The Biggest All-In Ever

A poker tournament can be filled with dramatic moments. The only way to win, after all, is to accumulate everyone else's chips. So players have to go "all in" and risk everything they have, to get everything they want.

But nearly 2,000 years ago, the biggest all-in moment in recorded history occurred. The drama involved far more than poker chips. It involved your life - and the lives of all people, whether they realize it or not.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. - Romans 5:8 (NLT)

God the Father sent Jesus Christ the Son. They had been together in heaven for as long as anyone can envision. But Jesus came down to Earth and lived a perfect, sinless life to save us from eternal death.

This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. - I John 4:10 (NLT)

Jesus went all the way to a hill called Calvary or Golgotha, sacrificing Himself. He had faith God would restore Him to life - and three days later, that resurrection happened. The "all in" bet worked.

The blood of Jesus can cover your sins, and bring you close to God where you might now be far away (Ephesians 2:13). Many believers in Jesus will recall that blood Thursday night, at a special worship service.

And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." - Matthew 26:27-28

Jesus also shared bread with His disciples, in a ceremony that's come to have many names. Some call it communion. Some say "Lord's supper." Others recall the Old Testament, and describe it as a "Christian Passover."

Whatever the name, it should be a meaningful event. To read much more about it, click here. If you'd rather play poker than keep a Passover, please read it with care and an open mind. You might find there's more to this life than a series of all-in bets.

Poker Night 507: The Price of Courage

At the church convention we're attending, the most personal impact has come from men's morning meetings. One of the topics Monday was "courageous leadership." We reviewed the story of David slaying Goliath (I Samuel 17) - then went to a casino Monday night and tried to apply the lesson.

Choctaw Casino-Durant in southeast Oklahoma has become a place with an international poker reputation. Its nice enclosed upstairs room has been used for WPT events, and the WSOP circuit arrives there in late October. But on a federal holiday, our $70 total buy-in gave us only about 16 opponents plus a couple who did a re-buy. Would we have enough courage (and wisdom) to get a big finish?

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: A-A

Small early efforts have missed flops. An aggressive player at the opposite end of the table has chased us off a couple of pots. But now we've hit a big moment: the best possible pre-flop hand and lead position at a table of seven. With about 5,600 chips, we limp in and hope for raisers - but there are none. About five players are in.

ON THE FLOP: Jc-9h-7c (second suit may not be precise)

So far, so good - except two of these cards are clubs. We want to stop potential flush-chasing. So when the blinds check, we try to show we mean business by betting 250. Two men call; the two blinds fold.

ON THE TURN: J

Uh-oh.... potential trouble. The board pairs. Is someone sitting on a Jack, for three of a kind? Since we're back in the leadoff seat, this is a perplexing moment.

To look courageous and test the mettle of the opponents, we raise the bet to 500. A man to our left calls. But the other man raises to 1,200. Deep inside, we sense big trouble - but there's been a little bluffing at the table, so we dare to call. But now, the man to our left re-raises to 2,500! And he gets called!

We conclude both men are serious. "I don't think so," we say as we fold. Are we right?

ON THE RIVER: 4

This card doesn't seem to matter. The man to our left goes all-in - and gets called again!

So what do they have? The man to our left shows J-9! The man to our right has J-7! It's "boat over boat," and the J-9 wins a huge pot.

"I'm glad I got out of that," we say.

"What did you have?" a man to our right asks.

"I had them topped before the flop," is all we reveal. We'll save the deeper lesson in courage for another day - but we fell behind on the flop, and an attempt at an even larger "go-away" bet would have only hurt our cause.

That was the sort of night we had. We split one pot with K-10, then won an all-in Big Blind bet right before the one-hour break. But we only had 2,325 chips from a starting 7,000 at that break. And when we pushed with A-Q early in Hour 2 and were called by A-J, an Ace on the flop was followed by a Jack on the river. We missed the final table by finishing in 13th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed our "Lord's Supper" card protector to an older man seated to our right. He recognized the image on it, then asked, "Is that a precious metal?"

We tried to steer things in a more godly direction. "Jesus's blood was precious, wasn't it?"

