considered a man-made "pagan day," not Biblical. Ministers would point to Bible verses like this:

...Inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise, You shall not do so to the Lord your God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hates, have they done to their gods... - Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (KJV)

We started doing the "day without love" on February 14 five years ago, after reading a church magazine article with this explanation:

What about showing love on Valentine's Day if I'm not doing it for pagan reasons? Isn't that okay? No, because the expression of that kind of 'love' is still rooted in a former pagan holiday. True Christians must not adopt pagan festivals as holidays....
Showing love as God instructs is not wrong - romantic love included.... But don't do it under the trappings of a pagan holiday like Valentine's Day!...

But just between you, us and the internet, we see a problem with this line of reasoning. Do you see it? The problem is in how the Bible defines God....

And we have known and believe the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. - I John 4:16 (KJV)

If love was wrong on Thursday, we would ask: did God take Thursday off? Did He stop loving everyone for a day, because some Catholics or pagans had a special "love" or "romance" day? Did the world stop turning? Did the warm sun or helpful rain go away? Of course not.

Our point is simply this: God is defined as "love." And God existed before any pagans or humans did:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 (KJV)

Humans might do ungodly things on February 14. In fact, two "St. Valentine's Day massacres" have occurred on that day in the last 100 years - one with U.S. organized crime, another at a Florida high school. If anything shows what happens when you go without love for a day, those events should.

We should indeed, as that article states, "show love as God instructs." But saying you shouldn't do it on Valentine's Day is illogical and extreme. God's love is non-stop. Ours should be as well.

So we did what we did in an attempt to follow church teaching strictly - but also to teach a lesson to anyone who might see it. (And it cost us money, as we had a losing night in the casino.) Love should not be governed by the calendar. It should follow the instructions of the Bible, which nowhere states love takes a day off on February 14. If you see it there, please let us know where you found it.

The Wrong Crowd?

If you've read this blog for a while, you might find it puzzling. Why is someone making Christian and Biblical points about poker - and even playing poker in casinos?

We heard a sermon this weekend which helps explain our perspective. It came from the President of a church association, who's also a minister and a long-time member of a Rotary club. The club includes Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians.

The message was tied to a Biblical proverb:

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. - Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

For the sharpening process to work, he said, one item must be stronger and sharper than the other. He went on to explain good leaders should go beyond relations with friends who make them feel comfortable. Instead, you should pick people who are likely to resist your point of view.

If you think about it, that's how Jesus Christ related to other people. Take this example....

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink.".... The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.... - John 4:7, 9 (NLT)

This verse reveals Jesus was Jewish, but that's not our point here. The Lord was willing to talk with a Samaritan, even though Judea and Samaria had a history of national tensions (II Kings 17:24, for example). He spread His message to anyone who might listen to it - even Pharisees who wanted nothing of it:

What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and the Pharisees. Hypocrites!... - Matthew 23:14-15, 23, 25, 27, 29 (NLT)

When we enter a poker room, we have no idea what sort of people we'll meet at the table. Some may believe in Jesus; others have ignored Him for decades. So we try to share matters of faith when the moment calls for it. At the very least, we're a witness for God. And there have been several times when players sent us back to the Bible to reprove something.

Jesus didn't live His life on Earth in a bubble. Neither should we. As the Lord prayed for His disciples....

I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. - John 17:15 (NLT)

Be sure you go into a poker room strongly - including spiritual strength. You might play a role in making a "wrong crowd" right.

Conventional Wisdom

In some years, we've used a trip to a church convention in the fall to play serious poker. But this year, we used the convention trip to avoid playing poker.

Why? Because the past trips took us to areas with casinos, while our home area had none. These days, we have two poker rooms close by. So we can play on a regular basis, and the convention allowed us to take a break from that routine.

The latter approach probably was better for us, since a break from poker allowed more focus on what the convention is all about. It starts (roughly) with this....

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." - Revelation 11:15

You may be familiar with the "Lord's Prayer" uttered by Jesus. It's a model for believers to follow....

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:9-10

What is this "kingdom"? Jesus often called it the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15, for example) - and it's coming. Revelation indicates this world will become God's kingdom. It will include a resurrection of believers when Jesus comes back....

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.... - I Thessalonians 4:16-17

But believers won't be in the air forever. They'll reign under Jesus Christ on Earth. After all, He also said….

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:5

The great plan of God is to rebuild the earth - not simply with homes and buildings, but an ethical system of real freedom and peace.

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. - Micah 4:3

Does this sound appealing to you? It may be too late for this year's convention, but you can dig into the details of this plan anytime. This article explains what the "Feast of Tabernacles" is all about.

We don't know for sure if there will be poker in the Kingdom of God. But it certainly will top anything man has developed.

The Marathon Man (WSOP Edition)

As this year's World Series of Poker rolls on in Las Vegas, we're struck by how may events now have catchy titles. The "Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Triple Draw" admittedly sounds awfully nerdy. But we've mentioned the "Colossus" - and this weekend, the "Marathon" concluded.

