The patience is in

So, you may be asking, what was our secret to success when we won money at a recent poker tournament in Tulsa? Believe it or not, it all started with a grocery trip.

We went to a large famous-name store at mid-morning, and came across several moms trying to keep young children in line. We told ourselves to be a good example, by staying patient with them.

Then we loaded our groceries in the car - and lo and behold, we heard a radio preacher talking about patience. Already we sensed a theme for the day.

As we drove to Tulsa that afternoon, we heard a radio host bring up the very same subject - patience! Now we knew we were getting a message from God. It became the key word on our mind during the evening tournament - and in the end, we had a top-five finish in the money.

The idea of receiving "messages from heaven" is a topic for another day. But right now let's ask: how patient are you at the poker table? Are you impulsive, looking for a quick advantage? Or do you wait for the right moment to make a move?

We think God wants us to lean on the side of waiting. Here's why....

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. - Proverbs 16:32

The impulsive player might go "on tilt" and lose composure after a bad beat or a tough loss on the river. There could be a comeback - but more often than not, that player makes a quick exit.

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. - Proverbs 19:11

You can't win every single hand in a poker tournament. "Perfect games" are for baseball, and they don't happen very often there. If a loss comes, try to minimize the setback - both in chips and in your mindset.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. - Ecclesiastes 7:8

That's what happened with us on a Thursday night in Tulsa. The payoff of patience came at the end, although we admittedly nearly lost it while fighting to eliminate a short-stacked man at the final table. The theme of the day helped us to humbly thank God for our ultimate success.

To quote from the radio preacher we mentioned earlier, and the broadcast in our link: "When we are patient, we put ourselves in position with God to receive God's best." Are you willing to have that patience - at the table, and in all your endeavors in life?

One Game or Another

The bet on the river was substantial - 600 or more, as we recall. And we missed our shot at the best hand.

"As they say on that show," we said pointing at the giant TV screen across the table, "'That's too much!'"

A man to our left knew what we meant right away. We were in a mid-morning poker game where for a change, the casino did not show talking heads discussing sports. They put The Price is Right on the big screen - a game show we admitted in advance would make things awfully distracting for us. (Although, come to think of it, some of the sound effects on The Price is Right would make poker games more entertaining to watch.)

For many big-time poker players, the key to success is staying focused - getting locked in on every hand, including your cards and your opponent's tendencies. An event nearby with people jumping up and down over winning "A new!!!! CAR!!!!!!" certainly doesn't help.

But if you think about it, our lives are full of distractions. Sometimes players even bring them to the tables, in the form of smartphones (even if they have their favorite music loaded for their earbuds). We need to follow some timeless advice along these lines....

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. - Joshua 1:7

A new leader named Joshua was receiving guidance from the Lord (verse 1). While the focus of this "pep talk" was about having courage, Joshua was advised against going off-course in his life. The key to that was in obeying the "law of Moses" - a law really given by God years before.

Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. - Joshua 23:6

 Joshua clearly remembered the lesson, because he repeated God's guidance in his farewell address. The world is filled with things that can take you off-course, away from a focus on God (I John 2:15-16). That's why, even today....

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2

Jesus stayed focused as well - on His purpose for coming to Earth, and for eventually rejoining His Father in heaven.

We hope you focus well - on the cards and conditions as you play poker, and on God's ways as you walk throughout the week. But before you do that, please comment for us. What's the worst distraction you've ever faced at a poker tournament - and how did you deal with it?

The Option Play

Is it something we've said? Maybe the wrong anti-perspirant?

Whatever the reason, 2016 is ending with yet another closure at a place where we've played poker. We mentioned last week that Osage Casino near Tulsa has "temporarily closed" its poker room - a place where we made a final table on our only visit during the summer.

This adds to a 2016 dropout list which included three independent poker rooms in Wichita, Prairie Band Casino north of Topeka and Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City (at least for tournament play).

It feels like we're not playing in person as much - but maybe that's misleading. As of this post, we've entered 31 live tournaments this year. That's better than one every couple of weeks. But work and other projects have cut into our poker time - not to mention a rather high buy-in at the main casino which has become our most convenient place to play.

