Poker Day 449: The Age of Thor

Today we didn't simply want to play poker.  We felt we had to play. We'll explain why below, but first let's review how the tournament went.

Arrowhead Poker tried a new approach today - a "THOR" tournament: one blind of Texas Hold 'em, then one blind of Pot-Limit Omaha and one blind of Razz. (TH+O+R - get it?) Most of us needed a quick review of the Omaha and Razz rules, and then the adventure began....

BLINDS: 100/200; Texas Hold 'em

IN THE POCKET: A-5 offsuit

We're early in the action, and early feelers haven't worked well.  But now we're in the Big Blind, so we're ready to play some defense. When a player raises to 600, we call. About half the table of nine is in.

ON THE FLOP: J-J-4

There's a pair - but not really our pair.  We check, as do everyone else.

ON THE TURN: 5

Now there's two pair - one of them ours. The Small Blind checks, so we bet 700. A man across the table calls; everyone else folds.

ON THE RIVER: 9

That seems harmless, so we bet 700 again. Our opponent calls.  But when we show our 5, he folds without showing.  Two pair is good enough to lift our stack above a starting 42,000 to almost 44,000.

We stayed above starting level in the first blind, but then stumbled in other formats.  A man betting enormous sums in Omaha chased us off chances for big gains (such as a 2 in our hand with 2-2 on the board). We lost some more playing "low-ball" Razz, leaving us with about 9,000 chips.

At the one-hour break, we did something we don't recall doing before in a tournament: we took a $10 re-buy for 20,000 more chips. (It only cost $20 to enter, which helped.) That's when things turned around - as an all-in bet with J-J led to a big win and a knockout in Texas Hold 'em. Then A-3 all-in was low enough to win in Razz, and knock out another opponent.

We lasted to the final three, on a day with only one table of nine. That was enough to put us in the money, as we chopped a $140 purse and received a $45 share!  We're thankful for our first live tournament payday since mid-January (two out of 11 in 2015).

MINISTRY MOMENT: We dedicated our play today to Elaine Grubb, a young woman who was a poker regular during our years in Georgia. She dealt with several health issues, including kidney dialysis. Yet she kept playing poker as her health permitted, showing up for some tournaments in a wheelchair - and played with far better results than we had.

Elaine died (obituary link updated) early today at a hospital; based on Facebook comments, she developed a blood clot in her lung over the weekend. If that wasn't sad enough, she was only 30.

We think she would have been happy with our play. And we were happy to talk to her a few times about matters involving God and Jesus Christ. How much of that stuck with her to the end?  God only knows now.  But we have this promise from God's Word:

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will 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

Jesus said all who have died will come out someday, when a particular voice speaks. Which voice is that?

I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. - John 5:25

We think Jesus is talking about His own voice here, as "the son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).  That voice can speak to you today, and provide eternal life if you believe and heed it.  We hope you listen, while there's time to do it.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 164 final tables in 449 games (36.5%) - 27 cashes.

Once again, a one-table tourney equals a final table. But we've made 8 out of 11 final tables this year, one way or another.

The Giving Brat

He is to poker what LeBron James is to pro basketball, or perhaps Coach Bill Belichick in U.S. football.  People either admire Phil Hellmuth -- or can't stand him.

The "Poker Brat" made headlines again this week, by winning a World Series of Poker bracelet for the 14th time.  Hellmuth took the title in the "Razz Championship" -- which seems fitting, because critics have razzed Hellmuth over the years for self-centered antics which sometimes border on whining.

Yet Hellmuth made a gesture away from himself, after winning the tournament.  He announced he would give his WSOP bracelet to the family of Dave Goldberg, an executive and poker buddy in California's Silicon Valley who died several weeks ago.

Let's face it -- poker is better known for taking than giving.  The goal of the game is to take everyone else's chips.  Yet in real life, moments of giving are more likely to be praised and remembered:

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - II Corinthians 9:7

The challenge with this comes when people expect you to give - and even put pressure on you to do it. It could be a telemarketer claiming to support a charity, or someone who walks up to you on the street seeking one dollar for "something to eat."  (We had a case this week where we bought such a man something to eat, and then his request for money jumped to five dollars.)

We think a key phrase in our verse is to "decide in his heart" to give - to think it over first, not rush into a decision.  Isn't that the best way for a gift to be cheerful?

...Freely you have received, freely give. - Matthew 10:8b

The poker community has helped its reputation in recent years by doing charitable events, such as tournaments to fight cancer.

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. - Proverbs 28:27

So deep-down, what sort of poker player are you?  Are you the "brat" image of a Hellmuth - or the new, improved, perhaps even mellower one?