Characters Wanted?

Huh?  We thought poker was a more popular game than ever.  But none other than Daniel Negreanu declared recently it's in "big trouble.... heading in the wrong direction."

Why?  Apparently not because of the U.S. Justice Department crackdown.  Negreanu told an interviewer the problem is that too many online poker stars are.... well, dull.  They're so focused on Internet play that they come across as wonky, lacking in personality.  (And if anyone should know about being a "poker personality," it's Negreanu.)

There are two ways to look at these comments.  For one thing, there's nothing wrong with working hard at what you do -- whether you're a poker pro or a laborer on the construction site:

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. - Proverbs 10:4

Negreanu even admitted in the interview he may have lost a bit of his game by becoming a "media face" of poker, as opposed to the "poker non-stop" approach of Phil Ivey.

But then again, working non-stop can burn you out and run you down.  An occasional break is good for you, in ways far beyond your physical health.  That's part of the reason why the Bible recommends....

But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. - Exodus 20:10

In fact, it's not simply a recommendation -- it's one of God's Ten Commandments.  We also think gathering and fellowshipping with believers from other walks of life on the Sabbath can help build personality skills, while widening your perspective on things.

Live poker tournaments in our area can include plenty of interesting characters; we share their stories here from time to time.  Online players don't really expose such traits, outside of their avatars and chat comments.

So what do you think of Negreanu's comments?  Is poker (especially on TV) better with guys wearing "chicken suits"?  Or is it all about the game?

Poker Night 291: Grand Opening

For some big-time poker players, timing is everything -- not only inside a hand, but in a tournament overall.  Gus Hansen writes in one of his books that he tries to dominate the final hands of a day, because opponents are afraid of getting busted and not advancing 24 more hours.  We adjusted that way of thinking in a hand tonight at Lil Kim's Cove....

BLINDS: 25/50

IN THE POCKET: 9-4 of spades

It's the first hand of the night.  We're sitting "one behind the dealer."  And in fairly typical fashion, no one raises in front of us.  It's like a "warm-up hand," and we see no reason to upset that with small suited cards.  We call, and nearly everyone at the table of seven is in.

ON THE FLOP: Qh-4c-Ks

The players check ahead of us -- but we hit the flop, so why should we wait?  We bet 150, which is enough to attract several investors.  (But it's not enough to coax a raise from someone with a bigger hand.)

ON THE TURN: 5s

The pair of 4's looked weaker, but our chances for a flush now are stronger.  The table checks in front of us again -- and this time we make a "continuation bet" of 200.  A few players call, but this time a man to our immediate right raises 1,000.

We stop a moment to consider this.  We bought a soda to increase our starting chip stack to 7,000.  This raise is big, but not overwhelmingly big.  We decide to give it a shot, and call.  As we recall, two other players call.

ON THE RIVER: As

"Flush!" a player to our left announces.  (So much for the element of surprise.)  The players in front of us check again -- and that's something we hoped to see.  Now we bet 2,000.  The first two players unhappily fold -- but the man who raised on the turn calls.

"Do you have a flush?" we ask him.  "Because I do."

We show our spades, and they're good enough!  The other man has 5-5, which explains why he raised on the turn.  But running spades to the river top him, and we more than double our chip stack.

A pair of 5's won us another pot in the first hour, and cautious play outside of that brought us to the one-hour break at 14,500.  But a big loss early in hour two led to us pushing all-in under the gun with K-J of diamonds.  Two players called -- but it turned out everyone missed the board, and King-high was good enough to keep us in!  We held on from there, reaching our first final table in six weeks.

But the draw for dealer at the final table put us in the big blind immediately, forced to go all-in with only 3,500 chips left.  We had J-9 and found a Jack on the river -- but a woman with J-Q had a better kicker and kicked us out.  It was a ninth-place night, but one hand at a final table is still a "final table" for us.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The blinds were 2,000/4,000 on that last hand.  A woman to our left with a huge stack of chips noticed we were 500 chips short of the big blind, and threw in 500 more to make up the difference.  Trouble was, the dealer kept throwing the green 500 chip back at her.

"You can't do that," he said.  (We're honestly not sure if that's allowed in casinos or not; if you know, please leave a comment.)

"But she's trying to be giving," we said in the woman's behalf.  Then we turned to her and added, "Giving is a nice thing to do.  It's better to give than to take."

Then we realized the game we were playing.  "Unless you're in the middle of a pot; then you might change things."

That brought a smile to the woman's face.  Away from the table, we think giving is much more likely to bring a smile to God's face.

