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.

The Choice Is Yours

"Can I see that?" a man to our left asked during our last live tournament. We happily showed him our card protector - a "Lord's Supper" depiction given to us years ago by a man at a poker night in Alabama.

The man then pulled out a gold-looking coin of his own. He wasn't using it for a protector, but apparently carried it around in case he needed one. "They say it's gold, but I think it's bronze," we recall him saying. (We don't think ours is gold at all.)

But then the man pondered about what we were showing him. "Are you a Mennonite?" he asked. We're not sure what led him to think that. No, we're not - although we've met in their church buildings for worship several times.

We explained we attend a Sabbath-keeping group called the United Church of God. Sabbath (Saturday) services allow us to play poker on Sunday afternoons. But a comment by our Pastor this weekend reminded us of this conversation. He said we have no choice in what way of life we live. Is that really true?

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.... - Deuteronomy 30:19

Moses actually did set a choice before Israel in his farewell address: life or death. The late singer George Michael and his group Wham wore "CHOOSE LIFE" T-shirts in their first hit song. Whether they realized it or not, they promoted God's choice for humans. But that's not the only choice we have....

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable for you, then choose for yourselves this day who, you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

This world offers all kinds of "gods" to follow. In the U.S., you can also choose from many church denominations (even different Sabbath-keeping groups). Joshua made his choice to "serve the Lord." What does that mean?

If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. - John 7:17

Now we have the words of Jesus Christ - the One who claimed to be the Son of the true God (John 8:54). He invites you to choose to "do God's will." Finding that will requires some study. In fact, it can take a lifetime. But examining the Bible to find it truly is worth the time and effort.


Poker players have many choices these days - playing in person or online, in a tournament or a cash game, then raising pocket Kings pre-flop or trapping with a call. When it comes to the bigger choices of life, may you make the correct ones. The denomination we attend is ready to help.

Drought Update

TV weather experts will tell you today marks the start of "meteorological fall," at least in terms of record-keeping. We hope it brings a "rainy season" for poker in our area, because a drought we first mentioned here in late July is continuing.

The latest poker room to shut its doors is 7 Clans First Council Casino, a mile or two south of the Kansas-Oklahoma line. We never played there, but several people at Kansas Star Casino told us they did.

The casino even had a visit in July from one-time Main Event champion Greg Raymer. He wrote that he liked the place, and he reportedly even entered a tournament the poker room had. But amazingly, that casino Wednesday night was promoting a "Kings and Queens of Karaoke" contest - with no traditional poker to be found.

What's going on here? Why are so many poker opportunities in our area shutting down? We asked players at one of our tables the other day, and didn't get a very good explanation. It's not like online poker is making a comeback in the Midwest, because it hasn't.

We're led to conclude some poker players have found other things to do, if not other ways to play. Wherever you stand in this situation, we offer this bit of advice:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.... - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Being half-hearted about your pastimes or projects usually isn't the best approach. You're likely to get semi-impressive results. As another Bible writer put it:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Colossians 3:23-24

Wait - what?! Should we play poker as if we're doing it for.... God?!?!

Well, why not? We're all going to have to answer to Jesus Christ for it, because....

...For in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning not knowledge nor wisdom. - Ecclesiastes 9:10b

We might as well take an "all-in" approach to life now, because you can't after you die.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.... - Hebrews 9:27

Judgment is coming, whether we like it or not. We think you'll do far better when that time comes if you consider yourself the servant of Jesus now, and act accordingly.

While "7 Clans" may operate that Oklahoma casino, God is ultimately building only one:

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. - Luke 6:35

Yes, you have the opportunity to become a son of the "Most High" God. Isn't that worth serving Him with everything you have to offer?

The Tip Play

The final tournament at the World Series of Poker is easily the best known.  It's the "Main Event," crowning an unofficial world champ who wins millions of dollars.

But which tournament comes first at the WSOP?  It's underway right now as we write this - an event for casino employees.

