To ensure we avoided stray Halloween visitors, we made our first poker visit tonight to The Sports Page. It's perhaps the best-known sports bar in Columbus, and we've enjoyed their version of a "Scrambled Dawg" for years as a dinner to go with big-screen games.
The Sports Page also has become known as a busy poker spot, with tournaments three nights a week. So we had plenty of competition, and faced several big challenges....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: K-J of hearts
Because we ate a Scrambled Dawg before the tournament, we started with double the normal chip stack -- 10,000. But after winning the first pot of the night by making a diamond flush on the flop, we're down to about 7,500. When a player across the table raises to 500, we hope history will repeat itself. Several players call.
ON THE FLOP: Qh-Jc-8h (as best we recall)
The man who raised doesn't slow down, betting 2,000. A man between us calls. Now we have to think a moment. This is the flush chance we hoped to see -- but the bet is so large that we'd lose a lot of chips if we call and we're wrong. (We also suspect a bigger bet on the turn is coming.)
"I'm tempted -- but I'll fold," we finally say.
ON THE TURN: 2 of hearts
Ouch! The hand plays out to reveal the big bettor had two pair. We were the only one with two hearts, and could have gained a small fortune.
We show our cards afterward, and overhear someone to our left say something about "calling a raise pre-flop" and following up on it. That big bet on the flop probably was designed to scare off flush-chasers -- and we admittedly lacked the backbone to follow through with our hope nearly realized. (Hmmmm; there could be a lesson there for another post.)
We reached the one-hour break, but then tried to fight for our life with A-8 when a high-card 8 showed up on the flop. But a 6 which also was showing gave a man to our left two pair (8-6), and he eliminated us in about 31st place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "Did I ever show you this?" we asked a man to our immediate right. We showed him the "Jesus as your Savior" coin. When we asked if he agreed with the message, he nodded -- barely.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 203 nights (40.9%) - 15 cashes.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday Night Barn Dance
"What are you doing here?" one man asked as we stepped inside The Red Barn Saturday night.
"On a Saturday?!?" another said with surprise. We'll explain their surprise in a moment -- but first to the game. Every Saturday night The Red Barn has a "heads-up" poker tournament for prize money. We wanted to escape Halloween keepers knocking at our door (since we don't keep Halloween), so this event was part of our strategy.
We knew how to approach the game from watching NBC's National Heads-Up Championship and playing one-on-one games at National League of Poker. Since this tournament had only 16 players, there were fewer hurdles to jump to win the first-place money.
We won our first match easily, with our opponent only winning one hand and splitting another. We won our second match, although it took a bit longer. Then came the semifinal, and a crafty opponent who we knew would be a challenge....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: K-7 offsuit
We're dealing, which makes us the small blind in this format. We tend to play hands in this format unless desperation requires a tighter approach. So we call, but our opponent is in the lead and exploits it. He doubles the bet, and we call.
ON THE FLOP: A-K-7
Our opponent checks, and we're feeling good. After all, we hit two pair! A hand or two before, our opponent held two pair and tried to put us all-in (he showed the cards afterward) -- but we said no. Now it's time to return the favor.
"I'm all-in," we say. "23-skiddoo" -- as in 2,300 chips left. (The starting stack is 3,500, not counting food and drink purchases for bonus.)
Our foe stares at us for several seconds, as if he's pondering this carefully. At last he answers. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Well, yes -- we committed to it.
"I'll call," the opponent answers -- then turns over A-K. Ouch! We need a seven, or some odd combination to split the pot.
ON THE TURN: 8
Close, but no.
ON THE RIVER: 4
"I had you going, didn't I?" the winner says. He pulled an acting job on us, but no doubt knew all along he had us topped.
We had the right hand -- but we simply had bad timing. But we still made the semifinals in our first heads-up tournament. At the NBC event, two winning rounds would have earned us $25,000. At the Red Barn -- well, at least there was free chicken on the grill with potato salad inside.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The quarterly championship tournament for our poker league occurred at 12:30 Saturday afternoon. We qualified for it, but we didn't go -- and we explained to our first opponent why.