What do you do when you run short of options.... not in terms of poker rooms, but big decisions in life? We can think of one man who faced that sort of challenge:

...A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off".... another messenger came and said, "The fire of God came from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants".... another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" - Job 1:14-17

Talk about a bad day! And things got worse for Job from there. He lost all his children in the next two verses. Yet God allowed Satan the devil to do all these things to Job (verse 12). It was a test to see how a "blameless and upright... man who fears God" (verse 8) would respond to the loss of valuable things.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. then he fell to the ground in worship and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." - Job  1:20-21

You may be in a place on this planet where you can't go out and play poker every week - or even every month. In the internet age, at least you have online options for having some fun and keeping your game sharp. But even if you didn't, could you still be thankful to God for not having anyplace to play poker?

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.... - Ecclesiastes 7:14

God may have removed the poker options to get you focused on other things. Better things. More important things - like straightening out your life and repenting of your sins.

So give God praise for whatever he gives you, whether it's a little or a lot. Then ask Him prayerfully to show where you should go from here - and have faith that He will open the best options of all in your life.

Poker Day 491: Hard Rock and a Hard Place

Remember the cheaper choice we selected for Thursday night poker in Tulsa? Because we had an open Friday morning, we went to the more expensive place - where the poker costs less by day.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is located northeast of Tulsa. The casino security was almost nonexistent on a Friday morning; with no one at the doors, any toddler could walk in with Mom or Dad to play slots. But the poker room is nice and secluded - in fact, the first one we've visited with doors that automatically open.

It costs $35 plus a $5 dealer fee to play the 10:00 a.m. "no-juice" tournament. Sure enough, we didn't see any fruit juice - but with a cup of diet cola in our hand from outside, we joined in what started as a one-table game but turned into two:

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: 8-9 of spades

We won a modest pot early in the first hour. But then we lost a bunch with pocket Jacks, when we missed a straight draw. Now we've dropped from a starting 5,000 chips to a lowly 2,050.

"Looks like it's your time to win," an older man to our left says before we see our cards.

"I hope so," we told him. With suited connectors, we hope this is the moment. We call, and four players are in.

ON THE FLOP: 8h-7d-2d

Two of these cards are diamonds. So we have top pair, but a flush threat. We check to get a pulse of the table, and a man to our left bets 300. We call; the other players fold.

ON THE TURN: 8d

A third diamond - but a third 8. Given our small stack, we see little choice.

"All of it," we say - pushing out last 1,550. "Since he said it was my time," we add tongue-in-cheek. When in doubt, shift the blame.

We hope our opponent has no flush, and will fold. Instead, he calls - and shows 8-K. His kicker is far better than ours. We ask for an Ace - but really, that won't work. We need a 9 for a second pair.

ON THE RIVER: 6c

The King tops our 9, and takes us out of the game. We split the Oklahoma weekend, finishing about 14th out of 17 players - but at least by registering for a Hard Rock player's card with "free slot play," we won back eight dollars playing video blackjack.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The man who gave us that fateful word of encouragement wanted a good look at our "Lord's Supper" card protector before play began. We explained it, then asked: "What do you think of Jesus?"

"Good guy."

"Is He your Savior?"

"I think so. I hope so."

Are any of those answers good enough? The Bible indicates they're not. Let's start from the top....

And, behold, one came and said to him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why call you me good? There is none good but one, that is, God...." - Matthew 19:16-17 (KJV)

A young man came to Jesus Christ with what comes across as words of flattery. The Lord responded with a pre-flop rise of sorts in the conversation, since a writer long before declared in prayer:

You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. - Psalm 119:68

God is the original source of goodness. And Jesus was God, walking on Earth (John 1:1, 14). So was the young man ready to acknowledge Jesus as God? The section in Matthew doesn't indicate he did. But Jesus went farther:

"If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." - Matthew 19:17b

He clearly was talking about eternal life here. Jesus said that depends on several things....

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Matthew 19:18-19

We can sit all day, in a poker room or a church sanctuary, pondering about whether or not we have salvation. But Jesus indicated we should take definite actions to move toward eternal life. We answered the poker player's second statement with words along this line:

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall... - II Peter 1:10

Is the list Jesus gave the way you live?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 181 final tables in 491 games (36.9%) - 36 cashes.