At that point, a new hand started. We're not sure if he grasped what we said. But perhaps you've wondered about that. Why do people consider the blood of Jesus "precious"? It comes from this verse:

It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless lamb of God. - I Peter 1:19 (NLT)

An online dictionary defines "precious" as "of high price or great value.... highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial or moral quality...." Here's why the blood of Jesus fits that description....

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.... - I Peter 1:18  (NLT)

No, the ransom paid to save us was Christ's blood. While we are all sinners, Jesus was not (I John 3:5). He was a perfect sacrificial lamb (John 1:29), whose blood can remove your sins in God's eyes (I John 1:7). Have you turned your sins to God, to have Jesus remove them from your record?.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 184 final tables in 507 games (36.3%) - 37 cashes. We're now two-for-three in making final tables and the money, in games during church conventions.

When Free Isn't Free

What's the earliest exit you've ever made from a poker tournament?  We may have set a new standard today - by exiting before the tournament even began.

But we should start at the beginning.  For weeks Arrowhead Poker's website offered this event:

Sunday @ 2pm 

August 31st

$500 True Free Roll
Chair Rental $0-0**

You can qualify for this tournament by simply buying into any daily tournament. 

We played in a $20 Friday tournament a couple of weeks ago, so we presumed our spot was secure.  But no - our name didn't come up on today's qualifying list.

"Did you do the ten-dollar buy-in?" the manager asked us -- as in paying $10 extra up-front for bonus chips.  No, we didn't.  And that left an organizer with a look of frustration on his face.

"That ten-dollar buy-in pays for this tournament," the organizer explained.

We invite you to look up and down the website and tell us: where does it define "buying into" as paying the extra $10?  We don't think it does.  In most tournaments we've entered, the "buy in" is the main entry fee - in our case the $20.

But we decided against making an argument about it.  We shook our head, bit our lip a bit, walked across the parking lot to a convenience store for a "consolation prize" soda and drove home.

How many things in life claim to be free -- only to have hidden strings attached?  Yet Jesus Christ makes this offer:

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:36

What does Jesus (the Son of God) mean by this?  He explains moments earlier:

Jesus replied. "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever." - John 8:34-35

Jesus wants to set you free from sin, to become a son of God.... not simply for today, but forever.  How?

And from Jesus Christ.... him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.... - Revelation 1:5

As orators like to say on holiday weekends such as this one: The price of freedom isn't free.  In this case, the blood Jesus shed when He sacrificed His life on our behalf frees us from sin.  We don't have to pay for that, because Jesus already did.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. - Galatians 5:1

So how will you respond to that truly free gift?  We've been studying a religious magazine article on how to respond.  The author seemingly doesn't want to use the phrase "go all in," but he could - and it seems we should.

Are You Cleaning Up?

The Wednesday night poker tournament is still on in our city, even though some local colleges canceled evening classes.  It was the result of a day of rough weather, which had a couple of tornado warnings.  A strong cold front brought us high winds and hard rain.

The storm could bring flooding and erode land.  But there's one thing rain cannot wash away -- the stains caused by sins in our lives.

In a post earlier this week, we noted some of the definitions of "sin" in the Bible.  If you lie to other players at the table about your hand, that's a sin under the Ten Commandments.  If you even become fixated on your opponent's big chip stack, that can be sin as well....

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.  You shall not set your desire on your neighbors house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. - Deuteronomy 5:21

There actually was a time in human history when God used rain against sin -- not really washing it away, but drowning it:

I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.  Everything on earth will perish. - Genesis 6:17

God did this because our planet had become violent and corrupt (verses 12-13).  Yet Earth still has life and breath, because God made a big exception.  He spared Noah, his family and animals taken aboard an ark (verses 18-21).

Trouble is, our planet probably has more violence and corruption today -- if only because Earth has more than seven billion people.  So sin remains in our lives.  How can we get rid of it these days?  By something better than rainwater....

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. - I John 1:7 (KJV)

The atheist we met at the final table last week probably doesn't think she needs that blood, and might not even think she needs to be cleansed of anything.  But if the Bible is right, we'll all come before Jesus Christ for judgment someday.  Will you accept His blood sacrifice in your behalf now, by repenting of your sins and seeking forgiveness from God?  Will you "come clean" with God -- and by God?

