An In-Tents Battle

Our last post mentioned a Bible verse that's probably obscure to many people....

From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers. - Zechariah 10:4 (NLT)

That last post showed how Jesus Christ should be the "chief cornerstone" for believers in God (Ephesians 2:20). But what about these other things?

Unless you own a modern multi-piece plastic tent with weights to hold poles, you know what a "tent peg" does. It's hammered or pushed into the ground, so ropes and canvas can be secure. A different part of Zechariah helps explain the reference....

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. - Zechariah 12:7 (KJV)

The Lord will keep Judah's "tents" secure against destruction. That Lord (which we believe refers to Jesus) wants to save Jews, as well as "gentiles" outside the tribe. And that's not the most amazing part….

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents.... No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.... It is a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. - Romans 2:28-29 (NLT)

Some self-proclaimed Christians who point fingers at Judaism may not realize this. They are supposed to be "Jews" themselves - by letting the Holy Spirit change their hearts to be as loving as God is.

That brings us to "the bow for battle" - and if you've been waiting for a poker reference, thank you for waiting; here it is. With Jesus on your side, you can enter the "battle" of poker tournaments with confidence. You don't have to be afraid of other players, or what they might say.

They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the Lord is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy's horsemen. - Zechariah 10:5 (NLT)

Does that mean you'll win every pot and clean up at every cash game? No. We're proof of that. This verse is ultimately referring to the second coming of Jesus to conquer the world and set up God's Kingdom (14:4-9). But you can ask God in prayer for a proper attitude in the decisions you make - and then, amazing things could happen.

So the next time you play poker, or face any challenge in your life, seek God's help through His Holy Spirit. Take a firm belief in Him - then wait for the right moment when He might give you victory.

Equal opportunity?

The ultimate "final table" in poker is only a couple of weeks away.  And again this year, all the survivors at the World Series of Poker Main Event have one thing in common.  They're all male.

This fact hasn't been overlooked by some women.  One wrote a column pointing out only four percent of the entries in this year's Main Event were female -- and making comparisons with corporate boards.  We're not sure that comparison is completely valid.  After all, anyone with $10,000 could buy a place at the Main Event -- regardless of gender, skin color or national origin.

But the author's real point seems to be that women shouldn't be afraid to sit down and play poker.  And that point seems valid to us -- a point equally valid for believers in God.

Sometimes fear creates stereotypes, and vice versa.  People might not play poker based on fears of what others around the table might think -- or what their friends away from the table might think.  But is that how a believer should live?

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love. - I John 4:18

This verse is based on the understanding that God is love (verses 8, 16), and we should love our brothers (verses 20-21).  It's very possible a "brother" (or even a sister) in Christ could be waiting at a poker table -- or God could use you to develop one through your witness and example to them.

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. - Proverbs 29:25

We've heard ministers put it this way: Let God be your confidence.  And God is the One who truly should be feared -- not humans:

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him. - Luke 12:5

Are you afraid of losing money at the table?  That's understandable.  Then find free places to play.  That's how we started.  If your town doesn't have live games, there are plenty of places to play for free online -- and who knows, you might score a win every once in a while.

We've played in tournaments over the years where women have done very well, making final tables while we stared from the outside.  They certainly were not excluded.  So what's holding you back from the table?  And even more importantly, what's holding you back from approaching God's group -- joining others in worshiping and following Him?

But You Lost

We've been rather successful in live poker since moving to our new city.  But we haven't been perfect -- as in 100-percent final tables.  If anyone really is perfect (especially in professional poker), we'd like to meet them.

In prior posts, we mentioned we pray before going into tournaments -- and among other things, we pray for success at the table.  But what if it doesn't come?  What if we go bust in a couple of hands?  Does that make God a failure?

No -- it only proves we are a failure.  There could be many explanations for why success doesn't come.  We'll offer a few here; you might be able to scan the Bible and find others:

1) OVERCONFIDENCE IN SELF.  A little success can build a big ego.  Yet we're reminded:

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. - Romans 12:3

We can think we faithfully follow God to the best of our ability -- but if we give ourselves too much credit for it, God can deflate our big head in a hurry.