Poker Night 490: Up the Creek

The church association we attend is having a big "regional family weekend" in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The events begin Friday evening - but we made the three-hour drive to Tulsa Thursday, to see if we could pay for the trip at the poker table.

To our surprise, Osage Casino where we played in the summer has closed its poker room. It's "temporary," one website says. (We'll get into that another time.) But that meant playing in a pricey Thursday night tournament. We chose the less expensive choice, "River Spirit Casino" operated by the Creek Nation - $75 buy-in plus $10 dealer appreciation.

The casino's poker room ranks among the nicest we've visited. Big-screen TV's abounded for watching Thursday night football, and a good variety of snacks and soda was available for free. But we didn't want that to distract us, because we came to play well....

BLINDS: 500/1,000

 IN THE POCKET: Q-J of diamonds

We started with 8,000 chips, plus a "bounty chip" worth $25 to whomever might eliminate us. We won some nice early pots to reach the one-hour break at 13,500. But now we have a challenge. A man at our table of six (or so) followed our early call with a raise to 3,500. That's a substantial investment, but after thinking it over we decide to call. No one else does.

ON THE FLOP: J-10-4 (third card may not be precise; it won't matter)

No diamonds came, but top pair did. We check to the raiser, and he goes all-in! He has 11,000. We have 10,500 left. What would you do at this moment?

We wonder if our opponent has pocket Aces or Kings. Something tells us he doesn't, and he's trying to steal the pot with a big scare. So we call - and he shows A-Q. Our hunch was right, but we have to dodge a lot of trouble.

"He needs a King," another player properly points out.

ON THE TURN: Q

"There's the King," that man says. Uhhhh - not from what we see. We now lead the race, two pair to one. We'd prefer the next card be low.

ON THE RIVER: 9

Just low enough! We stay alive and double-up, leaving our opponent at the brink of elimination.

More nice pots came after that in Hour 2, and we eliminated one player to win a $25 bounty chip. Yet due to some losses, at the second break we still were stuck at 13,600. But then came Hour 3, and some huge pot wins. We hit a high chip count of 89,500, and were able to coast to the final table. Once there, we scored a huge win with A-J when two Jacks showed up and a man pushed with J-Q. We earned a second bounty

But our efforts to eliminate a short-stacked player with seven to go started draining our chips. We still had 54,000 at the third break, but more misses left us in limbo at 15,000 chips and rising blinds. But then an even shorter stack pushed with 9,000, and lost to an unfortunate river card which gave someone else a full house.

The top five in this 43-player tournament made the money - and that means we did! After that, we pushed for our life with 9-9. But a man to our left made a straight on the river, to knock us out. Final score: fifth place for $138, plus $50 in bounties - although by agreement, all the players at the final table donated $20 to the "bubble" man who came in sixth.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We took our "Lord's Supper" card protector on the trip, and the man who eventually knocked us out didn't grasp it at first.

"I don't think he looked like that," we said to him as he turned the protector over to see a depiction of Jesus Christ. "I don't think He had long hair."

The man agreed. "It says He had no special appearance," the man noted. The "it" in this case is the Bible....

My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. - Isaiah 53:2 (NLT)

This is an Old Testament prophecy about the coming of Jesus. Does it seem surprising? Ancient artistic depictions of Jesus constantly walking around with a halo or standout appearance really aren't accurate. Consider, for example....

Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. - Luke 4:29-30 (NLT)

A crowd wanted Jesus dead, but they apparently couldn't pick Him out of the crowd when the climactic moment came. He was that.... well, ordinary-looking. Not "ordinary" in any other way, but in appearance. Yet someday soon....

And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.... His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.... And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. - Revelation 1:13-16 (NLT)

This "man" calls himself "the  First and the Last" (verse 17; Revelation 22:13) - leaving little doubt it's Jesus Christ. The Bible says every eye will see Him when He returns (verse 7). Are you prepared to face Jesus at His judgment seat, no matter how He looks?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 181 final tables in 490 games (36.9%) - 36 cashes. We've won money in five out of 30 tournaments we've entered this year!