"I keep a seventh-day Sabbath." So we went to a worship service, which happened to be within a mile of the tournament. Yet we could attend this Saturday night event, based on how the Bible indicates time is measured:
This "evening-morning" pattern continued for the first six days of creation. But interestingly, it is not mentioned when it comes to day seven....
Perhaps that's because the seventh-day Sabbath pictures a coming rest for this world, when Jesus returns to Earth. A "rest" from sin and strife, from Satanic influence and war -- one in which the Kingdom of God will extend into eternity.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left of us entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. -- Hebrews 4:1
Do you want a place in that eternal "rest area" -- and are you fearing God, so that He might let you in?
"On a Saturday?!?" another said with surprise. We'll explain their surprise in a moment -- but first to the game. Every Saturday night The Red Barn has a "heads-up" poker tournament for prize money. We wanted to escape Halloween keepers knocking at our door (since we don't keep Halloween), so this event was part of our strategy.
We knew how to approach the game from watching NBC's National Heads-Up Championship and playing one-on-one games at National League of Poker. Since this tournament had only 16 players, there were fewer hurdles to jump to win the first-place money.
We won our first match easily, with our opponent only winning one hand and splitting another. We won our second match, although it took a bit longer. Then came the semifinal, and a crafty opponent who we knew would be a challenge....
BLINDS: 100/200
IN THE POCKET: K-7 offsuit
We're dealing, which makes us the small blind in this format. We tend to play hands in this format unless desperation requires a tighter approach. So we call, but our opponent is in the lead and exploits it. He doubles the bet, and we call.
ON THE FLOP: A-K-7
Our opponent checks, and we're feeling good. After all, we hit two pair! A hand or two before, our opponent held two pair and tried to put us all-in (he showed the cards afterward) -- but we said no. Now it's time to return the favor.
"I'm all-in," we say. "23-skiddoo" -- as in 2,300 chips left. (The starting stack is 3,500, not counting food and drink purchases for bonus.)
Our foe stares at us for several seconds, as if he's pondering this carefully. At last he answers. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Well, yes -- we committed to it.
"I'll call," the opponent answers -- then turns over A-K. Ouch! We need a seven, or some odd combination to split the pot.
ON THE TURN: 8
Close, but no.
ON THE RIVER: 4
"I had you going, didn't I?" the winner says. He pulled an acting job on us, but no doubt knew all along he had us topped.
We had the right hand -- but we simply had bad timing. But we still made the semifinals in our first heads-up tournament. At the NBC event, two winning rounds would have earned us $25,000. At the Red Barn -- well, at least there was free chicken on the grill with potato salad inside.
MINISTRY MOMENT: The quarterly championship tournament for our poker league occurred at 12:30 Saturday afternoon. We qualified for it, but we didn't go -- and we explained to our first opponent why.
"I keep a seventh-day Sabbath." So we went to a worship service, which happened to be within a mile of the tournament. Yet we could attend this Saturday night event, based on how the Bible indicates time is measured:
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. -- Genesis 1:5 (all from KJV)
This "evening-morning" pattern continued for the first six days of creation. But interestingly, it is not mentioned when it comes to day seven....
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. -- Genesis 2:2
Perhaps that's because the seventh-day Sabbath pictures a coming rest for this world, when Jesus returns to Earth. A "rest" from sin and strife, from Satanic influence and war -- one in which the Kingdom of God will extend into eternity.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left of us entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. -- Hebrews 4:1
Do you want a place in that eternal "rest area" -- and are you fearing God, so that He might let you in?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Poker Night 202: Keep Them Guessing
Sometimes poker tables seem to have trends during a game. For instance, 8's seemed to turn up fairly often tonight at Lil Kim's Cove. But we spotted another trend, which had its benefits....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 10-10
We won an unlikely earlier pot with A-2, when a 2 on the flop was good enough to win. This is a better hand for action, so we raise to 250. About three other players choose to call.
ON THE FLOP: A-K-7
Two high cards make our "better hand" suddenly look worse. A man across the table bets 400. On other nights we would have assumed an obvious losing hand and folded, but we decide to hang tough and call.
