What the World Needs Now

To borrow a radio news phrase: If you miss a week on the local poker circuit, you can miss a lot.  We were reminded of that today, as the Sunday 2:00 p.m. freeroll has moved to 4:00 p.m. -- a little late for our schedule.

At least we could play in an online tournament.  And we came upon something surprising at National League of Poker, which we simply had to chat about:

Me: 　Hmm - my screen shows an ad
Me: 　"How Jesus Christ can bring you peace"
The ad apparently was placed on NLOP by the Latter-day Saints church.  We don't agree with everything the LDS teachers, but this allowed us to start a conversation -- and it brought a response:

Gou: 　I thought that was Obama
Me: 　Guess not. :-/....
Me: 　Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
No one responded to that - but that's how the Bible describes Him:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

Jesus is given several titles here, and a couple of them may seem confusing. But we want to focus on the last one - "Prince of Peace."  The news of the last week was filled with deadly violence around the world.  If ever this world could use a "Prince of Peace," it's now.  And the Bible promises Jesus - but not in the way you might think:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. - Revelation 19:11 (KJV)

Verse 16 identifies this "Person" as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."  And another part of Revelation makes the identity clear....

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings.... - Revelation 17:14 (KJV)

The "Lamb" of God we call Jesus is coming to bring peace -- but did you notice He'll "make war?"  He'll be using language the nations of this world sadly understand too well:

And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.... - Revelation 19:15 (KJV)

In poker terms, Jesus is going to win the final showdown of this age -- and punish the losers.

One way to be part of God's ultimate peace is to get on the side of the Prince of Peace.  Have you repented of your sin, and turned to Jesus for salvation?
 

There Are Rules, and Then....

There's been a little confusion in recent days at one of our local poker stops.  The issue: should you show your hand to other players at the table before the showdown?

In the "free poker" tournaments we enter, such "preview showing" is common -- especially if you're showing your cards to a neighbor who's folded.  At some point, it led to instruction from a Tournament Director about the "one player, one hand" principle.

"It's not a rule," the Director tried to emphasize the other night.  "It's etiquette."  Perhaps at that table -- bnt we can envision some casinos and tournaments where it might bring a penalty.  Our online searching found some events even have detailed rules on how a showdown is conducted.

In informal local poker, the fine points of the rules can be fuzzy.  Some people relish that, and try to live their entire lives the same way.  But if you're a follower of God and Jesus Christ, can you get away with that?  The early church had to deal with that kind of thinking....

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ  even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. - Ephesians 2:4-5

The grace of God and salvation through Jesus are wonderful things.  But how do you handle those gifts?  How do you respond to them?

What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? - Romans 6:1-2

Paul goes on to admit believers are "not under law, but under grace" (verse 14).  But a mature response to grace (dare we say a response with "etiquette") is to walk away from a sinful lifestyle, to show appreciation for what God has done.  God's rules (otherwise known as the Ten Commandments) help us understand what sin is.  For instance:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. - Ephesians 4:28

And if you play by God's rules, we think you'll become far less likely to appeal to God for forgiveness and grace in the future.

So learn the rules of the game -- whether at your local tournament, or from the Bible for the greater "game of life."  There should be less turmoil if you do.

Bluffing Beyond Bounds

The river card was a heart. It put four hearts on the board. Two players remained in the hand, and they checked.

"Have you got a pair?" one player asked. "If you've got a pair, you win."

"I do," the opponent answered, and slowly showed his cards.

Then the first player flipped over an Ace of hearts. No, he won the pot -- holding the nut flush.

"That's not fair," the losing player said firmly but not loudly. "It's not sportsmanlike."

This actually happened recently at a live poker table we watched. The loser didn't directly say it, but the man with the flush lied at the showdown -- claiming the man with a pair could win the hand, when he really couldn't. Perhaps the winner wanted to avoid showing a piece of his strategy, by deflating his opponent into mucking his cards.

Bluffing is part of the game in poker. Even misleading comments happen during hands. But this man with a flush took it farther than we've ever seen, with a flat-out lie after the betting was finished.

"Kings take pleasure in honest lips," says Proverbs 16:13; "they value a man who speaks the truth."

Compare that with the last part of Revelation 21:8. "All liars -- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

There's a time and a place in poker for bluffing. But we personally never make a lying statement. We know from the Bible what the potential punishment could be, and we take that seriously.

The man with the nut flush apologized to the man he beat, and even threw him a chip worth 1,000 to make up for it. Did he learn a lesson in sportsmanship? Only time will tell with him. Hopefully you have now.

Show and Tell

Player A had grown tired of how the poker game was going, so he pushed all-in early in a hand. Player B, who was dominating the play, called.

The board was nothing special -- K-J plus three small cards. No flush or straight likely, either.

Then the debate began. "You got an Ace?"

"No, I've got nothing."

"If you've got an Ace, you got me."

"I don't have an Ace."

"If you've got an Ace, you got me!"

Player A took this repeated statement to mean Player B had an Ace. He mucked his cards, which under usual poker rules means automatically losing the hand.

Then Player B showed a 10 high with no pair. Player A had thrown away a Queen, which would have won!

Player A appealed to the tournament director, and explained what he thought he heard and what had happened.

"I never said I had an Ace," Player B maintained -- and sitting next to both of them, that's how it sounded to us as well.

The tournament director showed mercy on Player A, letting his Queen high prevailed to stay in the game. But then we turned to a man on our left, who wasn't part of the hand.

"If they had simply shown their cards, that wouldn't have happened," we said -- and the man agreed.

Watch professional poker on TV, and you won't see this sort of posturing at the end of a hand. Players tend to show their cards at the showdown, to see if they've won. But we marvel at how seldom that occurs in the free tournaments we play. Players will claim they hit it big, or deny they have anything of value -- but they only show their cards when they're absolutely pressed.

The lesson of all this? Big talk seldom pays off at a poker table -- especially after the river betting. You have to show what you have to win the pot. In fact, God works the same way.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" (I John 4:9).

Jesus was the personal, in-the-flesh expression of God's love. Yet do a word study of the word "love," and you'll be surprised to find Jesus never really said the phrase "I love you" while on Earth.

Instead, our Lord put love into action -- and ultimately, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). To borrow from an old ad campaign for shoes: Talk is cheap. Jesus just did it.

It probably takes a lot less effort to turn over two cards, than engage in a conversation about them. It also can calm emotions, for you and everyone else. So as someone once said, let your cards do the talking at the end of a hand. A "showdown" is supposed to be about showing a hand -- not showing how macho you are.