One False Step

The Thursday night National League of Poker online tournament was our best in months. We were hitting big cards, making big hands and winning large pots. At the one-hour break, we had 24,560 chips -  good for tenth place out of 1,170 total entries!

Then came the second hour, and this critical moment....

BLINDS: 400/800/100

IN THE POCKET: 2-6 of clubs

The NLOP format for this tournament has a maximum six players per table. Trouble is, we've been placed to the right of the chip leader. His stack is huge compared to ours - well above 40,000. But we start this hand with about 25,000 chips. With about 30 big blinds, we can be a bit "creative" with these cards. We call, and about three players are in with no one raising.

ON THE FLOP: 10-5-4 (order may not be precise)

An ordinary flop with a hopeful straight draw. We check. As best we recall, the table checks.

ON THE TURN: 7

Our chances of hitting a straight now have doubled, but we sense a chance to win the pot right here. We bet 800. Mr. Big Stack calls, to our disappointment. The third player folds.

ON THE RIVER: 8

Yes! The straight comes through again! With no flush threat, we bid again for the pot. This time we bet 2,800. But our chip-leading opponent isn't scared. He goes all-in!

We have 22,800. Only a couple of combinations could beat ours - but this opponent has shown during the night he can bluff with very little. After several seconds of agonizing thought, we take the dare. We call. "If he has 9-6," we say to ourselves....

Then comes the computerized showdown.... and he has 9-6! He wasn't bluffing, and hit a higher straight on the river!

"Wow. Very good," is all we have time to write as he takes our big stack away. He writes "LOL" and some kind of scoffing insult in response. After a big 90-minute run, we finish in a lowly 165th place.

We offer this as proof that few hands in a poker tournament are "safe" hands. Other players can put you at risk at any moment, so you have to be careful at all times. Out lives work the same way....

They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. - I Chronicles 13:7

What does "a la cart" transport in the Bible have to do with this? Keep reading....

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. - I Chronicles 13:9-10

At first reading, this may seem awfully unfair. Touch an ark, and God strikes you dead on the spot?! Well, yes - because there were rules for such things:

After Aaron and his son have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die.... - Numbers 4:15

The ark was considered holy to God. Uzzah touched it. He died. Right then and there.

"But I thought God was love," you might say. "What about grace and mercy?" God indeed has those traits - but he's also a God with rules. In the same way, we made a bad decision Thursday night on the river - and under the rules, our tournament dream died. (The re-buy deadline had passed.)

Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. - Ephesians  5:15-16

One wrong action can be costly in a poker room. And in driving to and from it. Ask God for wisdom to help you make the right moves at all times.

Slots of Luck?

One of our recent posts mentioned a surprising development in the city where our poker-playing (and this "poker blog") began. The City Council in Columbus, Georgia is now on record supporting a public vote on legalizing casino gambling.

It's far too early to say if Georgia voters will approve a casino, or whether that casino will have any kind of poker room. But supporters say it will create hundreds of jobs. To which we would respond: what else will it create?

It's a rare state that has poker rooms with nothing else supporting them. Most of the rooms we've visited in Florida also have greyhound racing. In Kansas, the rooms are part of casinos - with lots and lots of slots. We tend to walk past those machines. But we realize many people don't - and the odds are that those people will lose money.

Casinos make money to some extent from restaurants, bars and an occasional concert. But most of the time, they "win" from gamblers losing - primarily from slot machines. It's enough for us to raise a question found in the Bible:

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?.... - Isaiah 55:2

We brought this verse up a few weeks ago, in the wake of the WSOP Main Event. But if you have money to burn, we think there are better "investments" than throwing quarters into a slot machine. For instance....

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

We're posting this a bit late for "Giving Tuesday." But money you might toss down a slot could be used for good causes by non-profit groups and charities. Faith-based groups can use the money to help needy people, whether they're down the street or halfway around the world. Those people might even hear life-changing news about salvation through Jesus Christ.

But, you might say, you have no chance of getting back any money at all? Keep reading....

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. - II Corinthians 9:10-11

No, we are not asking for your donations to keep this blog going. But we're suggesting you consider giving some of your "gambling money" to faith-based groups - since the Bible promises you'll "be made rich" in return. It's worked for us, despite some hard times. Yes, a church or fellowship can be a better long-term investment than any casino..