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

We're actually taking these words of Jesus out of context a bit -- because He said them while instructing His disciples to perform miraculous acts while preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  But other New Testament passages support the giving principle:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  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 9:6-7

As it happened, a man came to our poker table during the game with what apparently was a fundraising promotion.  Buy a raffle ticket for four dollars and you can get a chili dog dinner, while also paying for a similar dinner for a homeless person.  On top of that, one raffle ticket was rewarded with 5,000 chips.  We didn't carry enough cash to take part in that.  But it shows some poker players do have a giving spirit -- outside a tournament, at least.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 106 final tables in 291 nights (36.4%) - 17 cashes.  Next week's live poker schedule will be different for us; you'll see what we mean.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 191 point wins in 818 games (23.3%), 66 final tables, 7 cashes.  We scored a top-40 finish earlier in the day, at a tournament with 645 players.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL:  Pretend cash games - $71,368, up $5,030.  We topped the $70,000 mark with a big cash game week.  A Monday night "lightning round"  gave us an increase of $3,595.

NLOP Clarification

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote National League of Poker no longer has its big-money weekly championship tournament on Sunday nights -- that it had been moved to Sunday afternoons U.S. ET.

While there is a weekly championship at stake then, there's still a "Sunday night special" tournament with $100 in prize money.  And instead of qualifying, anyone can enter -- if they pay a buy-in of 50,000 points.  Since we're only playing at NLOP part-time these days, we're waiting for the right time to try that.

On the Side

When one player showed up at an online tournament the other day, we simply couldn't resist making a farewell comment about his name....


paragod83 eliminated from the tournament (he/she has lost all his/her chips)
Me: Better to worship God than a para-god.

We took the player's name to mean something along the lines of a half-god.  But a strict Webster's dictionary definition really is different.  "Para-" as a prefix can mean "beside, alongside...." as in para-professionals working with teachers in a school.  It also can mean "in a secondary or accessory capacity" in the world of medicine.

The more we've thought about it, the more ashamed we are about what we wrote.  After all, who could be better to have alongside you than God?  Consider....

If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive.... the raging waters would have swept us away. - Psalm 124:2-5

As we mentioned in our last post, many believers have seen the intervening hand of God at difficult moments in their lives.

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.  And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. - II Timothy 4:17

Based on the surrounding verses, we think Paul was using a figure of speech when he wrote about a lion's mouth.  But Jesus Christ indicated God really can be alongside you -- and even closer:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. -- John 14:17

So we apologize to "Paragod83."  And we hope you'll ask God to come alongside you, and even dwell in you through the Holy Spirit -- even when it's poker night.

To Protect and To Serve

We asked the man if he considers Jesus his Savior, and he said yes.  So then we followed up: "What has Jesus done for you lately?"

The man's quiet voice two seats away was a bit hard for us to hear -- but it sounded like he said the Lord has protected him, along with several of his friends.

The word "protection" comes up in poker from time to time.  We take "card protectors" not only as conversation-starters, but to make sure our cards aren't considered thrown in and folded during hands.  The word also can refer to a player making a huge raise when someone is all-in, giving the at-risk player "protection" from having too many opponents.

But as the man suggested to us the other night, there's a "Protector" in heaven who offers to do much more:

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah. - Psalm 32:7

We can think of several times over the years when God seemed to protect us from harm or disaster.  But we also can hear the scoffers, wondering why God didn't protect other believers from harm and death.  At times such as those, our understanding of "protection" needs to change....

For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.  They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. - Psalm 37:28

Forever?!?!  How?  Another Old Testament book offers this explanation....

The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. - Isaiah 57:1 (KJV)

The Bible warns evils will increase and times will get worse -- until Jesus returns to bring the kingdom of God in fullness to earth.  I Thessalonians 4 indicates believers then will be resurrected to celebrate and rule with Jesus.  They're protected by the "sleep" of death, until they are raised to eternal life.

Poker Night 290: Ladies' Choice?

One of our local poker players made the evening news a few weeks ago.  "D.J." was questioned in a report on male-female relationships.  We're not sure if he's as daring and loose on dates as he is playing cards, but he certainly wanted us to go "all the way" a couple of times tonight at Lil Kim's Cove....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: Q-J offsuit

We started with 10,000 chips, thanks to a generous server at the bar who doubled our starting stack simply because we bought a soda.  But we lost a couple of promising hands early, and enter this one with about 6,200.  We limp in, and D.J. simply calls -- which is unusual, because he loves to raise pre-flop early in the game.  As we recall, a couple of other players join in.

In the tradition of the dearly-departed Poker After Dark: Director's Cut, D.J. takes the mike to tell the story from there:

"Here's how it happened...."

ON THE FLOP: Q-3-7

"He bet five [500].... I called.  The next card to come out...."