We've never worked in a casino.  But we imagine veteran poker dealers have some fascinating stories to tell -- about watching people on tilt, facing accusations of cheating and seeing the emotional changes that come with the right (or wrong) river card.

But while some poker players become rich and famous, poker dealers usually don't.  C'mon now - how many can you name?  They're a bit like referees and umpires at sports events, yet traditionally they aren't paid a lot of money.  That's why players who win money are urged to tip the dealer before they leave.

There's a famous Bible phrase which could apply to your poker dealer:

...The laborer is worthy of his hire... - Luke 10:7 (KJV)

Jesus's context here is about ministers going out to spread the gospel.  But it's used elsewhere in the Bible to apply to good servants:

Church leaders who do their job well deserve to be paid twice as much.... You also know the saying, "Workers are worth their pay." - I Timothy 5:17-18 (CEV)

Why limit this to church leaders?

If a poker dealer does well - making the table fun and sorting out problems with skill - don't forget to thank them for it.  (We admittedly have been lax about that at times.)  And may the employees competing in Las Vegas be rewarded, whether they make the final table or not.

Poker Night 382: Target Dog

At least one African-American man at The Red Barn didn't realize what holiday it was tonight -- the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  But plenty of poker players showed up, perhaps because of the holiday.  After all, you're not likely to find poker tables around the dance floor at an inaugural ball.

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: J-J

We won an early pot with three 4's, then split another with Q-9.  So we come to this hand in fairly good shape, with 6,400 chips.  We're first to act and limp in -- but at this table of six, the man to our immediate right has been joking a bit about making us a target.  When the play calls to him, he raises 1,500 from the Big Blind.  At other times we've folded, but not now.

"I'll take you on this time," we say as we plunk down our chips.

"Oh oh," our opponent responds as one other player calls.

"Sometimes you've got to take a stand," we tell him.  He seems to accept that.

ON THE FLOP: Q-7-5 (last two cards might not be exact)

A card above our pair concerns us.  But the Big Blind checks.  So do we, along with the third player.

ON THE TURN: K

Now we could turn the "oh oh" around.  Things look even worse for our hand -- and the Big Blind decides it's time to bet, offering 1,000.  Yet something tells us this is a bluff to run us off, so we call.  The third man folds.

ON THE RIVER: 9

The Big Blind responds to this with a bigger bet, tossing out 2,000.  Calling this would leave us with a measly 1,500 chips.  The more we ponder it, the more we become convinced he means what he says.

"I'll fold," we say.  Sure enough -- the pot winner turns over K-9.  He made running cards for two pair, and claims a Red Barn "Rodney" bonus of 5,000.

We never recovered from that loss, although we made it to the second hour of play.  An all-in bet with 9-9 led to a King on the flop and an Ace on the turn.  A man with a King took the pot, and sent us home in a lowly 22nd place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: That man in the Big Blind asked a curious question before we were eliminated.  "Are you a Tasmanian devil?"

He didn't seem to be drunk.  But his screwball question opened a door of witness for us.  "No, I'm not a Tasmanian devil.  I try to live like an angel.  Live like an angel, and you'll keep the devil away."

The man seemed to agree with our answer.  But perhaps you're asking: how can we live like angels?  We certainly can't make ourselves invisible, and fly between the heaven of God's throne and Earth.  But consider what a New Testament writer asked....

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? - Hebrews 1:14

Angels are servants -- and they're not simply serving God.  They're serving people who will inherit salvation.  That can mean angels are serving you!  And by extension, we should be serving other people.

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. - I Corinthians 12:5-6

Martin Luther King Day has become a "day of service" for many people and organizations in the U.S.  There's nothing wrong with that.  But we'd ask what sort of service you've been doing for God lately.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.... But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

We think the best way to serve God is to follow His commands.  Start with the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20, then review how Jesus explained them early in the book of Matthew.  Consider yourself and your ways carefully.  Are you serving God like an angel -- or perhaps inadvertently serving someone else?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 131 final tables in 382 nights (34.3%) - 20 cashes.  That makes five missed final tables in a row.

