We went to The Roadhouse for poker around 8:00 Wednesday night. We were still standing outside around 8:25.
Two men standing near the door confirmed it was poker night, but no one had shown up yet. Then those men showed they were NOT interested in poker camaraderie -- as they walked across 11th Street to avoid me, and continue their conversation.
A few people were inside The Roadhouse. Eventually one saw me at the front door, motioned me to a side door -- and that's when I learned the bad news. The club no longer has poker nights, and now officially is closed on Wednesdays.
"It wasn't bringing in enough people," a man told me. On the nights I attended, about 25-30 showed up.
So a downtown poker option no longer exists. Does this mean Columbus poker is in decline? You tell me.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A song for the table
We were online playing Yahoo poker just now, when 103.7 FM "The Truth" played the Twila Paris classic Christian song "Days of Elijah." We put some new words on the chorus on the spur of the moment, and came up with....
Poker time! Poker time is here!
Grab your chips! Get cards in the air!
Lift your voice, to raise over the top....
And on the river will the payoff come!
Poker time! Poker time is here!
Grab your chips! Get cards in the air!
Lift your voice, to raise over the top....
And on the river will the payoff come!
Play poker, avoid the other stuff
That's our strategy tonight. We plan to join in the Wednesday night free tournament at The Roadhouse, on Broadway in downtown Columbus.
That way we miss half-hour campaign commercials, 3 1/2 inning baseball games -- and who knows what else?
That way we miss half-hour campaign commercials, 3 1/2 inning baseball games -- and who knows what else?
Monday, October 27, 2008
The hot seat
At Yahoo poker the other day, I practically could do no wrong. I hit a full house on the flop. Then I won a couple of pots by hitting flushes on the river.
"Hot seat," a woman at the table wrote.
"I know," I replied with a giggle.
In only a few minutes, my pretend cash count jumped $200. Apparently that was too good for the table's host, who booted me without any real reason. (All I said after that was about how I folded back-to-back flushes at Lil Kim's Cove the night before.)
Sometimes people get jealous of other people's success. They even want to take vengeance. But that's not really what a Christian should do.
"Rejoice with those who rejoice," Paul wrote in Romans 12:15. "Mourn with those who mourn."
Be happy if you win -- but be controlled. But here's the tough part: being happy when someone else wins. In poker, that's the difference between the "only a game" and the "win or else" philosophies. We hope your choice is the right one.
"Hot seat," a woman at the table wrote.
"I know," I replied with a giggle.
In only a few minutes, my pretend cash count jumped $200. Apparently that was too good for the table's host, who booted me without any real reason. (All I said after that was about how I folded back-to-back flushes at Lil Kim's Cove the night before.)
Sometimes people get jealous of other people's success. They even want to take vengeance. But that's not really what a Christian should do.
"Rejoice with those who rejoice," Paul wrote in Romans 12:15. "Mourn with those who mourn."
Be happy if you win -- but be controlled. But here's the tough part: being happy when someone else wins. In poker, that's the difference between the "only a game" and the "win or else" philosophies. We hope your choice is the right one.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Poker Night #47: Expect the Unexpected
We didn't play any poker during vacation -- not even online. In fact, the deck of cards we took never even left the motel room drawer. We were at a religious convention, after all.
So we might have been a bit rusty on our return to Lil Kim's Cove tonight. But the better explanation for our performance was probably bad timing and instinct. We lasted more than an hour, but wound up in about 20th place among four crowded tables.
We won the first hand of the night, with modest "warm-up" or "feel things out" betting which left a couple of people at our table puzzled.
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: 9-6 of hearts.
Several players toss the minimum in the pot, to start the party. We're in early position, which works to our favor.
ON THE FLOP: Kc, another club and a 6 (spade, I think).
Checks abound.
ON THE TURN: 6 of clubs.
"Somebody hit a flush," one player boastfully speculates. Thanks for the reminder.
"350," I bet. I have three of something, all right -- but not clubs.
Several players fold. "Why would he bet THAT if he had a flush?" one wonders. But one man stays in.
ON THE RIVER: A red 9.
OK, I'm listening to you skeptics -- "1,500." The other player quickly folds, so he's left to guess about whether I might have hit a full house.
