The alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. to start our Wednesday. Then we were on a day-long road trip of almost 300 miles round-trip. In classic Southern-speak, we were a bit "tuckered out." But with Lil Kim's Cove calling off Thursday night poker again this week, we decided to give Soho Bar and Grill another try Wednesday night -- and hoped we wouldn't fall asleep in mid-hand, to our ruin.
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 8-7 of spades
We began the evening with 8,000 chips -- a 1,000-chip bonus for a stay-awake diet cola, and 2,000 more from the Tournament Director for reasons unknown. (Well, it
was Nelson Mandela's birthday.) We've dropped a few hundred, but mid-range suited connectors look inviting to us. We call; no one at the table raises.
ON THE FLOP: 2s-10s-4c (third card may not be exact)
We have a hopeful flush draw, but a man to our immediate left who's dead-serious about playing poker to win. After we check, he bets 400. That's actually relatively small for "chasing," so we call. About four players are still in the hand.
ON THE TURN: 9d
That's not a spade -- but it's a card which opens even more possibilities. Now we also have an open-ended straight draw. We check, then try to count quickly in our head the "outs" for making a big hand. But before we can figure out the answer (15), the man to our left throws an even larger number at us.
"Nineteen hundred," he announces -- nothing less than an "I dare you" bet. The other players between us fold, leaving a huge decision.
"I have to think it over, the way
he's been thinking," we tell the table -- a reference to a lengthy decision our opponent made earlier about calling 3,000.
"No one thinks the way I think," the bettor says dryly.
"I'm wondering whether or not that's a good thing," he respond in an attempt to lighten the mood. It brings a laugh or two, and an extra moment of thinking time. At least we decide to make the significant investment, and call.
ON THE RIVER: 6h
Close enough to perfection for us! There's not much to think about now.
"So why not.... 1,500?" we say.
"I'll raise. All in," answers the man to our left. We're not sure why he'd make that sort of move, so we conclude he's attempting more scare tactics.
"All I have left," we say after a count," is 2,950." We call, show our straight -- and our opponent seems stunned, then throws in his cards face-down. We still don't know what he had.
"He made a gutshot," the loser mutters. Well no, it was open-ended; we let a woman across the table point that out to him.
"I knew he had a straight," a man out of the hand says moments later -- suggesting our opponent should have realized that, too.
The only way he could have beaten us is with a higher straight (perhaps Q-J). But he didn't, and we make a massive chip gain to the 14,000 range.
We split the next pot as well, then waited for the right moment to come. That happened in the second hour, when A-A came in the Small Blind. A third Ace on the flop allowed us to go all-in, which brought folds and a 12,000-chip gain. Another pot came our way later in the hour -- then we held on valiantly from there, to scrape our way to the final table.
But with rising blinds, 20,000 chips at the final table was the small stack. Forced to go all-in with K-10 in the Big Blind, 8-9-8 on the flop and 10 on the turn gave us two pair. But 6 on the river gave an opponent with 9-7 a winning straight. We drove home in ninth place -- but the satisfaction of knowing we made the final table despite tiredness, at the most competitive poker venue in our area (five tables played).
MINISTRY MOMENT: What do you do when a tournament begins with seven players at a "table for eight"? At our table, chips were set up for all seats -- with cards dealt even to the empty chair, and blinds removed as they came around.
That led us to an idea. "That's Elijah's chair," we told the table. "In the Passover tradition."
A couple of players seemed puzzled by that reference, which probably shouldn't be surprising. In Jewish tradition, a chair intentionally is left empty at the annual spring Passover "seder" dinner. Some rabbis explain families long for Elijah to come, to report the Messiah has arrived. Let's see how Biblical that custom is....
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." - Luke 22:14-15
Many churches have "Christianized" this meal through the centuries, turning it into "communion" or "the Lord's Supper." Those titles appear in the New Testament and have merit, but Jesus called it a Passover. And since Jesus was born through the lineage of Judah (Luke 3:23-30), He had no discomfort about calling it Passover. So what about Elijah?
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fie and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more.... - II Kings 2:11-12
Many Christians and Jews take these verses to mean Elijah went to heaven without really dying, and he's living with God in heaven today. But is there a verse they're overlooking?
Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet.... - II Chronicles 21:12
This note refers to a king also mentioned in II Kings 8 -- seemingly well after Elijah's whirlwind moment. Some believers cite this as evidence Elijah simply disappeared from Elisha, landed somewhere else and eventually sent Jehoram the letter.
What do you think of this? It's admittedly a complex topic, so we'll develop it farther in an upcoming post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 118 final tables in 333 nights (35.4%) - 19 cashes. We broke a run of six consecutive final table misses.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 249 point wins in 1,050 games (23.7%), 78 final tables, 7 cashes plus 3 other wins. No-River Hold -em - 7 point wins in 38 games (18.4%), 6 final tables, 1 cash win.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $82,127, down $860.
