Four Big Letters

Players at online poker tables can have all sorts of wild names. Recently at a National League of Poker tournament, we came across this:

Me:  PTL, Tetra!
Dealer:  Tetragramton wins Main Pot ($1260) with Straight, eight to queen
Me:  three pair on the flop isn't good enough here.
Tetragramton:  ptl play nto lose

Even if you're not a regular reader, you might know "PTL" is shorthand for "praise the Lord."  It's always a good idea....

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you.... I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. - Psalm 63:1, 4

But who or what is that "Tetragramton" - some monster from a Japanese movie, maybe?  No.  That name is a shortened form of "Tetragrammaton."  In Hebrew that word means "four letters."  And for believers, it means a lot more....

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. -- Deuteronomy 6:4

In this verse, "Lord" is the Hebrew name YHWH -- which is what Biblical scholars call the Tetragrammaton.  Some people consider it such a holy name that they don't dare say it aloud.  Yet they overlook the fact that famous people in the Bible said it....

Now Sarai, Abram's wife.... said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children...." -- Genesis 16:1-2

Leading Bible concordances show Sarai said YHWH (the first recorded human to do so).  God didn't punish her in this chapter for uttering that name; she got in trouble for other actions.  Yet we're reminded later:

You shall not take the name of the Lord [YHWH] your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. - Exodus 20:7, KJV

Other translations have this commandment as a warning against "misuse" of God's name, or using it "profanely."  Yet sadly, plenty of poker players do that on a regular basis -- perhaps out of habit, or from the frustration of losing a big hand. At those moments, we should be careful with our tongues.

With the tongue we praise our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. - James 3:9

It's far better to remain silent than to speak words you'll someday regret.  So give God praise in whatever name you wish - but keep in mind, God's last name is NOT a four-letter word beginning with D.

Caught in a Trap?

The talk around a poker table often centers on the game.  But sometimes it can be wide-ranging -- and as we mentioned in our last post, last Thursday night's discussion turned to marital infidelity.

 

We noted the Old Testament of the Bible declared adultery a capital crime, and Jesus expanded the definition of the term.  Yet there was a time when a group of people brought an adulterous woman before Jesus -- and His reaction was quite unexpected.

 

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  "No one, sir," she said.  "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. - John 8:10-11

 

Why didn't Jesus condemn this woman?  Because he sensed what was behind the entire situation....

 

They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.... - John 8:6

 

Jesus sensed traps as well as any experienced poker player.  The accusers may have been right, but their motives were wrong.  They wanted to make that woman a "sacrifice" for finding fault with a perfect Savior - when Jesus had come to be the perfect sin sacrifice for them.

 

We can gain many lessons from this passage.  One is to be wary of potential traps -- not only from people slow-playing pocket pairs, but people trying to compromise your integrity.  (Going back to last week's discussion, that can include married people pretending to be single and flirting with others.)  There's another lesson in Jesus's response to the woman.

 

....Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin." - John 8:11b

 

Jesus showed mercy -- but he wants the sinning to stop.  In other words, don't be like these guys....

 

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. - Jude 4

Whether you fall into sin or someone pushes you into it, seek God's mercy and forgiveness.  Then remember the classic advice of Dungeons and Dragons - and keep checking for traps.

 

Poker Night 286: The Last Resort

When the cards don't come and the players around you bet big, it cane make for a long quiet night at the poker table.  That can be depressing -- or it can be a test of your sense of timing.  Our test of the latter came tonight at Lil Kim's Cove....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: Ace of spades - 4 of clubs

We won a hand in the first hour, when we had an Ace which paired on the flop.  But that's all we've won, as small pocket pairs were overwhelmed by big bets by opponents and missed flops.  Now we're in the small blind, starting the hand with 2,500 left.  Our blind is 1,000, and no one at the table of five raises ahead of us.

"I'm all-in," we decide after checking our cards; "500 more." (Over the blind, that is.)

The big blind throws in 500 to call.  But the dealer to our right decides that's not enough.  "I'll go 4,000 more."  Those are chips we can't win, but they put the big blind all-in with us.  That man calls, and a dealer who took two players out in the first hour by turning K-10 into a straight could take out two more.  He shows 9-9.