Courtesy WSOP.com

Australia's Michael Addamo won the five-day Marathon, which had more than 1,600 entries. The name apparently comes from the fact that each level of blinds lasted 100 minutes, while your neighborhood poker room might increase the blinds after 15 or 20.

But let's be honest - don't most poker tournaments feel like marathons? Especially if you survive deep into the final table? The first table or two might seem like a sprint, as wild players take their chances and go bust early. But the fight to make the money takes time, and usually isn't easy.

A wise man once wrote about that - even though we don't think he ever played poker:

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

We've been surprised by how long "turbo" tournaments can last in our new area. Even with 15-minute blinds, it took more than three hours in our last event to whittle 14 players down to four.

Outside the poker room, our lives also can be like that. While Addamo won a bracelet at age 23, it came after four years of effort at the WSOP and other events. To reach the ultimate success in life can take far longer - a lifetime, in fact. But consider what's promised:

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations... I will also give him the morning star. - Revelation 2:26, 28

Jesus Christ made this promise to a church in the city of Thyatira (verse 18). National authority under Jesus is the reward to those who "endure," as the King James Version puts it. That will happen when the Kingdom of God comes to Earth.

There's been some sad news lately about famous names dying from suicide. It's hard to argue they truly "endured to the end." If you're thinking about doing the same thing, read this letter from a church President. Then seek professional help, if necessary. Save the desperation push for A-Q in a Small Blind - while ending your marathon of life successfully.

Poker Day 522: One Wild Trip

December 24 is a day when the hard-core players show up in a poker room. They probably have no family members nearby to entertain, or ignore Christmas completely. That applies to us on both counts, so we went to Kansas Star Casino's Sunday afternoon game. The turnout was low, which gave us hope. And we won a tournament on this date two years ago. Does that mean momentum?

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

This "deep stack" tournament allowed us to start with 12,000 chips and very low early blinds. We won one pot with hidden Aces which we never showed, but ups and downs have occurred. We start with about 14,000 and the Dealer button. A young man across from us raises to 400, and we politely call. As we remember it, four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 9-3-4

Nothing seems noteworthy here. But the young man puts out 1,050 - a large continuation bet. Is he slow-rolling Aces? We're not sure, but our pair is too big to surrender. We call; we recall a third player doing the same.

ON THE TURN: Q

We still have the overpair, and we internally predict the young man will check out of concern for us. Wrong. After thinking for a moment, he bets 2,500.

"Do I want this to be a short game or a long game?" we say aloud as we stare at our cards. The thought of someone having "trip Queens" (three of a kind) is in our mind - but we also have the feeling he's trying to bluff us away.

"I'll call," we decide. The third player folds.

ON THE RIVER: 10

We think this card is meaningless. But what will our opponent think? After a moment, he says, "I'll check to you."

We check as well - and he shows Q-Q! Sure enough, he had trips.

"I wanted you to bet there," he says. If he had bet, our response would have depended on how much he bet. As it is, we lost about 5,000 chips - but careful play prevented a complete wipeout, which probably would have happened on a Wednesday.

We stumbled to the first break at 8,575 chips. But late in the second term, a big comeback happened - as J-10 split a big pot, and pocket Aces (again not shown) won us another won. We recovered to 15,300 chips at the second break.

A big win came in the third term, bringing us to a high of 24,500 and allowing us to reach the semifinal table. But rising blinds and missed flops cost us from there. We finally pushed with K-Q of spades when a woman went all-in with much more. But she had Q-Q, and no King came to save us. (See what we did there?) Our final result was 16th out of 44 players.

MINISTRY MOMENT: There were several, but we're taking this tournament off from those. To find out why, read this article. We'll explain further in our next post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 189 final tables in 522 games (36.2%) - 39 cashes. Experiment cost: Up $75. This probably concludes our tournament play for 2017, so a summary of the year is upcoming as well.

The Choice Is Yours

"Can I see that?" a man to our left asked during our last live tournament. We happily showed him our card protector - a "Lord's Supper" depiction given to us years ago by a man at a poker night in Alabama.

The man then pulled out a gold-looking coin of his own. He wasn't using it for a protector, but apparently carried it around in case he needed one. "They say it's gold, but I think it's bronze," we recall him saying. (We don't think ours is gold at all.)

But then the man pondered about what we were showing him. "Are you a Mennonite?" he asked. We're not sure what led him to think that. No, we're not - although we've met in their church buildings for worship several times.

We explained we attend a Sabbath-keeping group called the United Church of God. Sabbath (Saturday) services allow us to play poker on Sunday afternoons. But a comment by our Pastor this weekend reminded us of this conversation. He said we have no choice in what way of life we live. Is that really true?

