As the Cards Turn

Before the last "river" card comes in a traditional poker hand, there's the "turn" card.

We're not sure how that card received its name. After all, can't every card in a poker hand turn things around - either for or against you?

But in spiritual terms, the creators of poker had things in the right order....

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.... - Acts 3:19

We looked online through 14 different Bible translations - and the word "flop" is nowhere to be found. But if we're honest with ourselves, we're all "flops." We've all fallen short of living perfect lives.

...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

The Bible shows we need to repent of the sins that make us flops. Then "turn to God." What does that mean?

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. - Psalm 34:14

People who aren't close to God may not like reading this, but their ways tend to be evil. In poker, that can mean looking for short cuts and cheating ways to win pots - or perhaps lying in someone else's face about what sort of hand you have. So they need to turn to doing good ways.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. - Isaiah 55:7

We think the best way to know how to turn to God is to read the Bible on a regular basis. Ask God in prayer to help you understand it, and how its words apply to you. Then begin living what you understand. Then, to borrow from a classic song with Biblical lyrics, you'll make the "turn, turn, turn" in your life.

Name That Flop

The flop at a recent live tournament was 4-9-7.  And we pointed out something interesting about it.

"That's a Wal-Mart flop - 4-9-7."

Several players got our joke -- but one man had to explain $4.97 is a common price-point at Wal-Mart stores.

Maybe it's a sign that we've played too much poker, but we've moved beyond giving our hole cards code names (such as the relatively common "Gretzkys" for 9-9).  Now we're putting names on flops as well - and since everyone sees the flop, we can openly state those names.

We mentioned one of those names a couple of years ago: the Boeing flop -- which actually could be several combinations of cards.  If you see 7-2-7, 7-4-7 or 7-6-7, all could be Boeing jets.

So now it's your turn.  What card combinations can you concoct, which deserve a special name?  Have fun....