Freedom from Want?

"Still in shock," Scott Blumstein wrote on his Twitter feed after winning the World Series of Poker Main Event. But he's apparently back on the circuit now - playing in a World Poker Tour event in Oklahoma this week.

Immediately after winning the Main Event, Blumstein said something interesting about the $8 million prize. "It's nice to have some freedom now. That was the goal, to get to the point where I can do what I want."

If that's your goal in playing poker, we suggest being very careful. A little "freedom" can be a dangerous thing. Consider....

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. - Galatians 5:13

Does money really give people freedom? In some ways, yes - but not completely. For instance, we presume Blumstein still has to pay federal and state income taxes on his winnings. That could take a million or two.

But the apostle Paul's warning is about using "freedom" - whether it's money, time or something else - to engage in sin. The Bible indicates at the end of our lives, we'll discover freedom truly has a limit:

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. - John 5:28-29

A judgment day is coming, with Jesus Christ serving as the ultimate judge (verse 27). Those who "have done good", as in serving others in a loving way, will "live" with God and Jesus eternally. Those who went the other way will be condemned to a lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15).

So ultimately, any freedom we obtain from playing poker is not about doing "what I want." It's about doing what God wants. Have you read the Bible carefully to see what that is? We encourage doing that. Here's a verse to help you get started:

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

Ponder in prayer what that might mean for your life. If you're still free to play poker, do it with God in mind.

Free to Be

Happy Independence Day, to readers in the U.S. The country marks 240 years of independence from Britain. But how "independent" should we be.... really?

We mentioned in a recent post about how we probably stunned a casino dealer with comments about keeping a seventh-day Sabbath. He may well have wondered why someone inside a casino would care (much less talk) about doing anything religious.

For us, it comes down to a series of key Bible verses....

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.... - Galatians 5:1

Does that verse surprise you? It could, if you think of God as simply a tough disciplinarian. Yet the apostle Paul goes on to write some words even more stunning:

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. - Galatians 5:4

Some have "fallen from grace" not into sinful living, but into the exact opposite - trying to earn their way into God's Kingdom by keeping laws as perfectly as possible. It's nice to keep those laws if you can. But keep in mind:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

If you know the right people at a poker room, they might give you a discount on buying in to a tournament or cash game. They've shown grace toward you. And the only way humans can achieve salvation and a life beyond this one is through the grace of God. So....

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. - Galatians 5:13

Some might say we're "indulging" that nature by playing poker. We've posted thoughts about that elsewhere on this blog. But we try to be careful enough with our play not to bring it up to people who might consider it a stumbling-block to their faith. That's how we try to show love for them.

So celebrate freedom today - but with care. If you're entering a big holiday poker tournament, don't go overboard in a sinful direction to do it. Keep in mind the often-overlooked words of a patriotic U.S. song: "Thy liberty in law."

What Price Freedom?

The end of this week will mark a major anniversary for some people -- and not because it's the traditional U.S. "Tax Day."

Next Friday will be five years since "Black Friday," when the U.S. Justice Department shut down several leading online poker sites. They were shut down in essence for the same reason several poker rooms in our city closed earlier this year - requiring money to play cash games or tournaments.

Some people are led to greatly exaggerate what happened. We found one columnist who declared:

Tens of thousands of Americans lost a basic freedom that day – while others lost their livelihoods.

We agree that some people lost a lot of money, when their online bankrolls fell into government hands.  But really now -- did people "lose a basic freedom"?  Absolutely not.  There are still plenty of websites where people can play poker.  They can do it for free, and even win money doing it - although admittedly the stakes usually are much smaller.

We're going to guess the lost "freedom" referred to by the writer is the ability to gamble online. While we've entered live tournaments and won some money for nearly nine years, we would ask: do you really need to gamble?

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:19

We believe God created everything, so He ultimately owns it all.  And we believe God is loving enough to supply people's needs. But do you have enough faith to believe God will do that without gambling money on it?

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.... - Isaiah 58:11

Some poker players might interpret this verse to mean a big-money tournament in Las Vegas.  But seriously: God is willing to provide for you. But it may require taking the biggest risk of all - even bigger than going all-in with pocket 3's. It could mean giving God control over all aspects of your life.  We'll dig deeper into that in our next post.

Poker Day 443: Just Hanging Around

The schedule has been so busy for us in recent weeks that today marked our first trip to a poker tournament in almost two months.  The format at Arrowhead Poker hasn't changed, which for our city is a bit surprising.  But would the success rate change?

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: King of clubs-King of diamonds

A full table of ten players has shown up today.  Some early feelers have fallen short for us, so we have about 58,000 of a generous 60,000 starting chips.  When we see this high pocket pair late in the betting order and no one has raised, we obviously should.  We go up to 1,000; about half the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: 3h-5d-7h

Unless someone jumped in with a small pocket pair, this flop seems harmless.  So when the table checks, we put out 1,200.  Most players get the message and surrender, but one man at the opposite corner from us calls.