2) A TIME OF TESTING.  The Biblical character Job faced this, probably without his knowledge -- tested by the devil (as allowed by God) to see how loyal he'd be to God.  At one point Job said:

To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.  What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. - Job 12:13-14

Can we keep honoring and glorifying God, even when Satan throws challenges in our way?

3) THE ANSWER IS NO.  Contrary to what some might preach, God is not Mr. Rubber-Stamp - always giving believers everything they request.  The apostle Paul knew about this:

To keep me from becoming conceited.... there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. - II Corinthians 12:7-8

But read on and you'll see God turned down Paul's plea -- so God's power could become more evident in Paul's life.

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong. - II Corinthians 12:10

Delighting in such things admittedly is very hard to do.  But it's what Paul says believers should do -- so when successes come, Jesus and God get the glory and honor for them.

If you're in a losing streak, whether in poker or life, we invite you to consider our Bible study on failure.  We've personally been through it.  Perhaps you can learn from it.

Poker Night 372: Life on the Edge

Sometimes good poker advice comes from very unexpected places.  We try to keep in mind a warning given by veteran pastor Chuck Swindall, during one of his daily broadcasts on Christian radio.  Watch how we applied it Monday night at The Red Barn....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-K

This hand immediately follows one where we played K-2 in the Small Blind, saw a second King land on the flop, then caught a third on the river.  "We three Kings" captured a huge pot.  We're not sure exactly how many chips we have, because we're dealing now and haven't added them up from the last hand.  But we're guessing the total is around 20,000 (helped by a 10,000-chip bonus given simply for showing up).

We'd be glad to raise at this table of seven with this high pocket pair.  But a man to our immediate right does it first.  He raises to 350.  We choose to "tag along" and call.  But a man across from us raises 250 more.  The man at our right then elects to go all-in!  He has 5,950 extra to offer.  We can't resist calling him.

While his chips are being counted, a man at our left decides it's time to start debriefing us.  "You want to see that flop, don't you?"

"Welllllll," we say in a Bugs Bunny cartoon voice, "could be."

The man opposite us then calls the all-in bet as well.

"Would you have called, if he had gone all-in there?" the man at our left asks.

This question seems out of line for this moment.  "We're still playing the hand," we answer - then borrow words from former President George H.W. Bush.  "I won't respond to hypotheticals."

Besides, why say anything which might give away our intentions when another active player can hear it?  In any case, we smell a potential big haul for us here....

ON THE FLOP: 6-J-A

....until we deal the last thing we want to see: an Ace.  The man across from us reaches into his much larger chip stack and bets 20,000.  This would put us all-in.

"That settles it.  I fold."  We toss away our Kings, certain that we're topped.

Sure enough: the man across from us turns over not one Ace, but two.  His three of a kind tops the other player's 10-10 as well.  The remaining two cards don't change the outcome.  The "triple-A" prevail, and the low pocket pair is knocked out.

"Good fold," the man at our left says.  It's thanks to that Chuck Swindoll tip - you're most vulnerable right after you score a major triumph or victory.  You risk becoming overconfident, and having everything crumble around you.

(Homework assignment: Swindall offered Biblical evidence to support his point.  Can you find a case in the Bible which might illustrate it?  Offer a comment, and we'll offer our answer in a future post.)

That big decision kept us in the tournament through the first hour.  Then an all-in bet in the second hour with A-9 and an Ace on the flop improved us to 39,000 chips.  The total was 35,000 at the two-hour break.  Then with ten players remaining, we were dealt A-A.  We naturally went all-in for 20,000.  The flop brought a harmless-looking J-5-7.  Another 7 came on the river.

"I made trips!" declared a player who had called us.  Ouch!!  He had a third 7, and our Aces had crashed.  But for one card, we might have made the final table -- but instead we finished in tenth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A couple of players were willing to talk about the grade school killings in Newtown, Connecticut.  One young man admitted he couldn't help crying at the news of young children being gunned down.

