Poker Day 504: Create Your Breaks

Poker tournaments sometimes can be a test of patience. When you sit down at the table 70 minutes later than everyone else, that's even more true. That was our challenge Sunday at Kansas Star Casino - arriving more than 20 minutes before the start of the big weekend tournament, yet sitting seventh on the "interest" list waiting for other players to be tossed.

It helped that the Sunday tournament is "deep stack," with everyone starting at 10,000. So we still had time to try to make something happen....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: A-J offsuit

A few nibbles haven't worked due to pre-flop raises and missed flops. We reached the first break at 9,125. Now we're "chipped up" to 9,200 and looking at our best cards of the day.

Sitting one off the button, we decide to try something creative for us. When no one raises ahead of us, we simply call instead of raising. About five players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 2-2-10

Did anyone hit that? When the players in front of us check, we conclude they did not. So we offer 500. As we recall, two other players call. Our Ace might be best.

ON THE TURN: A

Now we're more confident it's best. With two pair plus an "over-kicker," the other players' checks lead us to bet 1,000. One man folds, the other across the table calls.

ON THE RIVER: J

The runners come around to score for us. A check by our opponent brings another bet of 1,000 from us. Again he calls.

"Three pair," we declare. (Of course, in Texas Hold 'em there's no such thing.)  But that Jack on the river matters, because our opponent has A-Q. We would have been outkicked, but we wind up with a big gain to 13,000.

That kept us going for awhile.... until he dropped 3,000 in a big hand where two players clashed all-in.  We never recovered from that, finally going all-in with A-Q with 3,600 to go. A man called with K-9, and he made a 9 on the flop while we never paired. Our standing improved from our last casino trip, but still only finished 37th out of 70 total players.

MINISTRY MOMENT: For once, our card protector was one-upped.

"I have to say, I've never seen anyone with a cross at the table," we said to a man across from us. It looked like a magnet - small, with no markings on either side.

"And he brought it on Sunday," a man down the table noted.

"You can have a cross every day," we responded. While many people think of crosses as symbols inside church buildings for Sunday worship, it actually refers to an event which happened on another day of the week.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). - John 19:16-17

This happened during "the day of Preparation of Passover Week" (verse 14). The timing of events from Jewish calendars indicates Jesus carried the cross on a Wednesday, since He was discovered to be resurrected on a Sunday:

...And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. - Luke 24:21b

But what about us? Are we only supposed to "carry a cross" on Sundays? Jesus said no....

Then he said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

What sort of cross is this? We don't think meant the tall wooden kind like He carried to Golgotha (better known as Calvary). But we also don't think it means a small magnet.

We think Jesus meant carrying the things that weigh us down in this life, much as He bore the sins of all humans and their penalties on our behalf. It can mean denying ourselves, as Jesus put a death for all of us above His own life. What do you think it means? Your comments are welcome.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 184 final tables in 504 games (36.5%) - 37 cashes.

Jesus with the Crosses

This weekend's Heartland Poker Tour telecast has a final table from a tournament in Mississippi -- and a player which brought an obvious, yet ridiculous punch line from an announcer.

Jesus Cabrera of Atlanta made a deep run (click on our link only if you want to know the outcome), which prompted Jaymz Larson to say at one point the question for other players had become: "What Would Jesus Do?" (Thankfully, Maria Ho had enough class to avoid commenting.)

We've worn WWJD bracelets in poker rooms for years -- but NOT because of Mr. Cabrera. To be honest, we never heard of him before the HPT telecast.  For us, there's only one "Jesus" whose actions ultimately matter.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. - I Peter 2:21

We're not sure if it's by design or not, but Cabrera wore a shirt to the final table with crosses on it. The Biblical Jesus had His own cross - and that's where the suffering took place.

And being made in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:8

Did you notice how the apostle Peter put it? Jesus left an example for us through suffering.  That's probably not the example that even most believing Christians want to follow.  Hardly anyone wants to suffer -- whether it's a long poker losing streak or a family tragedy. But that's the example the Lord set. And yet....

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2

Poker players sometimes face a long grind at outer tournament tables - but the final table often brings a cash prize. In a similar way, the Biblical Jesus saw beyond His hours of suffering to the reward beyond -- and a reward is awaiting Jesus's followers as well.

...But he who stands firm to the end shall be saved. - Matthew 24:13

You can be "saved" to share eternal life with Jesus Christ.  So with all due respect to Mr. Cabrera and respect for his final table appearance - what would that other Jesus have you do?