ON THE TURN: 10h

Hmmm - now three hearts are showing, and we don't have one.  But we don't want to back off with an "overpair," so the bet goes up only a little.  Our opponent checks, we offer 1,500 and he calls.

ON THE RIVER: As

It's not a heart, but it's practically the last card we want to see.  Yet our opponent seems delighted, because he now bets 6,500 instead of checking.  Even if he was laying low with a flush, any Ace has us beaten.  We mumble a little and fold.  Then he turns over.... sure enough, an Ace.

"He let you hang around," another player tells our opponent.  Indeed.  But a big bet on the turn with three hearts showing could have been risky.

We rallied after several losses to win a big pot with Q-Q, to get above 63,000 chips.  But we never won another pot after that.  A pre-flop push for 31,000 with A-K found us heads-up against K-Q, but a Queen on the flop doomed us.  Not even a King later allowed us to beat his two pair.  Out of 11 total players, we finished middle-of-the-pack in sixth.

MINISTRY MOMENT: Our handling of pocket Queens with big bets frustrated a man sitting next to us at the table.  "Jesus Christ," he said on the turn.

"He's my redeemer," we said confidently.

Our opponent didn't react to that statement - but you may be asking what we mean by that.  The idea of being redeemed goes back to long before Jesus was born:

Therefore, say to the Israelites: "I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment." - Exodus 6:6

The Lord "redeemed" Israel from slavery -- as in buying their freedom.  In fact, Israel didn't have to pay much for that freedom besides sacrificing lambs at the Passover and putting their blood on doorposts (Exodus 12:1-30).  In the same way, Jesus Christ can redeem you spiritually now:

....We wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. - Titus 2:13-14

The blood of Jesus redeems believers from wicked, sinful ways.  They can become "God's people," and God wants pure sinless people.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. - I Peter 2:9

The world of sin can be a very dark place.  Wouldn't it be better to have Jesus redeem you from your sins, so you can follow the One who says He is "the light of world"? (John 8:12)  We'll consider that a bit more in our next post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 160 final tables in 443 games (36.1%) - 26 cashes.

Free To Play

A recent post mentioned our frustration in trying to enter a "true freeroll" poker tournament.  But on this day, we're at least thankful for one thing - we're free to play any kind of poker.  Online or in person.  For fun or for potential prizes.

This is Patriot Day, marking the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.  Terror groups then (and now) wanted to put the U.S. under serious restrictions.  Not in relatively little things such as playing poker - but in big things such as freedom to speak and worship.

One online version of the Muslim Quran (which we're admittedly not sure we should trust) only includes the word "freedom" once -- and that's in terms of making deals with idol-worshipers.  In contrast, the Christian Bible mentions freedom many times....

Live as free men; but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. - I Peter 2:16

Some people use the word "freedom" to justify all kinds of bad behavior.  But living "as servants of God" means accepting God's standards for proper conduct.

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. - Psalm 119:45

A precept in the original Hebrew refers to a "mandate" -- in this case, something ordered by God such as a commandment.  Walking and living within the boundaries God sets can keep you out of trouble with the law (such as not stealing), and gain respect from other people (such as not lying at a poker table).

Believers in Jesus long for a different kind of freedom.  It has nothing to do with rules set down by tournament directors.  It's for freedom from "bondage" in human bodies....

...That the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. - Romans 8:21

The decay of death will turn into a "godly body" that cannot die.  Read the first half of Revelation 20 to find out more about that -- and be thankful to God that you're free to even read about such things from the Bible, and openly hope for eternal life to come.

When Free Isn't Free

What's the earliest exit you've ever made from a poker tournament?  We may have set a new standard today - by exiting before the tournament even began.

But we should start at the beginning.  For weeks Arrowhead Poker's website offered this event:

Sunday @ 2pm 

August 31st

$500 True Free Roll
Chair Rental $0-0**

You can qualify for this tournament by simply buying into any daily tournament. 

We played in a $20 Friday tournament a couple of weeks ago, so we presumed our spot was secure.  But no - our name didn't come up on today's qualifying list.

"Did you do the ten-dollar buy-in?" the manager asked us -- as in paying $10 extra up-front for bonus chips.  No, we didn't.  And that left an organizer with a look of frustration on his face.

"That ten-dollar buy-in pays for this tournament," the organizer explained.

We invite you to look up and down the website and tell us: where does it define "buying into" as paying the extra $10?  We don't think it does.  In most tournaments we've entered, the "buy in" is the main entry fee - in our case the $20.

But we decided against making an argument about it.  We shook our head, bit our lip a bit, walked across the parking lot to a convenience store for a "consolation prize" soda and drove home.

How many things in life claim to be free -- only to have hidden strings attached?  Yet Jesus Christ makes this offer:

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:36

What does Jesus (the Son of God) mean by this?  He explains moments earlier:

Jesus replied. "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever." - John 8:34-35

Jesus wants to set you free from sin, to become a son of God.... not simply for today, but forever.  How?