ON THE TURN: 10

"He checked.  I bet 5,000.  He called; he goes all-in [1,025 more] with absolutely nothing.  [Nothing?  Top pair is nothing??] I could have had two pair."

ON THE RIVER: 4 (as best we recall; D.J. didn't record it)

We'll take over again from here.  "I have queens," we say showing our hand.

"I have two pair," D.J. answers; "Queens and 3's."  He turns over a 3 -- then shows a King!  "Oops, that's not a Queen."  We get a nice double-up to more than 12,000 -- and humorously suggest D.J. see an eye doctor.

So why did we get so brash with top pair?  Because we knew our opponent -- and we know D.J. likes to play "I dare you" a lot, betting big with almost anything.  Our hunch was that he was bluffing by over-betting, and we were right.

A similar moment came later in the hour when we re-raised D.J. with A-Q.  The flop brought an Ace, he called a modest bet of 500 we made -- then after checking the turn, he bet 10,000 on the river to lure us all-in.  With only top pair again, we gave it a lot of thought.  But then we folded, because D.J. was due to have a big hand and we were due to guess wrong.

It was a night when we played a little looser than usual in a live tournament, and that meant ups and downs.  We reached the one-hour break with 3,750 chips -- but then doubled up again in the second hour with 10-10 when a 10 came on the turn.  Another pot win moved us up to 12,000.

But rising blinds and failed chances led us to an all-in bet under the gun with A-9.  We lost to a woman with pocket Queens when an Ace didn't hit the board.  It was an 11th-place finish -- close to the final table, but not quite.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "What sort of toy did you bring?" a man asked as we plunked down our card protector of the evening.  It really wasn't a toy.  It's a small battery-powered red reflector which can flash when turned on.  We've clipped it onto our clothing and worn it over the years for evening jogging.

"I brought this to remind me," we said, "that I should reflect the light of Jesus Christ."  It's something all believers should do....

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. -- Matthew 5:16

These instructions come from Jesus Christ.  But whose light really should be shining -- ours?  We think there's a better Light than that:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.  Who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." -- John 8:12

A contemporary Christian song puts it very well: "Lord, let me shine; shine like the moon/ A reflection of you in all that I do."  Is that light shining from you these days?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 105 final tables in 290 nights (36.2%) - 17 cashes.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 190 point wins in 815 games (23.3%), 66 final tables, 7 cashes.

We probably should count Tuesday night's 13th-place finish in the Senior Championship as a point win.  But points aren't awarded in championships, so we're not going to presume any.  However, we've made final tables two days in a row to qualify for a couple of February championships.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL:  Pretend cash games - $66,338, up $539.

January Seniors Championship: Where the Air is Rare

On most Tuesday nights, we join a Bible discussion via teleconference from Alabama.  But the last Tuesday night of the month is when the National League of Poker has its Senior Championship -- and this week, we had our best finish there ever.  How well?  Follow the action....

:06 IN: We have Ace-Jack of clubs, and raise to 100.  A few players call.  The flop is 3-K-10 (only the K is a club).  We make a continuation bet of 60 and get called.  The turn is 5c, giving us plenty of draws.  Everyone checks.  The river is a disappointing Jd, and everyone checks -- but that gives us top pair, beating someone with 6-6!  We gain $450.

:15 IN: We have J-10 in the big blind, and a player in front of us goes all-in for 310.  We dare to call, and face 8-8.  The flop is A-K-2.  But the turn is J and the river is 10.  We gain $600.

:23 IN: We have A-A on the button.  A player ahead of us doubles the blind, and we happily follow along.  The flop is 9-8-J, and the raiser goes all-in for $1,665.  We dare to call again, as does someone else.  The turn is 6.  The table checks.  The river is 6.  We bet a hopeful 150, get called -- then get rewarded!  Our opponents have A-J and A-9. Two pair wins us more than $3,100.

:27 IN: We have A-6 of diamonds.  A player raises 460 to go all-in, another player adds 160 to do the same, and we have the spare chips to call them both.  Our opponents have 4-4 and 7-6.  But the flop is a gorgeous A-J-A -- and A on the river gives us quad aces!  After a meaningless 5 on the river, we win $2,850.

We reach the first break in great shape, at 4,190 chips - good for 20th place, with 364 players left.

:34 IN: We come back from break with K-5 of hearts.  The flop is J-3-K, and happily call an all-in bet of 520.  Our opponent has a mere 8-Q.  That apparent bluff failed, as 2-8 follow on the board to win us another $1,350.

:39 IN: After a sizable loss with an open-ended straight draw which failed, we have A-8 on the button.  The flop is 5-8-9, and we offer a lead-out bet of 250 which gets a caller.  The turn is Q.  Both of us check.  The river is 2.  After more checking, our pair of 8's holds up!  We beat A-4 for a welcome $950.

