False Alarms, True Sense

Our last post mentioned the moment of fear we had driving to a poker night. A tire warning light started flashing as we crossed a high bridge. The last thing we wanted was a flat tire there - especially on a cold winter evening.

Thankfully, a tire store was still open on the other side of the bridge. There we learned a flashing light really means a "sensor battery" to monitor the tire had failed - not the tire itself. So we could drive on to the poker room with that knowledge.

Have you ever faced something liked that, when playing poker? You sense trouble in the middle of a hand - perhaps by how an opponent is betting or a "tell" you're perceiving. It could be right. Or you may discover it was all a bluff, to scare you out of a big win.

Some people say you should run at the first sign of danger. Others say you should "curse the torpedoes - full speed ahead." We consulted a famous book filled with wisdom for the best approach you should take....

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have.... pierced themselves with many sorrows.... man of God, so run from all these evil things.... - I Timothy 6:10-11 (NLT)

This is interesting - if your "spidey sense" (to borrow from an old cartoon) indicates trouble, you should check yourself. Why would you plow on? Because you're greedy for a big pot, or want to get even with someone for an earlier pot? If that's the motive, the Bible recommends running the other way.

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts... - II Timothy 2:22 (NLT)

(For some people, this could mean not playing poker at all - but that's not really our topic here.)

But you may be convinced that moving forward is the right thing to do. (For instance, it's easy when you have a nut flush.) If so, move ahead:

And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward...." - Exodus 14:15 (NKJV)

At this point, God was intervening to pull a nation out of Egypt - even splitting the Red Sea in two to do it (verses 21-30). He can back your wise decisions as well. He can even come to your rescue when a decision appears wrong; we've seen this happen in tournaments more than once.

In the case of our warning light, we stopped for advice from an expert. Obviously, that's not allowed in the middle of a poker hand - but we've seen blackjack dealers offer some from time to time. And after a hand or tournament, it's worth pursuing....

The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. - Psalm 37:30 (NLT)

So feel free to comment - what was the biggest moment you've ever had in poker where your sense of trouble was right, and you had a "great lay-down"? Or even a bad one?

Poker Day 415: One Card Too Many?

Even though the name has changed, the first Sunday of every month remains the "Big Sunday" at River City Poker Room -- with a $50 buy-in, and a shot at a $1,000 top prize.  Still stinging over our big casino loss, we wondered if this might be a "third chance" to refill our envelope.  Tests would come early, even though blinds were lengthy and small at first:

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: Q-5 of clubs (suit may not be precise)

The tables are full, but the action at ours has been relatively tight so far.  We've tried to be active and play sensible hands, but our starting start of 20,000 has dropped by about 3,000.  Our notes don't show the suit of these cards -- but we assume they were suited, because we'd like to get in for the minimum in the Dealer position.  Except a woman in the Big Blind raises to 700.

"You realize it's only 200," we jokingly suggest.

"She wants your 200," the man in the Small Blind answers in her behalf.  Clearly.  So we call, and about half the table is in.

"Now she wants your 700," Mr. Small Blind notes.

ON THE FLOP: Q-5-3

She may want it, but this flop could make it hard to get it.  We have top two pair.  The table checks, but we don't.

"All right, then, we say - and bet 1,000.  The woman folds -- but then comes a surprise from a man across the table.  He raises all the way to 5,000.  This gives us a pause.  But we conclude he only has one pair - certainly not something like 3-3.  We call.  Everyone else steps aside.

ON THE TURN: 4

There's no flush threat showing.  But our opponent now fires again, betting 5,000 more.  Now we're concluding he has pocket Aces.  But if he does, we're still ahead.  It's a "lump in your throat" moment, but we call this big bet again.

ON THE RIVER: 2

This is absolutely the last thing we want to see.  If our opponent has an Ace, he just hit a straight -- and if he bets big again, we might face an early all-in moment of truth.

He thinks for a moment, then does something which happily surprises us.  He checks.  We check as well.

"Two pair," he says -- showing 2-4.  He made running pairs, but misses the open-ended straight draw.  We show our Q-5, and are thankful!  The lack of an Ace wins us a huge pot -- and we're well above the starting line, at 28,100 chips.

Our day went up and down that way -- a few good pot wins, a few losses.  The wins outnumbered the losses to the point that we reached a high of 52,000 chips.  But rising blinds and shrinking tables eventually did us in.  After a couple of all-in escapes, we tried again with A-10 -- but ran into Q-Q.  The board didn't save us, and we finished close to the semifinal table in 18th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A-K in the Big Blind brought us a "double-up" late in the tournament, which kept us around a few extra minutes.

"PTL!  I'd write if I was online right now," we said to the table.

"What does PTL mean?" the dealer asked.  We're glad she asked.

"Praise the Lord," we said.

Look through the Psalms of the Bible, and you'll find all sorts of reasons to praise God.  For instance:

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. - Psalm 16:7

Uh-oh -- we have to treat this verse with care.  God can provide counsel, if we study His Word and listen carefully to people who preach and teach it.  But what about David's heart in this case?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? - Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV)

We think Jeremiah is speaking in general terms here about the human condition.  So should David have followed the instruction of his heart?  Not always -- because at times he committed serious sinful mistakes, such as lusting after another man's wife and having that man killed to claim her as his own (II Samuel 11).

So how do you know when your heart is talking, as opposed to the counsel of God?  This can matter at poker tables, as well as other places.  Offer a comment if you'd like; we'll look at this more deeply in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 145 final tables in 415 games (34.9%) - 24 cashes.

Meetings of the Minds

It's Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada -- and plenty of workers do their jobs in unions, shifts or teams. But as we've noted before, poker seldom works that way; it's a very individualistic game.

Yet we tried to be a good listener on one recent night, when several players at the table talked openly about their approach to hands. They seemed to agree a "chase" to the turn might be acceptable, but a dream of hitting a big river card for a flush or straight seldom is. The discussion reminded us of a passage in Proverbs:

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. - Proverbs 11:14, KJV

It's good to seek advice -- especially when you face a difficult decision. Of course, that's not really allowed in the middle of a poker hand. But outside the game, it can be helpful -- especially when you're in a slump.

We'd offer some "counseling" of our own here, though. Not all counsel is good counsel....

And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father [also] chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. -- I Kings 12:13-14, KJV

Read this entire chapter and you'll find King Rehoboam had a choice between two groups of people, with two different lines of reasoning. His choice led to personal sin, national division and a near-war. So as they might say in a court of law, we recommend your "counsel approach the bench."

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. - James 5:13

Hopefully step one here will lead to step two! Take the big decisions you face to God in prayer; seek His ultimate help in guiding you through the challenges of life.