Win, Lose or Hang

Let's play a little pretend poker.  You're in a 100-person tournament.  Only the top ten earn money.  There are 12 players remaining at two tables.  A player ahead of you raises enough pre-flop to put you all in.  You check your cards and see  10-10.  What do you do?

 

Your response to this situation may say a lot about you and your intentions.  If you're trying simply to "make the money," you might fold this rather promising hand.  But if your goal is to win first place and the top prize, would you call?  Would you go all-in -- even if it means risking everything, and perhaps winning no money at all?

 

The sports world has a phrase which might apply to the people who fold - they're "playing not to lose," instead of playing to win.

 

We heard a thought-provoking church message this weekend about that very concept.  The speaker said some people can take that approach to their lives -- and by doing so, they allow the devil to get to them.  Instead, he said we should focus on winning because....

 

....In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. - Romans 8:37

 

The "things" Paul mentions here are much more stark than an all-in moment at a poker tournament -- everything from tribulation to famine to a deadly sword (v. 35).

 

Perhaps you're saying you've "gone for it" at the table many times, only to wind up at the rail over and over?  Well, the speaker went on to say we should NOT focus on our past failures.

 

How much more, then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God? - Hebrews 9:14

 

Shift your focus, the speaker said -- away from earlier stumbles, to follow the One who already has overcome all trials.  That makes us think of these words of Jesus:

 

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world. - John 16:33

 

How do we do that, to overcome the world?  It takes the infusion of God's Holy Spirit....

 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. - II Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

We've admittedly followed the "hang in there" approach many times in poker tournaments -- as our standard has been based on making final tables, as opposed to going all the way and winning prize money.  The thinking has been: "Just get me there, and give me a chance."  But come to think of it, we don't often reach the final table in a dominant chip position that way.

 

So tell us -- what's your strategy at a tournament?  And do we need to make some adjustments?

 

The Original True Blood

Our last local poker night brought up the TV series True Blood -- and when we heard title, we thought of Jesus the Savior.

Sound strange?  We don't mean Jesus Christ was a vampire.  What we mean begins with this verse....

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

If Jesus is the truth, it logically follows that His words are true.  And since John 1:1, 14 indicates Jesus was (and still is) God, we can apply these words....

See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love.  All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. - Psalm 119:159-160

And the blood of "the truth" is filled with importance for humans, even today....

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.... In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.... - Ephesians 1:3, 7

Have you accepted the blood of Jesus as your redemption price, to have your sins forgiven?  Any attempt to use someone else will be.... well, false blood.

Poker Night 278: The Gun Clubs

There was an old-fashioned "stick-up" on the avenue near our home the other day -- as a man was robbed of his wallet, and apparently slugged in the process.  At the other side of the avenue tonight, we carried some weapons of our own from time to time.  It was poker night at Lil Kim's Cove -- and sometimes cards are referred to as "rockets" or "bullets."  But that wasn't what we had....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: J-9 of clubs

We're "under the gun" -- which in poker slang means we're first to act pre-flop, sitting to the left of the big blind.  We haven't won a hand yet, and hold about 4,000 chips.  But something tells us to give this suited medium-high combination a try, so we call.  Several players get in, with no one raising.

ON THE FLOP: Qs-9s-8c

We have middle pair and a draw, so we're not in a mood to stick our neck out yet.  We check; so does the entire table.

ON THE TURN: 10c

That's the right draw for a straight -- and it sets up a potential perfect river card, as we've developed an open-ended shot at a straight flush.  But we're more concerned about taking this pot than hitting that long shot.  When the play checks to us, we bet 1,000.  Several players do the math and fold; one person across from us calls.

ON THE RIVER: Kc

We didn't hit the jackpot, and three clubs are now showing.  But we don't really consider that chance of someone having the Ace of clubs for a "nut flush."  With our straight becoming a flush, we bet 1,000 again -- and our opponent fold, realizing we have something.