ON THE TURN: 10
Patience pays off! But our memory is a little murky of what happened here; as we recall, our opponent bet 500 and we raise to 1,000. He calls; everyone else is out of the hand.
ON THE RIVER: A
A big hand for us -- but is there danger lurking? Our opponent throws out 2,500. Could he have A-7 for a top-floor full house? We don't take long to decide we ought to call.
"Do you have a full house?" we ask as we show ours. Thankfully no; he has A-Q, and three of a kind falls short.
"Trips" worked for us again on the next hand, as pocket 5's brought a third one on the flop. Two big wins increased our stack to 17,500 chips, and a couple of other wins gave us a high of 19,500. But things turned sour in the second hour of play, as hopeful chases fell short.
We were forced to go all-in after the two-hour break with 6-8, and the flop included 6-8! But this time we were "tripped up," as a woman who also pushed with 10-10 received a 10 on the flop for three of a kind. We came close to the final table, but finished in 12th place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "What's that thing on your cards?" a man asked at the start of the evening. We once again took our little bandage, and tried to explain it reminded us of how Jesus is a healer.
"I don't talk religion...." the questioner said. End of discussion there -- but let's pick it up here. When Jesus walked on Earth, He "healed many who had various diseases" (Mark 1:34). But when Christ died, the concept expanded greatly....
Our Savior endured scourging and crucifixion -- a process actually prophesied to happen centuries earlier (see Isaiah 53). As mystical and strange as it may sound, you can have spiritual healing as a result. The sins which condemn us all to death can lead ultimately to "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Will you accept that offer of healing -- one that in the long run is far better than any doctor can provide?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 202 nights (41.1%) - 15 cashes. We've missed the last table seven times in a row.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 83 point wins in 458 games (18.1%), 35 final tables, 2 cashes. Our latest final table came Sunday afternoon -- ninth place out of 593 players.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Full tournaments - two "top ten-percent" finish in 11 games (18.2%). Pretend cash games - $22,414, up $1,470.
We entered our first $500 "Nightly Freeroll" Wednesday night, in the North American Poker League. Out of 10,000 players, we finished 938th -- earning us a ticket to a "rookie division" tournament for money. Now all we have to do is figure out how to redeem it....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: 10-10
We won an unlikely earlier pot with A-2, when a 2 on the flop was good enough to win. This is a better hand for action, so we raise to 250. About three other players choose to call.
ON THE FLOP: A-K-7
Two high cards make our "better hand" suddenly look worse. A man across the table bets 400. On other nights we would have assumed an obvious losing hand and folded, but we decide to hang tough and call.
ON THE TURN: 10
Patience pays off! But our memory is a little murky of what happened here; as we recall, our opponent bet 500 and we raise to 1,000. He calls; everyone else is out of the hand.
ON THE RIVER: A
A big hand for us -- but is there danger lurking? Our opponent throws out 2,500. Could he have A-7 for a top-floor full house? We don't take long to decide we ought to call.
"Do you have a full house?" we ask as we show ours. Thankfully no; he has A-Q, and three of a kind falls short.
"Trips" worked for us again on the next hand, as pocket 5's brought a third one on the flop. Two big wins increased our stack to 17,500 chips, and a couple of other wins gave us a high of 19,500. But things turned sour in the second hour of play, as hopeful chases fell short.
We were forced to go all-in after the two-hour break with 6-8, and the flop included 6-8! But this time we were "tripped up," as a woman who also pushed with 10-10 received a 10 on the flop for three of a kind. We came close to the final table, but finished in 12th place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: "What's that thing on your cards?" a man asked at the start of the evening. We once again took our little bandage, and tried to explain it reminded us of how Jesus is a healer.
"I don't talk religion...." the questioner said. End of discussion there -- but let's pick it up here. When Jesus walked on Earth, He "healed many who had various diseases" (Mark 1:34). But when Christ died, the concept expanded greatly....
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. -- I Peter 2:24
Our Savior endured scourging and crucifixion -- a process actually prophesied to happen centuries earlier (see Isaiah 53). As mystical and strange as it may sound, you can have spiritual healing as a result. The sins which condemn us all to death can lead ultimately to "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Will you accept that offer of healing -- one that in the long run is far better than any doctor can provide?