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.... - Deuteronomy 30:19

Moses actually did set a choice before Israel in his farewell address: life or death. The late singer George Michael and his group Wham wore "CHOOSE LIFE" T-shirts in their first hit song. Whether they realized it or not, they promoted God's choice for humans. But that's not the only choice we have....

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable for you, then choose for yourselves this day who, you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

This world offers all kinds of "gods" to follow. In the U.S., you can also choose from many church denominations (even different Sabbath-keeping groups). Joshua made his choice to "serve the Lord." What does that mean?

If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. - John 7:17

Now we have the words of Jesus Christ - the One who claimed to be the Son of the true God (John 8:54). He invites you to choose to "do God's will." Finding that will requires some study. In fact, it can take a lifetime. But examining the Bible to find it truly is worth the time and effort.


Poker players have many choices these days - playing in person or online, in a tournament or a cash game, then raising pocket Kings pre-flop or trapping with a call. When it comes to the bigger choices of life, may you make the correct ones. The denomination we attend is ready to help.

Poker Day 500: The Greatest Race of Them All

Today was a milestone day for us - our 500th live poker tournament! We're only a few weeks away from the tenth anniversary of our first one. But today we gave ourselves a challenge - heading to Kansas Star Casino to play in the pricey $85 "deep stack" buy-in Sunday game. At times, amazing things happened....

BLINDS: 400/800

IN THE POCKET: J-J

If we're this far along in the blinds, things must be going well - and after a slow start, they have. Q-8 gave us a breakthrough straight in the first period. Then we 2d-9d into a diamond flush in the second, to triple our stack. Now we have at least 30,000 chips, from a starting 10,000. When a man across the table raises to 2,500, we see these cards and decide to do the "smooth call." No one else is in.

ON THE FLOP: J-9-2

We're definitely "hooked" on this! Our opponent checks for some reason instead of continuation betting. We're pleased to check along.

ON THE TURN: 9

Now we have a full house, and we're wondering how patient our opponent is going to be. He bets 2,500. OK, fine; we'll call again.

ON THE RIVER: J

Wow - we made quads! Now with two pair showing, how confident is our opponent?  Confident enough to bring out 3,000.

But now we pause. Under casino rules, since we have the superior hand and are last to act, we are required to raise. How much do we think our opponent will dare to go?

"I'm all in," we decide - and it's about 30,000.

Nope, that's too much; our opponent folds.

"You made a very wise decision," we say as we show our Jacks. We probably should have simply doubled there, to maximize our gains. But still, it's a big pot win.

Our stack reached 55,500 by the end of the second period, and a high in the third period of 74,000. This provided us time to wait through some poor cards, and pick up a couple of timely modest pots along the way. At the third break, we moved to the final table at 55,000!

But then the big drama came, as only seven players would win money on this 70-player day. We missed a flop with pocket 8's. Then with nine to go, we were dealt A-J. The biggest stack at the table raised pre-flop, and bet on the flop to put us all-in. We felt compelled to call.... and he had Q-Q. An Ace did not rescue us, and we finished in ninth place.

We missed the money by two, but left feeling somewhat satisfied. Our standard all along has been making final tables, and we did - doing it at one of the premier tournaments of the week in our city. The "500" was a good showing, and we thank God for it.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "First player to lie...." someone at the table muttered between hands. "All you Sunday morning go-to-church folks...."

We had to interrupt that. "I was in church yesterday," we told the man sitting nearby. That prompted another man at the table to start a guessing game.

"Seventh-Day Adventist?!"

"No."

"Catholic?!"

"No."

"I don't know what's left," the man admitted. So we told him.

"The United Church of God," we explained. If you haven't heard of it, that's understandable. It's a small Sabbath-keeping denomination that broke away from a larger group in the mid-1990s. (That larger group now is also much smaller than it used to be.)

In fact, the day of worship was a main reason behind the split. The larger group moved away from decades of teaching about God's Sabbath....

By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - Genesis 2:2-3

God "created" (for lack of a better word) a day of rest. Not that God needed one; He's God, after all. But He set an example for us to follow....

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.... - Deuteronomy 5:12-13

The Sabbath was included in God's Ten Commandments, every bit as much as the commands not to lie (the NIV has "give false testimony" in verse 20) or murder. And Jesus Christ never said anything about doing away with it. In fact....

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 4:16

Jesus went to the synagogue on Sabbath because He was Jewish (Luke 2:23, 33). Go into many  synagogues today and try talking about Jesus, and it might not end well for you. So early believers gathered in groups, which became known as "the church."

If you don't have a regular church to attend, we suggest giving UCG a try. Hopefully you'll find a group which puts Jesus first in all they do, and really tries to live by all Ten Commandments. It probably won't be a perfect group of people; we're all sinners, after all (Romans 3:23). But it might satisfy something deep within you - a desire to worship God.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 183 final tables in 500 games (36.6%) - 36 cashes. As time permits in coming days, we'll analyze those numbers to see whether or not we're really good at poker - and how much this effort has cost us.

