In the Eye of the Storm

Many poker games are friendly and good-natured - an evening for buddies to get together and have a good time. Many of our tournaments have been that way, even at casinos.

But what we saw in our first tournament at JACK Casino Cincinnati was different. Several of the players were dead serious - barking at each other and accusing them of committing violations worthy of penalties. It was a bit like WWE Monday Night Raw (even though that was not on any of the TV screens in the room).

In fact, a man to our right at the start of the evening seemed ready to draw us into the fuss. When we eliminated a player who went all-in, he bumped our chair with delight - the closest thing he could do to hugging us after a hockey goal. Apparently we'd knocked out one of his main rivals.

What do you do when it feels like you're surrounded by Phil Hellmuths having bad days? We picked up on the mood right away, so here's part of what we did....

1. FOCUS ON THE GAME. Instead of getting caught up in the circus around us, we played our cards (with perhaps one exception) as we normally would. There's a Biblical reminder along those lines....

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" - Matthew 14:28-30

Peter did something miraculous when he stepped out in faith and looked toward Jesus. When he saw stormy circumstances, trouble happened.

Many people pick on Peter for losing that focus - but consider this. Where were Jesus's other disciples at that moment? They "were terrified" and never left the boat (verse 26). Refusing to play poker until a stormy table calms down could cost you a big opportunity.

2. NOTE VIOLATIONS PEACEFULLY. At least twice during the tournament, a man to our left acted on his cards before we played ours.

"Uhhhhhhh....." we said loudly when it happened. That's all we needed to say; the dealer and others at the table got the message and responded accordingly. And we didn't rub it in to the other man. He had to skip some hands, and that was sufficient.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath.... - Romans 12:18-19

And along those lines....

3. BE SPORTSMANLIKE. When we finally lost at the final table, we walked around the table and shook the hand of the man who eliminated us. We didn't notice many others people doing that, but it's something we've always done.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. - I Thessalonians 5:15

Take those small steps at a poker table - whether the mood is sunny or stormy - and you're likely to stand out as different from the crowd. But it probably will be in a respectful way.

Poker Day 494: Show and Tell

It always helps a poker player to know what his opponent has. But let's face it - how often does that happen? Well, check what we encountered Friday at Kansas Star Casino....

BLINDS: 300/600

IN THE POCKET: Q-5 offsuit

If the blinds are this high, we've done pretty well. It's level seven, and we've won some nice pots to reach a high for the day of 11,500 chips. We honestly don't remember how many we had at this point. And we don't recall anyone raising pre-flop. We recall three players entering the hand, out of seven or eight at the table.

ON THE FLOP: Q-10-3

At this point in the tournament, top pair on the flop is nice. Out notes indicate we checked, then a woman to our left bets 1,300. A man to the right folds, but we call.

"I want to go play cards," the woman says (she means at some other casino table) - and turns over K-10! The rest of the table wonders what she's doing, since she has plenty of chips left.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were all in," she says to us. No, far from it. We have several thousand chips left - and we suddenly have a huge advantage which goes beyond top vs. second pair.

"I'm going to have to call the Tournament Director," the dealer says. While that woman comes over, the play continues....

ON THE TURN: A

We have first position, and we're neither showing nor telling what we have. Instead we bet 1,200. The woman seems resigned to her fate, and calls. As we recall, a flush threat was on the board at this point....

ON THE RIVER: A

....But that card settled that. Now we know we've won the pot. So we pretend to do some math, and bet 1,200 more. She calls. We show our Queen. We won a big pot. And the Tournament Director now makes her ruling.

"You'll have to take a ten-minute penalty," she tells the woman we beat. That woman still has a good-sized stack of chips - and now has time to go play "craps," as she put it.

When we win a big pot that way, we get the feeling it's going to be a good day for us. It wasn't easy, though, with a couple of all-in escapes from three tables down. But a big win with a pair of 6's allowed us to reach the final table with 13,500 chips!

Once we got there, a pursuit with A-8 lost. That forced us to push with A-5 - and while a 5 appeared on the board, another man made a pair of Kings to eliminate us. Out of 71 players, we finished in ninth place. That missed the money by two spots, but allowed us to match a final-table start to 2016 in live play.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We took our "Lord's Supper" card protector, which gained the attention of several people. One dealer figured out right away what it displayed.

"The church I attend will take that in about 11 weeks," we told him. "We only take it once a year."

That may come as a surprise to some people. In fact, we were in a congregation about a week earlier which takes communion at every worship service. Which approach is right?

We don't think the Bible gives a flat-out answer, but it offers some clues....

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.... Take care of them until the 14th day of the month...." - Exodus 12:1-2, 6

This was the mention of a Passover in the Bible (verse 11). A lamb was set aside and prepared for days, before the Israelites left Egypt. Many observant Jews still do something like this once a year, in the spring.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." - Luke 22:7-8

Jesus's physical heritage was Jewish, so He followed the ancient example.

And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." - Luke 22:15

Instead of departing Egypt, Jesus was able to enter about 18 hours of personal darkness - with an arrest, persecution and crucifixion. Yet He took the Passover (or communion or "Lord's Supper") first - following tradition, but adding new symbols (verses 19-21).

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. - I Corinthians 11:26

Jesus Christ died for us. The Bible leaves no doubt about that (I Thessalonians 4:14). "It's that big a deal," we told the dealer - something we don't think should be diminished by taking the Passover/Lord's Supper repeatedly. So we would ask: how big a deal is Jesus's sacrifice to you? And how big should it be?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 182 final tables in 494 games (36.8%), 36 cashes. We've finished 12th and ninth in our last two trips to Kansas Star, both in tournaments with 70-plus players.