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 202 nights (41.1%) - 15 cashes. We've missed the last table seven times in a row.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 83 point wins in 458 games (18.1%), 35 final tables, 2 cashes. Our latest final table came Sunday afternoon -- ninth place out of 593 players.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Full tournaments - two "top ten-percent" finish in 11 games (18.2%). Pretend cash games - $22,414, up $1,470.
We entered our first $500 "Nightly Freeroll" Wednesday night, in the North American Poker League. Out of 10,000 players, we finished 938th -- earning us a ticket to a "rookie division" tournament for money. Now all we have to do is figure out how to redeem it....
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Seat of the Scoffer
"SATAN!" was the online chat/cry at a PokerStars.Net pretend cash game Tuesday. Someone responded to a flop of 6-6-6 -- and that opened the door for us to have a fascinating discussion with two other players.
flopblogger: That's from Rev. 13 of the Bible, you know. [NOTE: actually verse 18]
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: who cares
flopblogger: Those of us who want to live forever care. :-)
Why should you care? Because a couple of chapters later, the apostle John writes these prophetic words:
Overcome that Satanic number (whatever it means, and that's admittedly open to question), and God will reward you with a harp -- and eternal life which goes with it. The conversation continued, with a third player joining in:
atlas91: good luck with that
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
flopblogger: It's not luck. It's Who you know.
ibgoho: Whats "the bible"?
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: ya rgt.u people crack me up
flopblogger: The Christian Scriptures.
ibgoho: Who are these "christians"?....
flopblogger: Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior.
The apostle John put it in clear terms, in another book of the Bible:
It then became clear that "Atlas" was a scoffer when it comes to God and Jesus, while "Ibgoho" was more of a mocker:
ibgoho: HA! Fools!
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
ibgoho: Jesus shaves?
flopblogger: That's Psalm 14:1.
Cardye: you having church at the poker table wow!!!
flopblogger: about fools.
flopblogger: Don't know if He shaved or not. :-)
We actually double-checked a Bible before writing that reference: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." Atlas apparently then lost it a bit, because he started writing like he was shouting:
atlas91: god was created bucuz somebodie knew man would do whatever with out consiqence.so fwlala GOD
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
ibgoho: Jesus approves of my winning ways
atlas91: THERE IS NO
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: ELSE....
atlas91: I TRUST IN PEOPLE NOT SOME FIGMENT OF UR IMAGINATION
flopblogger: And that Bible says God created us.
flopblogger: But people let you down, don't they?
The discussion eventually turned into the "chicken or egg" argument -- did God create humans, or vice versa? To be sure, all sorts of people-made gods have been around for millennia. But Christians believe the words passed on to Moses long ago:
The God of Judeo-Christian history has stood the test of time -- mainly because He invented it.
flopblogger: That's from Rev. 13 of the Bible, you know. [NOTE: actually verse 18]
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: who cares
flopblogger: Those of us who want to live forever care. :-)
Why should you care? Because a couple of chapters later, the apostle John writes these prophetic words:
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God.... -- Revelation 15:2
Overcome that Satanic number (whatever it means, and that's admittedly open to question), and God will reward you with a harp -- and eternal life which goes with it. The conversation continued, with a third player joining in:
atlas91: good luck with that
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
flopblogger: It's not luck. It's Who you know.
ibgoho: Whats "the bible"?
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: ya rgt.u people crack me up
flopblogger: The Christian Scriptures.
ibgoho: Who are these "christians"?....
flopblogger: Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior.
The apostle John put it in clear terms, in another book of the Bible:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.... -- I John 5:1
It then became clear that "Atlas" was a scoffer when it comes to God and Jesus, while "Ibgoho" was more of a mocker:
ibgoho: HA! Fools!
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
ibgoho: Jesus shaves?
flopblogger: That's Psalm 14:1.