But all in all, the night was shaky for us.  We reached a high of 6,000 chips, then lost 3,100 of them in one hand when our pocket Jacks lost to a woman who turned a 3 in her hand into three of a kind on the turn.  Then we folded two low clubs which would have made another winning flush.

We finally pushed in the big blind with A-Q, but the board didn't pair for us and another woman made pocket jacks.  Final standing: a lowly 22nd.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The talk of the table turned to television tonight.  One woman asked an admitted fan of the Twilight movie series, "Do you watch True Blood?"

"No," the fan answered.  "I don't like scary stuff."

The title led us to turn to a man on our left and quietly say, "That title brings me back to this."  We tapped the "Jesus as your Savior" coin we'd shown him earlier in the evening.  The man smiled, and nodded a bit as if he understood.

That's nice -- but do you understand?  Why would True Blood make us think of Jesus the Savior?  Offer a comment if you'd like; we'll explain in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 102 final tables in 278 nights (36.7%), 16 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 172 point wins in 761 games (22.6%), 59 final tables, 7 cashes.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $67,582, up $5,925.  We scored gains in seven of eight sessions in the last seven days, including two with jumps of $2,000 or more.

Watch the Lamb

World Series of Poker, indeed -- as players from seven different countries will gather around the ultimate final table in November. The Main Event finalists were settled early today in Las Vegas. And one U.S. player has a lot of attention.

Ben Lamb of Oklahoma has won one WSOP event this year. Counting the Main Event, he's reached four final tables out of 58 total games. For that level of competition (not to mention the number of entries), that's an impressive record.

But there's one "Lamb" who impresses us even more. Who might that be, you ask?

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29 (NASB)

These words were spoken by "John the Baptizer." But why would Jesus be called a lamb?

"He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth...." - Acts 8:32 (NASB)

This is actually a quote from Isaiah 53 -- a prophecy about the Messiah who became a "sacrificial lamb." Jesus was "unblemished and spotless" (I Peter 1:19), led He gave His life and shed His blood to redeem us from our sins.

If this idea puzzles you, this rather graphic music video may help explain it. (We can help if it doesn't; leave a comment.) Have you accepted the "all-in" offer of this even more perfect Lamb?

Poker Night 245: Don't King Me

We pondered for a long time what approach to take at The Red Barn tonight, to break our long final table slump. We leaned toward playing very tight, and pouncing when the moment was right. It wouldn't take long to see if that worked....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: K-K

We're only about five hands in, and we haven't lost much from our starting stack of 6,000 chips. Sitting fourth in the betting order, we choose to hold on tight and limp. Most of the table plays this hand, with no one raising.

ON THE FLOP: Q-10-3

An overpair has us thinking happy thoughts -- so when someone across the table bets 200, we're pleased to call. Only a couple of players fold.

ON THE TURN: K

"We three Kings" is a very out-of-season song. But that's what we have, and we're ready move on it -- but hold on. A woman across from us bets 2,000. The board is an absolute "rainbow," so we think this is a classic "two pair versus trips" bet. So we don't hesitate to call. Another player calls, to go all-in with less than the bet.

ON THE RIVER: 5

The woman across from us doesn't slow down, betting 2,000 more. With "top trips," why should we worry? We call again.

"I've got a straight."

NOOOOOOOO! The woman shows A-J! The King which gave us confidence gave her something even better. Our dream of a big gain turns into a huge loss - down to 1,625 chips.

We never recovered from that moment -- as attempts to limp with A-8 and A-7 brought no pair on the flop and forced us to fold. A final desperation move with 9-8 of spades brought a pair of 9's, but other players made two pair to eliminate us. We miss the final table for the 14th live tournament in a row -- finishing sixth at a table of eight.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our card protector tonight had several messages combined in one. The American Red Cross sent us this lapel pin several years ago, for giving two gallons of blood. It was a reminder that the Red Cross is accepting donations to help survivors of last week's devastating tornadoes in the Southern U.S.

But one man who noticed the pin thought of something more. "Blood - the gift of life." And it's a gift Jesus offered long ago for you. Do you know why? Offer a comment if you'd like to answer; we'll explain in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 94 final tables in 245 nights (38.4%) - 15 cashes. Our last final table appearance was way back on February 10.