And from Jesus Christ.... him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.... - Revelation 1:5

As orators like to say on holiday weekends such as this one: The price of freedom isn't free.  In this case, the blood Jesus shed when He sacrificed His life on our behalf frees us from sin.  We don't have to pay for that, because Jesus already did.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. - Galatians 5:1

So how will you respond to that truly free gift?  We've been studying a religious magazine article on how to respond.  The author seemingly doesn't want to use the phrase "go all in," but he could - and it seems we should.

Playing Loose

"Is He my Savior?!?" a man asked aloud at our last poker outing.  We'd asked the player to our right about Jesus, of course.  But as he pondered how to answer, he realized something.

"I left my keys in my truck," he said after patting his pockets a couple of times.  That's potential trouble - that actually might it more imperative to win the tournament.  If he locked himself out, he'd need to pay for a locksmith to come to his rescue.

After talking and thinking about his situation for a few minutes, the man left the table for a moment.  He came back with good news.

"It wasn't locked!" he told the table.  Then he looked toward heaven, raised his hands a little and gave thanks.

"Praise the Lord," we said in agreement.  Leaving his keys in an unlocked truck invited something potentially more expensive -- auto theft.

That man topped us a few times at the table during the tournament.  But that's OK.  What happened with his keys is a lesson for all of us.

Indeed, we all make many mistakes.... - James 3:2 (NLT)

If there's ever been a poker tournament in which a player won every single hand, we haven't heard of it.  Bad reads and judgment can happen -- and sometimes the 3-4 you fold pre-flop can become quads by the river.

We all make mistakes in our lives as well -- and some of them can go against God's laws which have been in effect for thousands of years.  Breaking them is called sin.  But thankfully, God provides a way so you're not locked out from Him forever.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ did for us. - Romans 5:8

Jesus Christ came to be our Savior - saving us from the ultimate death penalty for our sins.  We can be loosened from that by repenting of our sins before God.

O Lord, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains. - Psalm 116:16 (NLT)

Are you free -- loosened from chains of guilt over sin?  It's possible.  If you need help with it, leave us a comment; we'll be glad to offer support.

(P.S.  Our conversation with that man at the poker table isn't over yet.  There's more coming in a future post.)

The Pursuit of Real Happiness

Today is U.S. Independence Day -- a day which can mean many different things to different people.

We've been thinking a lot this week about the concept of freedom.  There's a serious effort right now to start online poker cash games (along with other kinds of gambling) in some states.  You'd be free to play -- but to be honest, the amount of freedom you'd have would depend on how much time you have, and especially how much money you could invest in the games.

Some people seem to have more freedom than others, when it comes to poker.  A car dealer in our new city has become the local poker king.  Brandon Steven won more than $600,000 last week at the World Series of Poker.  His job allows the freedom to compete for weeks in Las Vegas (he's actually cashed twice at the WSOP this year) - and to pay the $111,000 entry fee for the "One Drop" tournament where he made the final table.

For those of us who can only play free tournaments in bars, it can seem like we have hardly any freedom at all compared to Steven.  But perhaps we need a different perspective:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. - II Corinthians 3:17

What kind of freedom is this?  Scoffers might say there's very little -- especially if they think Christianity and church are all about restrictive laws.  Yet consider what Jesus said:

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32

Jesus called Himself "the truth" (14:6), and indicated the Scriptures are truth in writing (17:17).  This combination can give you freedom -- but how?

....Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. - Romans 8:2

The "law" of our lives says we all sin (3:23), and we'll all die as a result (6:23).  But those who accept Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit in them have been freed from such discomforting thoughts -- because they have the hope of eternal life in Christ, beyond the grave.

That sort of freedom doesn't depend on your income level, or how high you rise on the WSOP Player of the Year ladder.  It's available to everyone.  Do you have that freedom now?  Are you happily thanking God for it, if you do -- not simply on Independence Day, but every day?

9-11 Plus 10

Today marks ten years since the Tuesday of terror now known to the world simply as 9/11. It's a time for reflection. For us, it's been a time for prayer. But we found out in the last hour for more than 740 people like ourselves, it's also a day to play poker.

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. - Psalm 119:45

Some would say there's not as much freedom in the U.S. now, compared with ten years ago. One example is as simple as a trip to the airport. U.S. poker players would say they've lost a significant amount of freedom twice, through federal crackdowns against online poker sites.

But "freedom" can be a matter of where you find it. Online poker isn't banned completely in the U.S. - only games which fit the definition of gambling. So a believer who follows the laws of God and man still can play, and even win money.

People also are still free to play poker for money in states where it is permitted by law. Did you realize that comes to 33 of the 50 states -- almost a two-thirds majority?

And in all those places, there's still plenty of freedom to speak your mind -- about everything from your opponent's "donkey" move to the things of Jesus Christ. Readers of this blog know we try to emphasize the latter.

So be thankful today for the freedoms we still enjoy -- from playing for $50 cash prizes (we fell far short - #294 out of 748) to worshiping the true King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. - II Corinthians 3:17