Cardye: you having church at the poker table wow!!!
flopblogger: about fools.
flopblogger: Don't know if He shaved or not. :-)
We actually double-checked a Bible before writing that reference: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." Atlas apparently then lost it a bit, because he started writing like he was shouting:
atlas91: god was created bucuz somebodie knew man would do whatever with out consiqence.so fwlala GOD
Dealer: atlas91, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
ibgoho: Jesus approves of my winning ways
atlas91: THERE IS NO
Dealer: ibgoho, it's your turn. You have 8 seconds to act
atlas91: ELSE....
atlas91: I TRUST IN PEOPLE NOT SOME FIGMENT OF UR IMAGINATION
flopblogger: And that Bible says God created us.
flopblogger: But people let you down, don't they?
The discussion eventually turned into the "chicken or egg" argument -- did God create humans, or vice versa? To be sure, all sorts of people-made gods have been around for millennia. But Christians believe the words passed on to Moses long ago:
You shall have no other gods before me.... Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. -- Deuteronomy 5:7, 6:4
The God of Judeo-Christian history has stood the test of time -- mainly because He invented it.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October Senior Championship: Drip by Drip
We knew we'd be away at a church convention on the night of the National League of Poker September Senior Championship, so we didn't bother qualifying. But October's tournament found us back home, and resolved to do well....
:00 IN: We have A-10 right off the bat, and triple the bet to 90. But the flop is 9-7-6, and someone bets 140. We dare to call with overcards. The turn brings a Q, and we call a slowed-down bet of 30. Another 6 on the river brings a bet of 50. We hold our nose, call -- and take the pot with Ace high, for a quick gain of $525!
:02 IN: We have A-Q, change to a limp and call a doubled bet of 60. But a flop of 5-8-K brings two all-in bets. We "turn tail" and fold -- and are thankful when Kings take the pot.
:03 IN: Another Ace comes! We have A-2, and call a doubled bet again. The flop is 4-5-3 for a straight! Small bets ahead of us lead to our raising to 360. An opponent calls (all-in, we think) with 5-6. The turn is a 2, giving him a higher straight -- but thankfully the river is a 6! A straight on the table means a split pot.
:05 IN: We play 10-6 of clubs. The flop is 8-5-7, giving us an open-ended straight draw. After calling a minimum bet, the turn and river are 7-9. Our bet of 250 brings a fold, and we gain $630.
:07 IN: Strength again, with A-J! A player ahead of us raises to 200, so we call. The flop is J-8-8. We bet 100, putting an opponent all-in - and our two pair hold up for $654 more!
We doubled our starting stack in eight minutes -- but sadly, the tailspin began from there. Hopeful plays of Ace-small or suited cards brought failed flops and folds. We marveled at how 75 percent of our stack drained away, one hand at a time.
:51 IN: We have 9-10 in the small blind, having just folded A-2 to a raise. We're down to 508 chips, but dare to play this. The flop is an ugly 4-3-K. But the table checks. The turn is a 7, and more checking ensues. When the river is a 10, we cautiously bet 200 (about half our stack) - and our 10-9 tops an opponent's 10-6, for a $1,400 comeback!
But more draining followed with rising blinds, leading to another moment of truth....
1:02 IN: We have 7-7 in the big blind, and go for it -- pushing all-in with about 500 chips left. One player calls with A-8, so we're ahead.
ON THE FLOP: K-Q-10
Too high to be comfortable for us. A straight is waiting.
ON THE TURN: A
But top pair will do for our opponent.
ON THE RIVER: 6
We lose the race, and finish 169th out of 879 players.
MINISTRY MOMENT: When we made the $1,400 comeback, this short chat occurred....
This was refreshing -- because earlier in the day, we encountered a scoffer and a mocker at a play-money cash game. (More on that session in another post.) We actually expect skeptics when we play; that makes it more of a ministry, after all. But for "Tytiki" we'd say....
Do you want to become part of this brotherhood? Two other New Testament-era ministers explained how....
Honor King Jesus, more than any king you're dealt at the table.
:00 IN: We have A-10 right off the bat, and triple the bet to 90. But the flop is 9-7-6, and someone bets 140. We dare to call with overcards. The turn brings a Q, and we call a slowed-down bet of 30. Another 6 on the river brings a bet of 50. We hold our nose, call -- and take the pot with Ace high, for a quick gain of $525!