Doing Your Time

We mentioned in our last post how we were penalized one "blind turn" in a poker tournament for calling a bet out of turn.  It was about a ten-minute penalty, which left us with mixed emotions.

Yes, we deserved the penalty.  We broke a rule, even though it wasn't completely spelled out before the tournament began.  We were inattentive to the other players, and we paid for that mistake.  In fact, the Bible would call it a mistake:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:3-4

Poker normally doesn't have "tag teams."  And even when several pros are under the same sponsor's umbrella, they're on their own at the table.  So it's easy to start thinking about yourself during a hand - what I need to do, how I should respond, and countless other I's.

But to borrow from a song, poker isn't "Population: Me."  Unless you're playing heads-up against a computer, other players are around you.  It's only polite and proper to be courteous toward them.  And had we been paying close attention, our plans might have changed based on how the player before us acted.

There wasn't much to do while we waited for permission to finish the penalty and return to the poker table.  We filled a cup with soda, watched Australian rugby on TV and chatted a little at the poker room desk.  We should have brought something with us -- perhaps something good to read:

So he started out, and on is way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.... The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth." - Acts 8:27, 32

This "eunuch" was heading home from a road trip - worshiping God in Jerusalem (verse 28).  He had a scroll of the Old Testament with him (the quote is from Isaiah 53).  So while riding in a chariot, he was filling his thoughts with the things of God - and as a result, he wound up encountering one of the top ministers in the early church..

There are many ways to do that during "down time" in a poker tournament - or even during the tournament, if the officials allow it.  You could play Christian music, messages or Scripture on an mp3 device or a "smartphone."  We think that's far better than playing other kinds of music - probably much more inspiring and encouraging.

So our first penalty in a big-money poker tournament taught us several lessons.  We'd ask you: have penalties in poker taught you anything of value - and if so, what?

Poker Day 424: 99, In the Box

The Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers tonight in Game 3 of hockey's Stanley Cup Finals.  Wayne Gretzky played for both the Kings and Rangers, but never won a cup in either place.  Yet Gretzky crossed our minds earlier in the day, during an unusual Monday afternoon match at  Hollywood Casino.

We went to Kansas City for a delayed Memorial Day trip to the grave sites of relatives.  But we wanted to at least cover the cost of the trip, so we took advantage of the casino's Monday noon tournament -- even if it cost $70 for full entry:

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: 9-9

See why we thought of Gretzky?  That was his number.  But we haven't been as successful during the day.  We've won a couple of pots, but lost a bad beat or two.  We start this hand with about 6,500 chips (from a starting 10,000), and hope to make a gain here.

The play checks to us at this table of nine -- but even though we're in late position, we don't feel comfortable raising because of those earlier beats.  We call, and about four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 2-5-6

Now we're feeling better, and wait to see what happens.  A player across from us bets 800.

"I'll call 800," we say -- but only then realize the man to our immediate right has cards.  We apologize and wait on him.

"I'll call," he says.

"I'll still call."  Three players remain.

ON THE TURN: 10

Two hearts and two diamonds are now showing.  Our opponents check, and we offer our own 800 on the theory no one has a 10.  The player across from us calls, while the man to the right folds.

ON THE RIVER: 8

As best we recall, this is a third diamond.  Our opponent checks, and we check out of caution.

"Gretzkys," we say as we show.

Our opponent looks at the cards, mutters something and throws his cards in face down.  It's a big pot for us -- but at a price.

"You're going to have to leave the table," a man in a suit standing over us says.  "You bet out of turn."

Ouch.  It's a "one-lap" penalty, in racing speak.  We can't come back until a round of blinds pass -- and the blinds go up to 300/600 while we're away.

Poker tournaments don't have penalty boxes -- like Wane Gretzky hardly ever visited in his career.  So we step out to get a soda, while watching Australian rugby league action on a giant screen over the gaming room.  Never have we been penalized at a tournament like this.

We count our chips on our return, and find we have 9,000.  How ironic - we had 9,900 before the penalty.

We won a couple more pots after that, but rising blinds and lousy cards worked against us.  We finally were forced to go all-in with 9-8 of diamonds.  The board brought 10-Q, but not a saving Jack for a straight.  The man we beat earlier with 9-9 eliminated us - and on a day with an overflow turnout of 86 players, we finished about 33rd.  (The top nine won money, with more than $1,200 for first place.)

MINISTRY MOMENT: Three different dealers asked us about the reflector we used as a card protector.  The table heard the same sort of answer three times.

"I brought it to remind me that I should reflect the light of Jesus Christ in all I do."

The players never responded to that statement.  One dealer changed the subject after we said that, while another seemed to quietly agree.

"But hold on," you may be saying.  "You got penalized during the game.  What sort of example is that?"

Yes, we made a mistake.  Yes, we were penalized for it.  But to borrow an old church cliché, Christians aren't perfect -- simply forgiven.  Consider....

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. - Romans 7:18-19

These words were written by the apostle Paul, who wrote more New Testament books than anyone else.  Did he become perfect and sinless, once Jesus brought him to conversion?  Based on these words, we don't think so.

For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. - Romans 7:22-23

Paul wrote elsewhere he "fought the good fight" (II Timothy 4:7) - and we think that fight was in his mind and nature, as much as anything.  The same is true with anyone attempting to follow Jesus's example.  Some days we win the fight; some days the battle can overtake us.  Yet Jesus promises:

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

We'll have more to say about our table penalty in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 150 final tables in 424 games (35.4%) - 25 cashes.