"This is not God's world," we told him.  "Not right now."

"Yet so many people want to give Him the blame," the young man said, "when God gave people the freedom of choice, and they made a bad choice."

He describes the dilemma fairly well.  Moses put it this way in his farewell address, before Israel entered the promised land:

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

Sadly, humans have chosen the way of death too often -- and it started long before there was a Newtown.

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field."  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. - Genesis 4:8

Where did Cain get such a murderous idea?  We think he was influenced by a fallen angel, who seemed to hang around the Garden of Eden one chapter earlier....

You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil.  He rules the world, and his spirit has power over  everyone who doesn't obey God. - Ephesians 2:2 (CEV)

It might seem hard to believe, but the Bible says Satan is in charge of this world -- at least for now.  The good news is that Jesus Christ will come back someday, overthrow Satan and make Earth a peaceful and happy place again.  If you're wondering how that might happen, this article may help you understand.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 129 final tables in 372 nights (34.7%) - 20 cashes.

Poker Night 124: On Tilt - Me?

The person who first declared, "Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," apparently never played poker. It happened to a man at our table tonight at Soho Bar & Grill tonight. He bet big against pocket Aces, and wound up bankrupt in a hurry. We had the second A-A to take him out.

But our lesson tonight really was about overconfidence. A top deal doesn't always guarantee success in the end....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit

We're in the Big Blind - and last time we had this position, we made those pocket Aces. We think about raising pre-flop, but then a man to our right goes all-in with 2,150. We have more than 9,000, so we decide to call and be potentially generous.

"I'm all in," a man to our immediate left then says. He raises the stakes 4,050 more. We ponder this and stare at him, seeking some kind of sign.

"Be careful. Be very careful," he tells us. But this man tends to talk bigger than his hand, so we dare to call. Immediately he shows A-A -- much as we feared.

ON THE FLOP: 2-K-4

We're looking for Jacks, and this does not look good.

ON THE TURN: 10

Still not looking good.

ON THE RIVER: Q.

"STRAIGHT!" a man across the table and out of the hand declares. All we can do is laugh -- because it's our straight, and we didn't notice it at first! We cracked the big bettor's Aces, and we also eliminate the first player who pushed with 3-3.

This put us in the 20,000 chip range -- but then without realizing it, we became overconfident ourselves. In the last hand before the one-hour break, we again were in the Big Blind with 5-9. Standard calling allowed us to check and see a flop, and a 9 came.

Then a man across from us who was talking loud and acting tipsy started betting big -- 2,000 on the flop, then 4,000 on the turn. We admitted we might regret calling, but we did. Then another 9 landed on the river, to give us three of a kind.

"5,000," the aggressive opponent bet.

"All-in raise," we declared with 5,050 more. We felt good. But he called.

"You got a boat?" he asked. No -- three 9's.

"I'm got a straight." From 6-10, and he's drained us away. A promising night crash-lands in about 30th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our little battery continues to spark discussion at poker tables. Two people asked tonight why we brought it.

"It's a reminder to me," we explained, "that I'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon me." (Acts 1:8)

"That's cool!" a young woman said in response. And she recognized on sight that it was AAA, because she once worked at Radio Shack. But when we told her the phrase was from the Bible, she seemed ready to change the subject.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 48 final tables in 124 nights (38.7%) - 10 cashes. With only one final table in the last 13 nights, this is the most serious slump we've had since starting in 2007.

(P.S. Lil Kim's Cove will NOT have poker Thursday night, because of a New Year's Eve party. Maybe the rest will do us good.)

YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $13,944 - unchanged (no play there in a month).

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Five-player sit-n-goes - 3-7-3-1-0. Full tournaments - 7 final tables in 78 games (9.0%), no cashes.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: One-table sit-n-goes - one top-three finish in eight games. Full tournament - 0/2.

