Poker Day 450: Leader of the Band

We've been on the road for the last few days. Call it the BPPT - Blogger's Personal Poker Tour.

Our first stop Sunday afternoon was a tournament at Prairie Band Casino, north of Topeka.  The weekend buy-in was $45.  The atmosphere was relaxed, with three full tables of players.  And the challenge for us was to stay focused on the action - especially since we had a medical emergency a couple of nights before, which put us in the hospital.

BLINDS: 10/20

IN THE POCKET: K-Q offsuit

Even though it's early in the contest, several players have been in a pushing mood.  We've held off and taken things patiently, with our starting 1,000 chips down only a bit.  This time, no one raises and we're content to call.

ON THE FLOP: 4-K-J

We have top pair and a nice kicker, so we put out a probing bet of 50.  Several players concede, but one man across from us calls.

ON THE TURN: K

Top trips now!  But does our opponent want to jump into potential trouble? We check to see. He doesn't, checking as well.

ON THE RIVER: A

This card opens a door for potential trouble, if our opponent is sitting on a straight draw. But that doesn't occur to us at this moment.  When he bets 100, we think our three Kings are still best.  We raise to 250, and he calls.

"We three Kings," we announce as we show.  The Queen apparently makes a difference, as he also shows a King.... but not his other card.  The kicker gives us a nice pot and a strong gain.

Our holdings gained well, thanks to good cards. Then we held on during a segment when the hands were lousy.  Yet we reached the final table, walking a bit of a chip tightrope -- and we survived to the final seven players, to make money!

Then the good cards started coming back, and we eliminated at least one opponent.  We made it all the way to a heads-up showdown.  But our opponent had about a 2:1 chip advantage at that point; when we dared to go all-in pre-flop with 8-4 of clubs, we were outgunned and lost.

But it was still a very good day -- with a $209 second-place payoff for about three hours of play. (We didn't ask the winner how much he won.)  That's our second-biggest poker payday ever, topped only by a night in the Florida panhandle during a 2011 church convention.  And we won a $5 bonus in "after-hours trading," playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'em elsewhere at the casino,

MINISTRY MOMENT: For the first time that we can recall, we spotted a player wearing a Bible verse on his T-shirt.  Below a patriotic message was a reference to this:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. - Psalm 33:12

The man told us during a break he's the son of a minister.  He mumbled some of the rest of his story, about how he wound up in a casino on a Sunday afternoon.  We told him about our efforts to discuss the things of God in poker rooms; he didn't offer much of a reaction to it.

So what about that Bible verse?  Some evangelical Christians might see that as applying to the U.S. In fact, some have declared the U.S. is descended from one of the "lost tribes" of Israel.  But we'd point out something else about God's blessings....

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." - Acts 10:34-35

The apostle Peter was focused on ministering to Jews - but Acts 10 shows how a Gentile man named Cornelius changed his thinking. In the same way, we think God will bless and honor people who fear and obey Him in any country on Earth.

We did a detailed study into the concept of the U.S. being of the "lost tribes."  We welcome your thoughts about it -- but be warned: it's SO detailed that you might have to give up some poker-playing time to get through both parts.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 165 final tables in 450 games (36.7%) - 28 cashes.

It's our second tournament cash win in a row, and our fourth this year (one online).  But the BPPT Tour only started here; wait until you see our next post!

Looking Like a Winner

If someone walked up to you and said, "Poker Player" - what sort of picture would come to mind?

Would you see someone wearing dark sunglasses, like Phil Hellmuth?  Or someone wearing goofy glasses, like Greg Raymer?

Would he wear a hoodie, a la Phil Laak?  Or a cowboy hat, a la Doyle Brunson?  (Or for that matter, would the "he" be a she?)

Despite the development of crazy-looking "character" players in the television age, there's no real stereotype of how a poker player should look.  He can have any skin color, gender, nationality or age.