Poker Day 497: A Boat for Fishing

He was not the "elephant in the room" during Friday's poker tournament at Kansas Star Casino. In fact, we were a bit surprised that Brandon Steven's name did not come up at all. We thought about mentioning him - but instead tried to stick to the game and win some money:

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: Q-J offsuit

We were third on the waiting list to enter this six-table tournament. We split one pot with an A-2 straight after sitting down, and now have these cards sitting one off the button. We call, and no one raises. About four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: Js-8s-8c

Two pair and a strong kicker look good to us. The play checks to us, and we bet 200 to take the pulse of the table. Only a man at the opposite end of the table calls. We doubt he has a third 8 - maybe a Jack of his own.

ON THE TURN: Jc

Ahhhhh - now this looks very good! We have a superior full house. But how much can we gain from it? Our opponent checks, and we smooth-check in response (if there is such as thing).

ON THE RIVER: As

Now three spades are showing. No big deal for us - but maybe for him. Our opponent makes a modest bet of 100. Nope, not enough. (In fact, the tournament rules say we have to raise with best hand at this point.) So we bump it up to 400.

"I have to call," the man says - and flips over K-Q of spades. Sure enough, he went fishing and caught the nut flush. Trouble is....

"I have a full house," we declare. That wins us a nice pot, and a "nice hand" compliment from the man we beat. Of course, that leaves open the question: could we have bet more and kept him in?

We had ups and downs in the first period, reaching a high of 4,050 but reaching the break at only 2,325. Then a comeback came for us in period two - as pocket Kings came twice, and we won healthy pots with both of them. Our stack hit a high of 5,400.

But moderate risk-taking with rising blinds proved costly for us. We finally had to go all-in with A-J and 1,100 left. Another player paired the board with a Queen, and sent us out the door in 36th place out of 83 players - up 11 places from last time, but still far from the final table.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Who wants my ticket in the $5,000 drawing?" we asked during the break to a few people at our table. Our casino card gave us a free entry in that Friday night drawing. But it was a drawing we knew we could not win.

"Just put it in the barrel," a man suggested. But we noted the fine print - that the casino didn't  even roll out the barrel for tossing in your entry until 6:00 p.m. At this moment, it was about 1:25 p.m.

"Besides," we added, "you have to 'be present to win.' And I don't plan to be here at 9:00 p.m."

"Can't you come back at 9:00?" a man asked.  Yes, physically, we could. But...

"I plan to be at home keeping the Sabbath."

"The what?" the dealer asked. We had to spell the word for him: S-A-B-B-A-T-H. He'd never heard of it. But another player had.

"Are you a Seventh-Day Adventist?"

"No."

"Jewish?"

"No."

"The Sabbath starts on Friday night at sunset, right?"

"Yes."

"And it ends on Saturday? At sunset?"

That's correct. The Sabbath goes back a long way....

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the Sabbath day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God... - Exodus 20:8, 9

The concept of keeping a Sabbath actually has its origin in creation, when God rested from His work on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). We consider it a time for rest, Bible study and worship - not standing in a casino, hoping for a slip of paper to be drawn so we can win money.

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as your please on my holy day.... and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land...." - Isaiah 58:13-14

If that sounds like a nice change of pace, we attend a small Sabbath-keeping church denomination. In fact, there's a location in the town where the dealer lives. We invite you to find a location near you, and give Sabbath worship a try.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 182 final tables in 497 games (36.6%) - 36 cashes.

Sunday Silence

We mentioned our last poker day at Kansas Star Casino was different than our others.  That's because we did not try to preach the gospel - on purpose.

Does this mean we're losing our main mission, and putting the lust for money ahead of sharing the gospel and bringing up matters of faith?  Overall, no.  But for one day, we did.

Why?  Because last Sunday was Valentine's Day - and the way our church association has put it in recent years, any act of love on February 14 is considered "keeping" Valentine's Day. And in our association, keeping that day is considered "pagan" and wrong.

Regular blog readers will recall we did the same sort of thing the last two years on February 14 - and to be honest, it feels uncomfortable for us. Should we run over pedestrians who cross our path on that day?  Cuss out the poker dealer?  Besides....

Whosoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. - I John 4:8

Does God stop loving us one day a year - the way the Khmer Rouge once had an annual "day of hate" when it ruled Cambodia?  We don't think so. The sun thankfully still rose and fell on February 14 this year.

Our church association toned down its online and "public" comments about Valentine's Day this year - still against it, but not demanding a one-day ban on acts of love. We wonder how a passage of Romans ties in with this:

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. - Romans 14:5

We personally realize the pagan origin of Valentine's Day (check out link above), so we don't keep it. That's why for the second year in a row, we entered a poker tournament on February 14. Few places are less merciful and loving than that.... right?

The Tender Middle

When a message begins with 10 minutes of comments against an issue and nothing said for it, you can probably guess what the speaker's conclusion will be.  But sometimes, those messages can have some hidden embedded surprises.