"An old-fashioned race here," the big blind notes.  And the cards are dealt quickly to match....

ON THE FLOP: Jc-7c-4s

We make a pair, but not the one we wanted.

ON THE TURN: 3c

Still in trouble....

ON THE RIVER: 8c

"I've got a club!" we point out.  The dealer's nines don't include one.  The big blind shows K-8, with no club.  So runner-runner keeps us alive with the main pot of 7,500, while the dealer takes a side pot and eliminates only one player.

"Good game," we try to say to the big blind -- but we gets up and leaves without acknowledging us.  And he wore a big cross around his neck, too.

That advanced us to the semifinal table, but the cards weren't much better there.  The next big blind there gave us 6-9, and we were forced to go all-in with our last 1,500 when 7-8 appeared at the turn.  But the river was J, and we missed our straight draw while another man did not.  We did shake his hand -- walking home in 12th place, and with our three-week final table streak snapped.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "What could be more wrong than cheating on another man's wife?"  A player said that out of the blue during the one-hour break.  We're not sure why, but it led to a little "guy talk" around the table about married women (primarily) increasingly engaging in infidelity.

"People aren't being faithful," we said.  And that's sad -- for the sake of their families, and also because God takes a marriage covenant seriously.

If a man commits adultery with another man's wife -- with the wife of his neighbor -- both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. - Leviticus 20:10

That punishment may sound straight out of Saudi Arabia or the Taliban -- but it was part of the broad Old Testament law called the "Torah."  Instead of loosening the rules, Jesus had this to say:

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

But wait, you may be saying -- didn't Jesus forgive a woman who was caught in adultery?  Yes, He did.  We'll consider that in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 105 final tables in 286 nights (36.7%) - 17 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 184 point wins in 798 games (23.1%), 63 final tables, 7 cashes.  One-table sit-n-goes: 8-13-9-3-3.  We haven't played at NLOP much in recent days, due to a busy schedule and the site's transition to a new system.

POKER STARS,NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $65,624, up $2,980.

Feelings and Felt

Poker Player B had made a bet Player A didn't anticipate.  And when Player A's turn came again, he needed to be told what happened.

"You disrupted my karma, man," Player A said.

We happened to sit next to Player A, so we couldn't resist asking: "You have karma?"

Of course he did.  "Everybody has karma," he told us.

Hmmmm -- then do we?  Do you?

The online dictionary notes karma is a Hindu and Buddhist concept.  While U.S. residents tend to throw that word around in many ways, we think Player A was using the word to refer to feelings we have about someone or something.  Others might talk about "having bad vibes" or a "premonition" about something.

Plenty of poker players have made choices this way -- only instead of karma, they talk about "going with your gut" or acting on "your first instinct."  Sometimes that works, but sometimes it can prove disastrous.

In all of this, it seems to us the emphasis is on feelings.  We've heard Christian ministers say that's the wrong way to base your life -- that you should focus on thinking: the head above the heart.  Why?

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it? - Jeremiah 17:9

Not even modern translations of the Bible contain the word "karma."  Those translations also don't talk about "feelings" very much.  But the most traditional translation reminds us of a Savior who can relate to them....

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.... For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:14-15, KJV

Jesus was moved by the emotions of people He encountered on Earth 2,000 years ago -- and this section of Scripture indicates He still can be moved today, sitting at God the Father's side.  So it's worth pouring out words to heaven in prayer, even if they sometimes can be emotional.

But back to karma: the main definition of that word involves getting rewarded or punished based on your actions.  That's not simply Buddhist and Hindu - it's downright Biblical.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. - Revelation 20:12

A time of judgment is coming for everyone -- and this is a case of resurrection, not reincarnation.  Since no one is promised life beyond today, are you prepared for that time of judgment?  If not, search the Bible for words such as "saved" and "salvation."  They'll lead you to the right answer - the man Christ Jesus.

Moments of Decision

We often take a voice recorder to live poker tournaments, to note big hands for this blog.  On one recent night, another player demanded the mike to make an announcement for posting here:

"This guy beside me bet 5,000 with a pair of 6's, and there was three overs on the board.  He lost."