We were reminded of that last week when a man in a wheelchair who barely seemed able to speak beat us in a hand.  He didn't wear glasses.  He didn't wear a hat.  He didn't even look like someone who would qualify for a "genius grant."  Yet he won a big pot -- in fact, several.

Players like that remind us of the words of Jesus Christ:

Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. - John 7:24 (KJV)

The Bible mentions a few strong men.  But Goliath was knocked cold by a stone flung by a young man named David (I Samuel 17).  And Samson succumbed to a persuasive woman, who talked him into revealing his secret of strength (Judges 16).  Instead, the true greatest hero of the Bible is Someone who...

....had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. - Isaiah 53:2

This chapter is a prophetic description of Jesus Christ.  And our Savior, every bit as much as that poker player in a wheelchair, is a reminder of the classic phrase, "Looks can be deceiving."  Come to think of it, they can be every bit as deceiving as someone slow-playing pocket Aces.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.... so that no one may boast before him.... - I Corinthians 1:27, 29

Poker Night 311: Straight in the Middle

Our corner of the world is in drought conditions - so we didn't really mind having to turn around and grab an umbrella for our walk to Lil Kim's Cove Thursday night.  A "shower of blessing" was falling from the sky.  And a few minutes later, one fell out of the dealer's hand.

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: King-Jack of hearts

We won an early pot with two high cards (our opponents might be reading this, so we won't say which two).  Now we have strong hearts in the Small Blind -- and as best we recall, someone raises ahead of us to 200.  We call, as does most of the table.

ON THE FLOP: Qc-10c-9s

No hearts, but it's still almost a dream-come-true flop.  We hit a straight "straightway!"  But here we remember the earlier pot we won.  We bet 200 on the flop, and the table quickly folded.  This time we're first to act, so we check.

A man to our left tosses out 300.  We call, of course -- but as we do, something tells us we ought to raise.  If we don't, a third club is almost certain to come on the turn to give someone a flush.

ON THE TURN: 5d

That's a relief - a very harmless low card.  Now we decide to step forward.  We bet 500.  The man who bet a moment ago isn't fazed, and raises to 2,000.  If that's not nice enough, a man to our immediate right also raises - to 4,000.

"Thirty-five hundred more?!?!"  We say this with pretend stunned puzzlement in our voice.  Unless the other men also have K-J, our hand is in the lead.  So we think for a moment, count our chips and decide against waiting any longer.  "So I'm all-in -- 2,425 more."

The man to our left pauses to think even longer.  The man to the right speculates we have a Jack.  "He's saying what he's got," the man to the left responds.  (Not out loud, of course -- our chips are doing the talking.)  Mr. Left Side finally chooses to call.

"I've got to see that straight," Mr. Right Side says.  He calls as well.

ON THE RIVER: Ah

No flushes, no full houses -- but will we split the pot?  Mr. Left Side checks.

"I've got a King, man," Mr. Right Side says as he shows one card.

That's not good enough.  "You can call me the RiverCenter," we say in reference to our nice local concert hall, "because I'm on Broadway."  As in the top "Broadway straight."

Mr. Right Side wound up showing K-Q.  Mr. Left Side never showed what he had.  We triple our chip stack to more than 21,000.

"I tried to keep it small," we note afterward.  The big bettors stumbled onto a buzz saw.

A few losses followed that big win -- but A-J brought us another top-pair winner late in the first hour, and we reached the one-hour break with 23,500 chips.  Then in the second hour, we folded A-9 when calling an opponent's all-in bet would have eliminated him with an Ace on the turn.  But we made another strong comeback when 9-9 brought a third 9 on the flop.  The table folded to our all-in bet.

We reached the semifinal table at the start of Hour 3 with 15,500 chips (improved to 20,000 by "color up" rules).  When we saw A-J again with the blinds at 5,000/10,000, we went all-in again.  A man called us with J-9.  But a 9 appeared on the turn and the board never paired for us.

"A.J. Allmendinger lost the race," we said as we shook hands - missing the final table in 14th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT:  "Romans 12:1-2" was the message on the back of a T-shirt we spotted after our elimination.  So we asked the man wearing the shirt about that Bible reference.