That's the case in a video we reviewed from a church service in Texas. We think it's actually one of the more balanced religious presentations on the subject we've heard.

We invite you to watch it, and tell us what you think. And if you wonder what we think about gambling in general, do a search for that keyword on our blog; we examined the topic in-depth recently, based on a different sermon.

Poker Night 441: An Epic Decision

"I guess we know who the singles are!"  That's what one man said Saturday night at Winner's Cardroom -- and he probably was right.  It was February 14, "Valentine's Day" for many -- and here we were in a poker room.

The Saturday night game at Winner's is $20 less expensive than a Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Poker.  But the "holiday" (more on that later) meant a lot of players apparently were missing.  So we sat down for another one-table tournament, hoping to hang around long enough to win some money.

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: A-J of clubs

We haven't won a pot yet, although we could have -- throwing away 5-6 on the opening hand that would have made a straight.  Now we have high suited cards and the Dealer button.  When no one raises ahead of us at the table of eight, we raise to 1,200.  About four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 7-2-2

"And that is an epic flop!" the professional dealer jokes.

"No one really expects that," one player admits.

So the players in front of us check - and we make a continuation bet of 1,100.  Two players fold, but a woman across from us calls.

ON THE TURN: 3

That card doesn't seem to enhance things.  The woman checks -- but we're wondering about that call, so we check as well.  Could she have a hidden pair?

ON THE RIVER: 5

It's not a blockbuster board at all -- but now the woman sets out 4,000 chips.  She could be trying to outbluff us, but somehow we don't think so.  After thinking it over for a moment, we fold.

"That was an epic flop," she now says - and she shows 7-7!  She scored a full house on the flop, then waited us out.  We're thankful it didn't cost us more than it did.

We finally won a couple of pots, including a double-up with K-K which turned around our evening.  We reached a high of 61,000 chips, as other players were knocked out.

Then with four players left, we had 3-4 in the Big Blind.  The flop was a lovely-looking 3-4-5.  After checking the flop, we went all-in on the turn -- and were called by a man with A-2!  He slowplayed us to our hurt as well, with a flopped straight.  The river brought no full house for us, and we went home in fourth place (only the top two earned money).

MINISTRY MOMENT: We intentionally did NOT try to have one.  The reason why goes back one year.

Regular readers will recall on Valentine's Day 2014, we went to a casino on a Friday night (an evening we turned into a three-part post).  For one week we broke the seventh-day Sabbath we normally keep fervently, because the church group we attend considers Valentine's pagan and wrong....

Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed by the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. - Jeremiah 10:2 (KJV)

That group had left the impression last year that any act of love on Valentine's was wrong.  And since it also teaches this....

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.... - I John 5:3

....we logically concluded keeping the Sabbath commandment would be showing love, and thus be wrong.

But this year that church group's messages about Valentine's Day were scaled back a bit.  The emphasis was on showing acts of love all year long, instead of something special on February 14.  So we decided to have a "bare minimum" Saturday - keeping the Sabbath and even going to church to be obedient, but not doing anything that might be considered out of the ordinary and over the "holiday" line.

It turned out only one or two players brought up Valentine's Day in the poker room.  Only two of the eight players at the table wore red tops.  So this group wasn't really keeping that "holiday," either -- and we really couldn't complain about that.

But maybe you're confused by all this.  You may wonder what possibly could be wrong with a day set aside for "showing love," such as Valentine's Day.  We recommend carefully considering this blog post by a church pastor, with an open Bible and mind.  What "holidays" does God really consider, well, epic?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 159 final tables in 441 games (36.1%) - 26 cashes.  We've reached four final tables in a row.... even if only enough players show up for one table.

Friday Night Lights

The setting seemed strange -- and for us, it certainly was.  We sat at a blackjack table at a casino, well after sundown on a Friday night.  No one had dragged us there against our will.  We'd made the decision to go.

But we should start at the beginning.  Last Friday was Valentine's Day, and the church movement we attend has taught for many years the "holiday" is wrong.  It's based on pagan Roman traditions, as opposed to the Bible....

Thus says the Lord. Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. - Jeremiah 10:2 (KJV)

Yet in recent years, the church association we attend has taken this view of Valentine's to what we considered an extreme.  An article posted last winter was moved up to the association's top-level magazine this year.  It says....

What about showing love on Valentine's Day if I'm not doing it for pagan reasons? Isn't that okay? No, because the expression of that kind of "love" is still rooted in a former pagan holiday. True Christians must not adopt pagan festivals as holidays, for they are to strive to please God in everything they do.

Based on this paragraph, any display of love on February 14 is wrong.  And it continues....

It's a good thing to express your love toward others through a card, flowers, dinner out or any number of other ways. But don't do it under the trappings of a pagan holiday like Valentine's Day!

