Poker Day 433: Waiting for the Moment

Our tournament performances recently haven't been very strong.  So we went to Arrowhead Poker today thinking this could be the day the odds turn around.  Sooner or later, they have to turn around - right?!?

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: Ah-Kd
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We're trying to play cautiously early in the tournament.  A couple of small attempts have missed the flop.  Now we have good starter cards, and a man at our full table of ten raises to 1,200.  A call is only natural; about four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 10-5-J

We have a "belly-buster" straight draw.  But the raiser is making other people pay for it, with a continuation bet of 2,200.  Holding about 18,000 chips, we dare to call.  So does one other man to our left.

ON THE TURN: 2

It's hard to believe that helped anyone - but as we recall, three hearts are now on the board.  Mr. Raiser now tosses out 5,000, and we stop to do some math:

Three Aces + Three Kings = top pair.
Four Queens = straight
Nine hearts = flush (a miscount on our part; the Kh and Qh repeat).

In short, we have a lot of outs - 17/46, or about 37%.  We conclude this is worth the risk.  We call.  The man to our left does as well.

ON THE RIVER: K (not a heart)

Knowing the way people tend to play at Arrowhead, top pair gives us some comfort.  The fact that Mr. Raiser checks does as well.  We bet 2,000.  The man to our left folds - but not the better across the table.  He calls.

"I hit the river," we say as we show.  But our opponent quietly turns over K-J!  He made a second pair with that river, and we take a big loss.

That was the way play went in general for us.  A few minutes later, we entered with J-10.  When the flop showed 10-9-5, we pushed for our remaining 3,600.  Two speculative players called.  The turn brought a Jack, making us feel good about two pair.  But after the river, a man to our left pulled out K-Q!

His straight made us the first player out at the table - and since there was only one table, we finish 10th.  We think.  The poker room manager filled our spot and played for awhile, and it looked like someone came in late to join the game.  So technically, it's a "final table" -- but not one which feels very good.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A couple of people seemed edgy at the start of the game.  "Must be a full moon," a man to our right commented.

"Actually, it's a new moon this week," we said quietly.  "The Rosh Hashanah moon."

We're not sure if the man heard us, but that's what the calendar shows for this coming Wednesday night and Thursday:

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.  Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.'" - Leviticus 23:23-25

For some reason, the start of the seventh month in God's calendar has become known as "Jewish New Year."  But more importantly, the Bible shows it's been kept as a time to remember the Law of God:

So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly.... They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being said. - Nehemiah 8:2, 8

Perhaps we should stop here and ask: do you know what the "Law of God" is?  Just as poker games have rules which must be followed, God set laws over society.  And while some people say that Law is now a thing of the past, society still follows much of that law -- such as commandments against killing and stealing.

The first five books of the Bible (Genesis through Deuteronomy) are known as "the Books of the Law."  This might be a good time of year to review the instructions in those books.  You might be stunned by some of the things you see.  Then ask God in prayer to show you what He would have you do about them.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 153 final tables in 433 games (35.3%) - 25 cashes.  Yes, we're counting it.

Poker Night 378: Gimme a Break

Who said gift-giving season was over?  We received several during the Wednesday night poker tournament at Soho Bar and Grill -- and we never asked for any of them.  First a bartender sprayed us a Diet Coke "on the house," and threw in a 1,000-chip piece to boot.  Then the Tournament Director handed us 5,000 chips, seemingly for no other reason than he likes us.  And then....

BLINDS: 2,000/4,000

IN THE POCKET: Q-9 of spades

We've survived to the semifinal table largely through folding.  We haven't won a pot outright all night, and split one with a woman in the first hour due to matching straights.  But after being moved here, a debate developed over who took out whom to gain "bounty" bonus chips.  The Tournament Director wasn't sure whom to believe, so he gave 5,000 chips to everyone - including us!

But after folding 2-2 pre-flop and missing a big win when a third 2 came on the turn, we're down to 6,000 chips.  And now we're in the Big Blind, committed to two-thirds of our stack before things even start.  We're thankful simply to see the table call ahead of us, with no one raising.  We're tempted to push right now, but check instead.

ON THE FLOP: A-2-9, all clubs

Wrong suit.  But it's middle pair, and we see little choice but to act on it.  The Small Blind to our right checks.

"I've got to do it.  I'm all-in," we say as we commit our last 2,000 chips.  "Now or never."

In an online tournament, a few players at this point would have written "now" and rooted against us.  And the way this table is playing, we fear callers with Aces.  But an amazing thing happens.  The big stack to our left folds.  Then another.  Then another.  That half-sized desperation push works!

But the dealer shows the remaining cards, anyway.  The chip leader holds out his King of clubs.  But no club appears for a flush on the turn or river.

"I couldn't do it," the chip leader says.  "He's got an Ace.  I know how he plays."

Another man reaches for our cards, trying to confirm that.  But they're lost in the discards, and we say nothing.  It brings to mind a word mentioned a few times in the Bible....

Here is a trustworthy saying: if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer.... He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. - I Timothy 3:1, 7

In this case, our reputation for "playing it safe" kept us in the game -- and we made it into the third hour of play.  But a night when good cards were scarce eventually did us in.  Forced to go all-in with K-6 in the Big Blind, the flop was A-K-Q.  A man with a King topped us, and took out another man with us.  We finished tied for tenth place -- tantalizingly close to the final table again.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to a young man, and asked if he agreed with the message.

"No," he said.  He explained he grew up in a "quasi-Christian" home, but finds his spiritual thinking complicated now.  "Buddhism, atheism...." are some of the views he's considering.

We offered one of the reasons why we're not persuaded of atheism.  "I see too much evidence in creation that there's a designer.  The sun and moon and orbits being in precise timing...."

You may have a 2013 calendar with the phases of the moon noted on particular days.  Astronomers are able to compute the next new moon (Friday U.S. time) right down to the minute   All the way through December.  Not simply for this year, but for years to come.

Unless Jesus intervenes and returns, those times should be accurate -- proving of God....

The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.  It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. - Psalm 74:16-17

We're not sure how supporters of evolution explain such precise time patterns in the heavens.  Believers in God don't try - they simply praise God for making it so.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 131 final tables in 378 nights (34.7%) - 20 cashes.

How high the Moon?

It's one thing to be a poker blogger -- but Darvin Moon is even more old-school than that. He's a poker-playing logger.

Moon survived this morning to reach the WSOP Main Event final heads-up showdown on Monday night. We have to admit: we'll be rooting for Moon to comeback and KO Joe Cada.