But a couple of fairly big tries for pots after that fell short. As the blinds went up and my stack went down, I mucked back-to-back hands with two diamonds -- only to see enough diamonds turn up on the board to cost me consecutive flushes.
I won an all-in bet late in the evening with Kc-Jc, as a pair of Kings topped an opponent's Jack high. But when I went all in again with pocket 6's, aces and a King turned up -- and a man to my left had a King to top me.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Is that for good luck?" a first-time poker player to my left asked after a couple of hands about my silver coin [Oct 1].
"No, it's not for that" -- and he read the message about Jesus it contains. "What do you think of that?"
"I don't expect to see that when playing poker," the man admitted.
I told him how I acquired the coin. The flip side of it has the logo for a Christian Motorcycle Association; a member gave it to me at a Bible study a few months ago. The other man told me he saw that group's booth at a Labor Day weekend drag racing competition in Reynolds, GA. "They were way up on a hill!" Above it all, perhaps?
The discussion about godly things ended with a quote of our unofficial motto: Our "King of Kings" can beat any Ace.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD: 21 final tables in 47 nights (44.7%) -- 6 cashes. For us, this is turning into a slump: only one final table in the last six sessions.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $8201 (Down $221; - 130 from poker).
So we might have been a bit rusty on our return to Lil Kim's Cove tonight. But the better explanation for our performance was probably bad timing and instinct. We lasted more than an hour, but wound up in about 20th place among four crowded tables.
We won the first hand of the night, with modest "warm-up" or "feel things out" betting which left a couple of people at our table puzzled.
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: 9-6 of hearts.
Several players toss the minimum in the pot, to start the party. We're in early position, which works to our favor.
ON THE FLOP: Kc, another club and a 6 (spade, I think).
Checks abound.
ON THE TURN: 6 of clubs.
"Somebody hit a flush," one player boastfully speculates. Thanks for the reminder.
"350," I bet. I have three of something, all right -- but not clubs.
Several players fold. "Why would he bet THAT if he had a flush?" one wonders. But one man stays in.
ON THE RIVER: A red 9.
OK, I'm listening to you skeptics -- "1,500." The other player quickly folds, so he's left to guess about whether I might have hit a full house.
But a couple of fairly big tries for pots after that fell short. As the blinds went up and my stack went down, I mucked back-to-back hands with two diamonds -- only to see enough diamonds turn up on the board to cost me consecutive flushes.
I won an all-in bet late in the evening with Kc-Jc, as a pair of Kings topped an opponent's Jack high. But when I went all in again with pocket 6's, aces and a King turned up -- and a man to my left had a King to top me.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Is that for good luck?" a first-time poker player to my left asked after a couple of hands about my silver coin [Oct 1].
"No, it's not for that" -- and he read the message about Jesus it contains. "What do you think of that?"
"I don't expect to see that when playing poker," the man admitted.
I told him how I acquired the coin. The flip side of it has the logo for a Christian Motorcycle Association; a member gave it to me at a Bible study a few months ago. The other man told me he saw that group's booth at a Labor Day weekend drag racing competition in Reynolds, GA. "They were way up on a hill!" Above it all, perhaps?
The discussion about godly things ended with a quote of our unofficial motto: Our "King of Kings" can beat any Ace.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD: 21 final tables in 47 nights (44.7%) -- 6 cashes. For us, this is turning into a slump: only one final table in the last six sessions.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $8201 (Down $221; - 130 from poker).
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The road, not The Roadhouse
We're going away for about ten days, to an area where poker playing is unlikely -- in person or online.
But maybe we should take a deck of cards. Even to a religious convention.
UPDATED YAHOO TOTAL: $8201 (- 65)
But maybe we should take a deck of cards. Even to a religious convention.
UPDATED YAHOO TOTAL: $8201 (- 65)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Where have we been?
Online lately -- but not playing a lot, as we prepare for an upcoming road trip.
Unless we find a free poker tournament on the road (and we may not have time), we hope to return to Lil Kim's Cove for Thursday night action on 23 October.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $8266 (down $156, but only down 65 from poker -- that blackjack bug can be dangerous)
Unless we find a free poker tournament on the road (and we may not have time), we hope to return to Lil Kim's Cove for Thursday night action on 23 October.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $8266 (down $156, but only down 65 from poker -- that blackjack bug can be dangerous)
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