When Not to Settle

We left a puzzle for you in a post this past week.  We asked where you'd find the following dramatic confrontation in the Bible.  We've added the answer now....

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." - Matthew 4:1-3

If you think poker players with big stacks know how to apply pressure, consider this case.  The devil dared Jesus to perform a miracle, to prove He was God's Son.  Would you have taken such a dare?  It may surprise you to learn Jesus did not:

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Matthew 4:4

The Lord could have taken Satan up on that offer -- but that would have meant obeying Satan.  Jesus quoted an Old Testament verse (Deuteronomy 8:3) to show we should depend on God.  And no one else.

The account in Matthew 4 goes on to show two more dares from the devil (verses 5-10) -- dares Jesus again resisted, by pointing to God.  "Serve him only," Jesus says at the end.

One way to serve God is by reading and following His word in print, the Bible.  Jesus showed the Scriptures provide wisdom for us to resist the devil's temptations.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise. - Psalm 111:10

So bargaining for a "final table" settlement with Satan is downright dangerous.  But can a human reach a settlement with God?  A passage in Genesis indicates it's possible....

The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."  Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty?  Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" - Genesis 18:24-25

Long before Donald Trump was born, Abraham knew "the art of the deal."  God was ready to wipe out Sodom completely -- but if you read the entire chapter, you'll find Abraham convinced God to lower the threshold for mercy to only ten people.  (Sadly, chapter 19 reveals there weren't even that many.)

If you dare to negotiate with God about something in your life, we'd note a couple of things.  God's laws are set and always should be respected:

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse -- the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God.... - Deuteronomy 11:26-28

Be careful as well to negotiate with God in prayer-filled humility.  Don't make demands (God is bigger than you, after all).  And be open for God's answers by searching the Bible on issues in your life.

A settlement on prize money at a poker table can end with several people satisfied -- perhaps even players who weren't expecting to make the money in the first place.  Negotiate with God in a spirit of giving, and leave room for Him to spread His riches around.

P.S. We discovered in the last few days our settings for blog comments were set so high that many readers may not be able to respond.  We've adjusted that now; please use our comments section respectfully.

Master's Cards

Some poker players act like real know-it-alls -- perhaps to play "psych jobs" with their opponents. Take this player we met online recently....

Dealer: Ippy wins Main Pot ($10250) with Full house, aces full of sixes
Me: very good
Ippy: I am the true master
Me: Sorry. Jesus is my Master.
Brock777: Amen to that

"Master" is a title which can apply to everything from an overseer of funds to a golfing champion. Writing in another era, the apostle Paul noted some of the different meanings.

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. -- Colossians 4:1

That "Master in heaven" refers to God. A true One, as opposed to some poker player we've never met.

Jesus Christ eventually will judge the decisions and actions of all earthly masters -- whether you're a parent, an office supervisor or even a poker coach. That judgement will be based on more than simply taking a title. It will be based on how that authority is used.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.... And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them.... -- Ephesians 6:5, 9

Don't talk a high-and-mighty talk. Walk a servant's walk. You'll probably gain more respect that way.

So You Want to Win?

Our last post quoted a man who said God provides his needs -- which can be different from his "wants."

It's easy to blur the line between those two areas. For instance, you might want to win a poker tournament and gain a lot of money -- but God might decide you really need a dose of personal humility instead. Jesus spoke about that....

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. - Matthew 20:26-28

There can be other reasons why God doesn't provide the things we think we need:

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. -- Psalm 84:11

Is your walk with God "blameless" -- or as the King James Version puts it, do you "walk uprightly?" Ask God to show you where you might be stumbling in a spiritual ditch, without realizing it.

On the other hand, God may decide the thing we want isn't really good for us. We might abuse it, misuse it or let it ruin our lives.

There's nothing wrong with desiring to be successful at the poker table. But keep yourself open to the possibility that on any given day, God could have other things in mind to give you.