So with this instruction in mind, we try hard not to love people on Valentine's Day.  This year we sounded gruff at work -- even shouting in frustration at one point.  We grunted or mumbled when we met people, as opposed to saying friendly such as "Hello."

But this year was different, because the night of February 14 included the start of God's seventh-day Sabbath:

Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.... the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. - Exodus 20:8-11

If it's wrong to express love toward others on February 14, we said to ourselves, shouldn't it be equally wrong to express love toward God on that day?  After all....

This is love for God: to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome.... - I John 5:3

So, we logically concluded, it's wrong to love God on February 14.  We responded by not praying on that day, studying our Bible or listening to Christian radio.  And as a 6:08 p.m. sunset approached for Sabbath, here's what we did:

5:55 p.m.: We exercised with a two-lap 24-minute speed-walk at a relatively empty mall.  With no socks on, a big blister developed on our left foot which made us limp a little the rest of the night -- but then again, we shouldn't love ourselves on Valentine's either, right?

6:30 p.m.: With a loud rock station playing on our car radio, we went to an ATM and withdrew $100 -- the sort of money-handling we'd normally do on Friday afternoon.

6:35 p.m.: We drove toward the casino south of town -- but had to change the radio station when it cleverly followed the song Deal With the Devil with Living On a Prayer.  We moved to a Spanish-language station - wary of any song with too much "amor."

7:00 p.m.: We "limped in" (literally) at the casino and entered without problems.  A big crowd was on hand -- with an especially long line for the buffet restaurant.

We walked slowly around, especially looking for the "heads-up" poker machine we'd played at another casino the previous weekend.  But it wasn't in the small area with poker machines, so we concluded this casino didn't have it.  After pondering what to do, we sat down at an Ultimate Texas Hold 'em table (barely acknowledging the dealer) to see what would happen.

BLINDS: 10 (+ 10 ante)

IN THE POCKET: J-3 of clubs

We had an early small win, but this is nothing to get enthusiastic about.  We simply check.

ON THE FLOP: Jd-9d-7d

Wrong suit -- right top card!  It's worth a "double down" $20 bet, freezing our hand.

ON THE TURN/RIVER: 7x-6d

Uh-oh -- a fourth diamond hit the board.  We have two pair, but if the dealer has a diamond, we're sunk.

After a last round of betting, the dealer does not show a diamond.  Instead he shows.... 7-5.  That's three of a kind, and we're sunk anyway.

Another loss left us with $30 from our starting $100 -- barely enough to play another hand at the $10 table.  So we left there and walked around some more....

(NOTE: This entry will continue in a future post.)

You've Got a Boat?

In poker lingo, that means you have a full house.

But as you sail through each day, how do you keep your "life boat" under control?

This video offers a suggestion.  What do you think of it?

Poker Night 360: When Kings Go to Battle

Chris Berman noted during tonight's Monday Night Countdown second place on Election Day used to reward a U.S. Presidential candidate with the title of Vice President.  These days it doesn't.  Second place in a poker tournament might gain you a nice payday.  But what if you start somewhere around 22nd?  We face that every week at The Red Barn, so we need every big-name endorsement we can find....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

A soda purchase gave us 2,000 extra chips, to start at 7,000.  But other players pay more to begin with 30,000 or more -- so careful play matters to us.  This high pocket pair in the is our best chance to make a move.  And a player ahead of us helps, by raising to 400.

"One-thousand more," we announce when our turn comes.  Three players call -- and we know from experience some of them could be speculating with iffy hands, because they can afford it.

ON THE FLOP: 3-5-9

We have the overpair, and we plan to exploit it.  When the play checks to us, we bet 1,000 again.  Two of our three opponents call.

ON THE TURN: 9

This puts a troublesome pair on the board, but we don't want to look weak.  We bet 1,000 more.  The two challengers call again.

ON THE RIVER: 8

We're now ready to hit the brakes, because we're wondering what our opponents are doing.  A man across from us checks -- and this time we check.  But a young man to our left tosses in 5,000!

"I have to call," says the man across from us.

Ooh boy.  We don't have 5,000 -- our stack is more like 3,150.

"I've got nothing, man."  Hmmm -- the young man to our left may have given us a huge clue.  He holds his cards up and out, like he'll fold any second.

"Are you going to call?"  asks the other man.

"I'm thinking about it," we answer -- and we mean it.  Our concern is that he has a 9 for a winning three of a kind.  After a moment, we decide.

"I'm going to fold."

So does the young man who acted like he would.  The pot-winner then turns over pocket Jacks!  We don't show our cards, but we guessed wrong and lost a big gain.

We tried again a few minutes later with A-K, and a man forced us all-in on the flop.  But he also had A-K, so we gained some chips back.  Then J-10 turned into top two pair on the river, and we were back above the starting level at 7,350.