:53 IN: After winning a sidepot with a pair of 6's, we have A-A again.  We choose to limp.  The flop is 10-J-9, bringing checks.  The turn is 4.  The river is 3.  A player goes all-in, and wins the main pot with 3-3; we settle for a side pot of $960.

But then several promising hands fall short -- and we stagger to the second break with only 935 chips left.  We've fallen to 142nd place, out of 158 remaining.

1:08 IN: We make another move after the break, with K-K on the button.  We go all-in pre-flop, and get called by a player with 7-A.  The flop is J-5-8, followed by 3-4.  Out big comeback commences, by winning $2,520.

1:13 IN: We have Q-K, play it -- and see 2-8-Q on the flop.  We bet the minimum 400, and that's enough to run everyone else off.  We pick up $1,850 more.

1:27 IN: After winning more antes and blinds with a big blind walk, we have 5-A.  The flop is a very nice A-5-10!  But we check with caution.  Then come 3-J, and two pair win for us again - gaining $1,950.

1:32 IN: We have 5-5 in the big blind, and call an all-in bet ahead of us for 325 extra.  The flop is K-8-4.  The turn is 2.  The river is Q.  And amazingly, our pocket fives win - as two players show A-7 and A-5!  It's a big gain of $4,275.

The big third-period comeback puts us at $6,645 at break time.  Only 61 players remain, and we're 36th.

1:42 IN: Once again, we have promising cards right after the break with A-9.  The flop is 2-9-A, and a player goes all-in for 2,585.  We call with two pair, of course -- and the opponent has A-8!  The board brings 5-7.  And thanks to pre-flop callers and rising antes, our haul from this hand is $12,897.  We climb to 15th place, with 55 left.

2:03 IN: We go "card-dead" for quite awhile, with three promising hands missing the flop and forcing folds.  Now we see Q-A under the gun, and raise all-in for $6,356.  An opponent calls -- with only Q-K!  The flop is 9-3-8, but A on the turn clinches a big win for us.  Our push wins us $21,312, putting us in seventh place.

A round of blinds then goes badly -- but we're moved to a semifinal table during the fourth break with $12,312.  Only 19 players still can win.  But we're in 18th place.

2:21 IN: The big blind forces us all-in with 2,712 -- but we have a hopeful A-9.  We're heads-up against K-Q.  The board brings 7-3-2, then 4-4.  We'll take a "big blind special" worth $9,824.

2:28 IN: The blinds come faster now, and the next big blind is another forced push -- this time with a lowly 5-8.  We face opponents holding Q-9 and 10-A.  But the flop is 2-7-6.  And when the turn is 4, we're thrilled!  The river K doesn't matter, because we've escaped with a straight -- climbing back to $15,672.

2:34 IN: With 13 players left at two tables, we have 7-A under the gun.  The blinds are so high that we choose not to hesitate, going all-in again for $8,232.  We get called by a player with 9-9.  A flop of K-2-2 has us fearing the worst.  The turn is 6.  The river is 8 -- and we're right.  Two pair top us, and we're through for the night.

Yet our final result was a strong 13th place -- especially strong considering 1,045 players entered the tournament!  Using a World Series of Poker payoff matrix we found from 2009, we would have finished the night taking home seven to nine times our buy-in.  But alas, NLOP only pays money to the ten players at the final table.  So we miss the money by three -- but what a great night it was.

MINISTRY MOMENT: A player to our right took a huge loss in the second hour, dropping to a measly 10 chips (everyone starts with 1,000).  But then he fought back, and we noticed.  From the chat-box...

Badone won Main pot 20 with Two pair, aces and queens
Me: The comeback begins.
flopblogger won Side pot 1 760 with One pair, sixes
Badone won Main pot 60 with One pair, eights
Me: as I said....
Me: Badone x6
Badone: thanks for encouragem

The word he clearly meant to finish was "encouragement."  It's a trait you're not likely to see very often in big-time professional poker.  But it's something believers in Christ are, well, encouraged to have.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. - I Thessalonians 5:11

Times were not easy for believers when Paul wrote these words.  Newly-developing Christians faced persecution from Roman leaders, as well as outraged Jews (3:4).  But Paul wanted to encourage them -- in what?

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. - I Thessalonians 5:9

Paul admitted encouragement is a trait not everyone has -- perhaps not even in church groups:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.... if it is encouraging, let him encourage.... - Romans 12:6-8

We've been on both sides of this line -- trying to aid others who are "down in the dumps," then feeling so down ourselves that we want to burst any encourager's bright yellow balloon that comes along.  If you have this gift, don't be afraid to use it -- even at a poker table, where hardened players might not appreciate it.  You might be giving them the best example of God they'll see all day.