Too bad for that guy.  Now it's your turn to confess: what's the worst move or decision you've ever made at the poker table?  And why did you do it?  Yes, you can remain anonymous.

NLOP Weekly Championship 25: Slowing to the Finish

The turn to 2012 apparently will bring big changes to National League of Poker.  It's going to a browser-based format this coming week, with a "lifetime points" system which doesn't reset every Sunday morning.  We don't know everything about it yet -- but tonight apparently was the last time we earned our way into a weekly Sunday night championship tournament.  How did it go?

:06 IN: We have A-2 of hearts -- and our Internet connection has a hiccup, preventing us from playing when it's our turn.  We can't blame McAfee for this; we intentionally kept our computer on all days to keep updates from getting backlogged.  So we find AT&T at fault for costing us a three-way split of a pot, after an Ace comes on the flop.

:23 IN: We have 6-6 -- and while the table is running slowly, at least we can play.  The flop is Q-9-5.  Everyone checks.  The flop is 10, and we call an opponent's bet of 140.  The river is 2, and we fold to another bet of 100.  The table folds and the winner doesn't show, but we doubt fourth-best pair was good enough.

:27 IN: We turn the cards around next hand, with 9-9.  We call a doubling of the blind to 200.  The flop is 7-4-K, and the raiser goes all-in.  This is far too risky for us, and we fold.  (The hand remains a mystery again.)

A desultory first half-hour brings us to the break at 460 chips.  Out of 830 players still alive, we're scraping by in 764th.

:34 IN: We have Q-A out of the break.  The flop is 6-6-5, and another player goes all in.  We fold, wondering if we should have raised pre-flop.  Perhaps not - the turn-river were 10-7.

:36 IN: We have 9-10 of clubs in the big blind.  The flop is 5-9-9, and we feel compelled to go all-in with 210 left.  A player calls -- with K-9!  We're seriously outkicked.  But the turn is 10, to give us a winning full house! (The river is 8.)  "PTL BBS" we write (the latter meaning big blind special), as we recover to 1,020.

:40 IN: Two hands later, we have A-J and the button.  A player raises ahead of us to 480, and we call -- but then a player behind us raises 340 more to go all-in.  The first bettor calls, and we dare to join him even though it leaves only 125 in our stack.

ON THE FLOP: Q-5-10

Our opponent bets the expected all-in amount for us -- and with a big pot commitment and a straight draw, we see little choice but to call.  That opponent shows a mere 8-9 of hearts!  The player who pushed before us has 9-9, and leads the race.

ON THE TURN: 5

The board pairs, and we need a big card.

ON THE RIVER: 8

Not close enough.

The player who never pushed has 8's and 5's for a sidepot; the early pusher has 9's and 5's for the main pot.  We dared to dream and wound up with nothing -- except a lowly 657th place, out of 1,438 contestants.  We'll see what the new format holds (especially when it comes to having a good online connection).

This I Believe

"Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" we asked a woman Thursday night after she noticed our battery "card protector" at the final table.

"I have my own beliefs," she answered.

We said nothing further at the time.  But now, the first response we're tempted to offer to this is - duh.  Everyone with a functioning brain has their own beliefs.  Even the devout skeptic does, even if he or she doesn't want to admit it -- a belief that he or she should be skeptical of everything.

Did you ever consider there's a "belief system" of sorts at poker tables?  Unless they're flat-out bluffing, players make decisions based on the belief they have the best (or potentially best) cards.  That's why players are far more likely to raise or push with pocket Aces before the flop, as opposed to 2-4 offsuit.

In poker, of course, sometimes your beliefs don't reap the reward you expect.  (Pocket Aces can lose to a flush, after all.)  And in life, things sometimes can turn out the same way.  So as 2012 begins, this might be a good time to reflect about what you believe -- and ask whether or not it matches what God wants you to believe.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

You can know the ways of God by studying His word, the Bible.  Spending time in careful daily reading might bring some surprises -- because God could ask you to do something you're not doing, or stop doing something you've done for years.  If that's the case....

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. - Isaiah 55:6-7

So what does God want you to believe?  We'll leave that for you to discover from the Bible.  But we recommend this for starters:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

Would anyone like to add to this list?