But after the one-hour break, our attempts to get in small with semi-promising hands were beaten down by large pre-flop raises.  We finally went all-in again with A-7, and were happy to see an Ace on the flop.  But an 8 on the river gave a man with A-8 two pair, and turned our happiness into disappointment.  We left in a lowly 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Happy Election Eve, everybody," we said when it was our turn to shuffle and deal the cards.

"Who do you want to win?" a man to our left asked.

"I'm not even registered to vote," we answered.

The man took that as a dodge of his question.  "Who do you want to win?"

"I gave my vote to a higher authority a long time ago," we explained.  "I'm letting God put the right people in office, because He's a lot wiser than I am."

Surprised?  We belong to a church association which preaches not getting involved in the politics of this world.  Even though we know a longtime member of our congregation who's told us of plans to vote, the official "party line" of our denomination is against it.  Why?

Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." - Daniel 2:19-21

For years we understood this to mean God decides the rulers who are in authority -- whether they be kings, queens, the U.S. President or even your boss in the workplace.  But our pastor has changed that explanation since Barack Obama became President.  He's indicated God steps aside and lets the U.S. population have what it wants and deserves.  (The pastor has left little doubt he's pro-Republican.)

The thinking behind this goes all the way back to the first king of Israel....

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have...." And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." - I Samuel 8:4-7

Believe it or not, God didn't really want a "republic" or a "democracy" government.  He wanted to rule the people through prophets He appointed.  Admittedly, changing to that method today would cause all sorts of problems -- because all sorts of people claim to be "prophets" of God, sometimes teaching different things.

If you'd like to look further into this, review the magazine article we've been using for Bible study in this election season.  In the meantime, we leave you with this U.S. election riddle -- which stumped the Tournament Director when we asked it tonight:

Q.  What is the Republican Party's favorite book of the Bible in this election?

A. Deuter-Romney!

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 124 final tables in 360 nights (34.4%) - 19 cashes.

Poker Night #269: The Tight Barn Door

A change in the schedule this week put us inside The Red Barn in Phenix City for poker Monday night. Yes, they still have games -- but they're not affiliated with the "big dog" in local tournaments anymore (more on that another time).

In an effort to snap our final table slump, we read part of a book by a famous poker player during the day. (No, we're not revealing which one.) It persuaded us to tighten up our game, and look for only high-quality hands before the flop. But what happens when something borderline shows up?

BLINDS: 500/1000

IN THE POCKET: A-10 offsuit

We won a modest pot in the first quarter-hour, but a lack of those high-quality hands has left us biding our time ever since. Our stack has slowly drained through blinds and modest chases, reminding us during the game of a Christian song called "Slow Fade." We start with 4,000 "under the gun." We could take our chances and push here, but we choose to play modestly and call. No one at the table of seven raises.

ON THE FLOP: Q-6-3

Nothing threatening -- but nothing really helpful, either. The table checks.

ON THE TURN: J

Now we have a straight draw -- and we don't recall a flush threat showing. The table checks again.

ON THE RIVER: 8

Our big starting hand misses. We check again, and a man to our left bets 3,000 -- enough to put us all-in. We have no choice but to fold, and that man wins the pot without showing what he had.

So why didn't we go for it, by making a big bluff? Because our rationale was to stay in the game as long as possible -- and after waiting patiently for a long time, this still could have been too impulsive and wrong. Any pair beats our Ace high, and the presence of two "face cards" which opponents are more likely to play would have been disastrous.

We were so bummed from that pot that in the next hand with the big blind, we mistakenly folded it. Too bad -- because our J-7 would have turned into three sevens and given us a big comeback. The goof forced us all-in a few hands later with A-8, and it lost. An all-around quiet Labor Day ended with us seventh at an eight-player table, and wondering if we should keep reading that book.

MINISTRY MOMENT: For a change, we aim it directly toward you! This weekend dozens of church congregations in the U.S. and other countries will hold a special "Kingdom of God Bible seminar." There could be one near you, and the two-hour seminar is absolutely FREE. Click here for locations and times.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 100 final tables in 269 nights (37.2%) - 15 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 162 point wins in 732 games (22.1%), 56 final tables, 7 cashes. At least we're having a little success online, finishing fifth in a 69-player qualifying tournament Sunday evening.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $58,418, up $1,855.

Wearing It on Your Sleeve

In the World Series of Poker, the competition is about more than money. Win a tournament, and you receive a prized WSOP bracelet to wear on your wrist.

Wristbands can advertise or promote all sorts of things these days. In a post earlier this week, we mentioned a woman who wore a "Philippians 4:13" wristband in honor of a boy battling cancer.

Some trace the trend back to this -- a "W.W.J.D.?" band developed in the last 15 years or so. It asks the simple question: What would Jesus do?

We've worn this wristband to poker nights for several months, partly to help start a conversation about the things of God. But we were surprised at a recent church convention to hear a top leader of one association call WWJD bands "rather trite and rather meaningless, because they [evangelicals] have this on their arms, and it's certainly not something that we should do" (about 41:00 into the video).