Poker Night 322: A Wing and a Pair

Big Dog Poker has a new Sunday night "free spot" -- Mr. Wing Sports Grill, near St. Francis Hospital in Columbus.  Since it was a rainy Sunday with little else to do and our schedule for this week is a bit different, we stopped by tonight.

The "grand opening" sign was out, the service was outstanding (we received a soda refill for the road without even asking) and a man at our table praised the chicken wings.  In short, the place impressed us.  Maybe a bit too much, judging from a few hands we played....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: 10 of hearts - 10 of diamonds

We're in the Big Blind, early in the game.  After a modest loss with a missed flop, we have 5,500 chips when the blind is removed.  No one at this full table raises, and the play has been tame so far.  Would you elect to turn up the heat, seeing this nice pocket pair?  We're tempted, but we decide after a moment to check and "play possum."

ON THE FLOP: 5s-5c-Ac

We wanted to see numbers here, not letters.  We have two pair with a "top kicker," but that kicker could be something anyone is holding.  The small blind checks, and we decide to semi-bluff to test the waters.  We bet 300, and several players call.

ON THE TURN: 7c

This card seems harmless to us.  But we're still puzzled by what our opponents have, so we check.  A man across the table spreads out 700.  This might be a signal to some players to fold, but something tells us to press on.  We call, as do one or two others.  "No club," a man then says.

ON THE RIVER: Jd

Wish granted for him.  Not really for us.  We now feel seriously defeated, so we check again.  The earlier bettor offers 1,300 -- and we wonder to ourselves what we were thinking earlier.  Playing firm and stubborn seemingly got us nowhere here.  We fold.  Someone else calls -- and the bettor shows Kc-2c.

It's admittedly not a good excuse, but the poker tables at Mr. Wing were set up around big-screen TV's.  The action on two screens distracted us at times.  (Have you ever played poker to The Cleveland Show?)  So we never realized three cards for a flush were showing.  That man hit it.  At least we minimized our losses.

We thought an early exit was looming, as another big loss dropped us to about 1,200 chips.  But then good cards came to win us a couple of all-in bets.  We rebuilt to 3,350, then missed with A-J and dropped to 1,550 at the one-hour break.  Then came one of those second-hour comebacks, as a couple of pushes paid off to get us to 6,500.  Two more pot wins (including a "Big Blind Special" with 10-5 bringing two pair on the flop) and we reached the final table with 17,000.

But with seven players left, we had a Queen in the Big Blind and saw Q-8-4 on the flop.  We went for it, pushing again with top pair.  A man across the table didn't hesitate to call -- then showed 8-8.  His three of a kind took another player out with us.  Yet a night of ups and downs ended on an uptick, as we wound up tied for sixth place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our small bottle of Liquid Paper was back on the table tonight as a card protector.  We told a man to our left, "I brought this to remind me that Jesus can wash my sins whiter than snow?"

That man then asked an excellent question.  "Do you need the bottle to remind you of that?"

We paused for a moment -- then confessed.  No, we really don't need that bottle.  But we're aware some people wear crosses around their necks as a symbol of their commitment to Christ.  The idea actually goes all the way back to ancient Israel.

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them, 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.  You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.'" - Numbers 15:37-39

Let's open the blog for discussion on this.  Do you carry something as a reminder of your relationship with God and Jesus Christ?  Do you intentionally avoid doing such things?  Why or why not?  We'll look more closely at this in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 114 final tables in 322 nights (35.4%) - 17 cashes.  The "first of the week" game succeeds again, with six final tables in the last eight on Sunday through Wednesday nights.

The Cross You Carry

A busy schedule prevents us from playing Thursday night poker this week (note also our preceding post). But we still have thoughts about last Thursday, and the man at the table with a cross around his neck.

Do you consider everyone wearing a cross to be a Christian? If you do, be careful. If someone goes all-in at the start of an online poker tournament, should we assume they automatically have pocket Aces? They could be bluffing with 5-8, hoping to scare people out of a pot. Consider these words....

Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. -- John 7:24

Jesus said this as bystanders made all sorts of guesses about who or what He was. If you happened upon one of Jesus's miracles, you might have been stumped as well. Matthew 16:13-17 shows He actually was the Christ -- from the Old Testament word for "Messiah." By comparison....

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. -- Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus's leading critics were Pharisees, who often made a show out of washing themselves (Mark 7:3-4). While the Lord performed public miracles, He cautioned believers against calling too much attention to themselves with their godly acts.

We realize people can wear crosses for all sorts of reasons. (It even was a pop fashion trend several years ago.) So we don't jump to conclusions in either direction about such displays -- not to dismiss them as overly self-righteous, but also not to assume they're believers at all.