"It's just an old shirt," he said - seemingly unaware of what was on his back.

"Today is the National Day of Prayer," we pointed out.  "Do you pray?"

"I did earlier - when I was playing at the table."

We really have two issues in one here.  What was the real message that man wore on the back of his shirt?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. - Romans 12:1

This doesn't mean putting yourselves in a fire, as Old Testament sacrifices were conducted.  After all, you'd eventually burn yourself to death.  It means living a holy, godly life.  How do you do that?  The next verse offers a hint....

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2

To use an old-time church phrase, we need to clean up our "stinkin' thinkin'" - thinking the way this world does.  Bars which host poker nights display plenty of that thinking.  Some people smoke, drink excessively and play X-rated songs on the jukebox as if they don't care.  (We won't guess how many of them are along our line, and really do care.)

If you'd like some guidance about what "God's will" is, read the Bible study we wrote about it.  We'll get to the prayer part of our conversation in another post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 109 final tables in 311 nights (35.0%) - 17 cashes.

It seems a bit hard to believe, but only 14 months ago our final table percentage was at 40.  It's been a long slow descent since then - with only 15 reached in our last 76 poker nights (19.7%) to reach this new crossroads point.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 218 point wins in 928 games (23.5%), 71 final tables, 7 cashes plus 1 other win.  No-River Hold 'em - 5 point wins in 21 games (23.8%), 4 final tables, 1 cash win.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $79,812, up $8,805.  (At one point Tuesday, we were up more than $10,600 for the week!)

Good Sign? Bad Sign?

As the November Nine drama unfolds, we learned tonight from the World Series of Poker website that DearFoams is the "official footwear provider" of WSOP.

Huh?!?!

Really now - when was the last time you walked into a poker room and noticed people's shoes?  (Unless perhaps someone flings a bet off the table, and chips land on the floor.)  Aren't you far more likely to notice a player's hat?  Or a shirt?

Open question: is this sponsorship a sign of growing popularity for poker?  Or is it a sign of desperation, in terms of looking for endorsement deals?

In or Out?

A previous post mentioned a poker table discussion which apparently (we're still not sure) dealt with beauty-related items and the Bible.

People wear all sorts of outfits to major poker tournaments -- from the "hoodie" of Phil Laak to the suit-and-tie business wear of Mike Sexton. But of course, outward appearance only gets you so far. How you play determines whether you're a winner or not.

We think the same thing is true, when it comes to the Christian walk. Some denominations and church groups are anti-jewelry or anti-makeup. We'll never forget a man we encountered aboard a rush-hour train, who started preaching: "Jesus Christ didn't have red lips. The apostle Paul didn't have red lips." (Perhaps because they were males?!) But we lean toward Jesus emphasized....

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.... If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? -- Matthew 6:28, 30

It comes down to what's more important in your mind. If it's merely about looking good at a poker table, you might not last long. If it's merely a right appearance at a worship service, Jesus says you're forgetting something:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -- Matthew 6:33

The kingdom of God, He means. It's an endeavor which should work from the inside out, beginning with the Spirit of God dwelling in you.

If you want to study deeper into what the Bible says about fashion and beauty issues, check this article we posted several years ago largely for a Church of God audience.

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?

Look Like Laak

The last time we played poker at Lil' Kim's Cove, it was a rainy night. So we wore a hooded rain jacket to the club, and told people we were trying to look like pro poker star Phil Laak (aka the "Unibomber").

Well, except we had on regular glasses instead of sunglasses. It was raining, after all.

A few people who knew we meant. But at least one player next to us said, "Take that thing (hood) off. You're scaring me with it."

Looking back, that player may have had a point. He was African-American, and our hooded jacket was white. You can finish the logic problem from there.

"Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God." -- I Cor. 10:32, KJV

Our apologies if we came across as insensitive to anyone at the table. That wasn't our goal. We simply wanted to look, well, poker-stylish. Not that it helped us win -- it didn't.