Remember as you play....

"You're not safe after a victory. You're vulnerable."

We heard Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll say this on Christian radio this morning -- and we've noted it in our poker playing lately.

You win a big pot, and see good cards dealt to you in the very next hand. It's tempting to say "I'm on a roll" and bet big, only to forget an opponent could have something even better. That "roll" you're on could be a puffed-up yeast roll that collapses under pressure.

"A greedy man brings trouble to his family...." says Proverbs 11:27. So keep your head, after getting your hands on lots of chips. Perfect games seldom happen in baseball -- and we don't recall them ever happening in poker.

Poker Night 107: Get Over It

A pastor in our city likes to say, "Get your higher education -- and then get over it." We should have remembered that advice tonight, as our Wednesday night poker game moved to Soho Bar & Grill. But we didn't, and a big loss led us to an early end in about 30th place.

We won two nice pots early, including one where Q-9 of diamonds turned into a flush on the turn and gained us 4,000 chips over the man who always seems to know what hand we have. (He guessed "flush draw" on the turn, when we already had it.) But a huge stack of chips made us a little overconfident....

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-Q suited

Standard calling occurs at a full table, until we raise to 300. One man to our left calls -- but then a man in the big blind re-raises by 2,000. Our stack is huge enough that we can afford it, so we call. Only then the man to our left raises even more, and goes all-in for about 9,500.

"Yeow," we say as we count our chip. We have a lot, but this would cost a lot. But we think there's some deep-down bluffing going on (we took a man out earlier who bet big with only 8-10), so we call again.

ON THE FLOP: K-9-7 offsuit.

The man who went all-in turns over pocket Aces. Trouble is, two players still can bet! If that's not bizarre enough, our opponent then pushes all-in for several thousand.

"You know they're going to bet now," a man out of the hand declares. And since we have top pair (at least compared with the board), we call a second all-in bet. The opponent for the sidepot shows 8-8.

"They're two-timing you," the man to our left says. But we still could get a consolation prize -- especially if a King or Queen comes.

ON THE TURN: 4 (we think, can't recall)

No help to anybody.

ON THE RIVER: 8.

"Hey, I've got 8's." The man whose big over-the-top raise started all this winds up taking everything -- an estimated 30,000 chips. We're left with about 3,000, and a good dose of disbelief.

MINISTRY MOMENT: At one point late in our time at the table, a player brought up the idea of "karma" happening in poker.

"Or as I read in a book once," we responded, "you reap what you sow."

A man sitting next to us affirmed that idea. "That's why I try to be nice to other people," he said -- which was interesting, because he spent a great deal of time during the tournament engaged in cursing taunts aimed at other players (including us).

Do you know what book has that line about reaping and sowing? It's the Bible -- Galatians 6:7, to be exact. Read verse 8 with it, and consider what you're sowing in life.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 44 final tables in 107 nights (41.1%) - 10 cashes.

Remember as you play....

"Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others." -- Psalm 52:7

A poker tournament is a bit like the board game Risk -- you know, the "game of world conquest." The objective is to build the biggest chip stack you can, and knock out opponents as you do.

But we've seen occasions when big stacks can crumble, in a matter of only a few hands. In fact, it happened to us Wednesday in an NBC Sports online tournament. We won $11,000 in chips in a single pot. But when we tried to use our big stack to eliminate another player, they made a better hand and doubled up against us.

It reached the point where we made a bold $5,000 bet with two pair on the turn -- only to be stunned by two opponents who both had Ace-high straights. We fell from $13,000-plus to zero in a hurry.

Looking back, we think we were overconfident for a moment -- the wrong moment, which cost us badly. In life, overconfidence might work for a while. But sooner or later, it's bound to bite you.

So thank God if you're wealthy -- whether in your 401(k) or at the table. Then display what Paul calls "confidence in the Lord" (II Thes. 3:4), not in your bankroll. The changes in the world's economy over the last 12 months should have taught all of us that lesson. Have you learned it -- and are you applying it?