The leader agreed with the principle behins WWJD. But the statement against the bands struck us as strange -- especially since we've attended Messianic conventions where worshipers wear added blue tassels on their clothes, and sometimes suggest you need to do the same....

Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear. -- Deuteronomy 22:12

Jesus made a statement about such things, which can spark debate among believers:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.... But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.... Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.... -- Matthew 23:2-5

Supporters of tassel displays claim Jesus condemned the lengthening, not the tassels themselves. Critics say Jesus opposed any display of tassels -- and in this day and age, believers don't need outward reminders of their faith because the Holy Spirit dwells in them (II Corinthians 1:22).

We took off our WWJD wristband at the church convention, after we saw the video complaint about it. (We made sure people sitting on either side of it were witnesses.) But for now, we're still wearing it to poker nights.

Why -- to show we're "goody-goody holy rollers," while others around us are not?  No. We wear it as a witness to the non-Christians around us. The WWJD wristband has brought a comment on one poker night so far -- and we're ready to talk about it, should others bring it up.

Let's be honest here: if some poker players at bars can wear T-shirts and hats promoting cigarettes and beer, why can't a believer in Christ wear something promoting that personal Favorite?

Or are we totally wrong about this?

Poker Night 139 - Down Highway 139

We drove to Benefield's Sports Bar in the Atlanta suburb of Riverdale by taking Georgia Highway 139, or Riverdale Road. Our success last Thursday earned a second visit this week. After dining on a grilled chicken dinner with soda for about $13, our $50 gift certificate gained the week before was deducted. (Nope, no cash payouts.) Could history repeat itself, making us two-for-two at Atlanta Poker Club events?

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-10 offsuit

We split the pot on the evening's first hand, but unsuccessful hands have dropped us to 1,700 chips. This tends to be a marginal hand for us, but we decide to try it. So do several other players.

ON THE FLOP: K-9-4

At last there's reason for optimism, with top pair. But the regular dealer is ahead of us, and he bets 200. We call.

ON THE TURN: 3 of clubs

There's no sign of a flush on the board -- yet the dealer hikes the bet to 400. We're puzzled by this, but we call again. "I'll probably regret this," we say -- yet our humility is somewhat feigned.

ON THE RIVER: 9

We have top two pair -- but the dealer looks to see how many chips we have left. "Should I do it?" he asks. Then he does, betting 1,000 to put us all-in.

We're still baffled by what our opponent has. But we remember what he said a few pots before, when another man won with an all-in bluff holding nothing but Ace high: "Sometimes you've got to buy a pot. Everybody has to." We decide that's what the dealer is doing.

"I'll do it." We call the last 1,000.

"Good call," someone to our left says.

"Wow, wow," the dealer says.

"Is that a good wow?" we ask as we show our two pair with a 10. "A bad wow? A sham-wow?"

The answer: good for him. He shows 9-4, which he played in the blinds. He had two pair on the flop, a full house on the river -- and had us beat throughout.

Take-home lesson for us: be more wary. Our opponent clearly could have hit three of a kind on the river to top us. But we believed words more than cards -- to our loss.

MINISTRY MOMENT: It didn't really happen on this night. Quiet players on either side of you can make things challenging. The closest came when a woman to our left raised before the flop.

"As my pastor at church [the United Church of God] said last weekend: you're cautiously optimistic," we said to her.

Then we checked our cards, and found something small. "But my pastor also said we've passed the point of no return" -- and we folded.

In fact, that point was his sermon title -- as he declared the U.S. has passed "The Point of No Return," and is doomed to crash. Do you agree with that view? Why or why not?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 57 final tables in 139 cashes (41.0%) - 11 cashes. We wound up one-for-two on our metro Atlanta road trip.

(We also played at Lil Kim's Cove Thursday night as usual. We'll post those results Friday.)

Want to win?

Maybe Vince Lombardi was wrong. Winning isn't everything -- or even the only thing.

Remember as you play....

The object of poker is to take all the chips. The object of life should be something else.

Ministry Moment: From the Community Chest

On our last vacation, we found this unusual calling card in the lobby of a Chattanooga motel. Hopefully the church which prepared it won't get in trouble with Parker Brothers over it.

We used this for a "card protector" Thursday night at Lil Kim's Cove. It turned out to be a good conversation-starter, among several people who bailed out of a pot early. They were surprised to learn a church developed it.

A man on my left talked in nice terms about Chattanooga. When I tried to ask him if he attended church, he seemed to quickly say no and changed the subject.

People don't want to be confronted with this sort of thing on poker night, you might say. Probably not. But you can't run from these matters forever. Our ministry attempts to take the things of God to people who probably don't go to church, and probably need some stirring to see their need for a Savior.

If you're in the Columbus, Georgia area, we attend the United Church of God service. It meets every Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Woodmen of the World hall on Milgen Road, down the street from the main post office. You can skip those Saturday poker sessions, to think about a "King" which has much more clout.