:02 IN: We have A-Q, change to a limp and call a doubled bet of 60. But a flop of 5-8-K brings two all-in bets. We "turn tail" and fold -- and are thankful when Kings take the pot.
:03 IN: Another Ace comes! We have A-2, and call a doubled bet again. The flop is 4-5-3 for a straight! Small bets ahead of us lead to our raising to 360. An opponent calls (all-in, we think) with 5-6. The turn is a 2, giving him a higher straight -- but thankfully the river is a 6! A straight on the table means a split pot.
:05 IN: We play 10-6 of clubs. The flop is 8-5-7, giving us an open-ended straight draw. After calling a minimum bet, the turn and river are 7-9. Our bet of 250 brings a fold, and we gain $630.
:07 IN: Strength again, with A-J! A player ahead of us raises to 200, so we call. The flop is J-8-8. We bet 100, putting an opponent all-in - and our two pair hold up for $654 more!
We doubled our starting stack in eight minutes -- but sadly, the tailspin began from there. Hopeful plays of Ace-small or suited cards brought failed flops and folds. We marveled at how 75 percent of our stack drained away, one hand at a time.
:51 IN: We have 9-10 in the small blind, having just folded A-2 to a raise. We're down to 508 chips, but dare to play this. The flop is an ugly 4-3-K. But the table checks. The turn is a 7, and more checking ensues. When the river is a 10, we cautiously bet 200 (about half our stack) - and our 10-9 tops an opponent's 10-6, for a $1,400 comeback!
But more draining followed with rising blinds, leading to another moment of truth....
1:02 IN: We have 7-7 in the big blind, and go for it -- pushing all-in with about 500 chips left. One player calls with A-8, so we're ahead.
ON THE FLOP: K-Q-10
Too high to be comfortable for us. A straight is waiting.
ON THE TURN: A
But top pair will do for our opponent.
ON THE RIVER: 6
We lose the race, and finish 169th out of 879 players.
MINISTRY MOMENT: When we made the $1,400 comeback, this short chat occurred....
Dealer: flopblogger wins Main Pot ($1400) with One pair, tens
Me: (whew) PTL
TYTIKI: amen
Me: Good to see believers here. :-)
TYTIKI: amen 2 that 2
This was refreshing -- because earlier in the day, we encountered a scoffer and a mocker at a play-money cash game. (More on that session in another post.) We actually expect skeptics when we play; that makes it more of a ministry, after all. But for "Tytiki" we'd say....
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. -- I Peter 2:17
Do you want to become part of this brotherhood? Two other New Testament-era ministers explained how....
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household." -- Acts 16:31
Honor King Jesus, more than any king you're dealt at the table.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Poker Night 201: Straight Downhill
One mistake can lead to a big disaster -- whether you're playing poker or living an everyday life. We made a sinful blunder first thing this morning, before sunrise. A series of failures followed throughout the day, perhaps as a result. So this hand at The Red Barn tonight probably shouldn't have been a surprise....
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-5 offsuit
We're getting promising cards, but they haven't been working out. An A-4 brought an Ace on the flop a few minutes ago, but an opponent's A-K topped us. Now we're in the big blind with about 3,650 chips. We're itching to make a move, but we choose to check when several other players simply call.
ON THE FLOP: J-7-5
We have bottom pair and lead betting position -- but it's not a good flop for betting, so we check. A man across the table bets 200. We call, as do a couple of others.
ON THE TURN: A
Now we have two pair, and sense a need to be aggressive with it. We bet 1,000. A man to our left calls. The player who raised before trades "reading you" stares with us, then decides to fold. We're now heads-up with the caller.
ON THE RIVER: 4
It's still two pair -- but now we sense the need to slow down. Did our opponent call on the turn with something like A-J? We're not sure, so we bet 500.
"Another 1,500," the opponent announces. Ouch -- we only have 1,825 left. But no potential flush is showing on the board, so we conclude this is a "scare-you-away" bluff. With not much hesitation, we call.
"Two pair?!" we say showing our cards.
"Straight!" our opponent says. He has 6-8, made an open-ended draw on the river -- and he had a big enough stack of chips to make a big hopeful call.
Summary: we think we played the hand properly considering the circumstances. Some people might have pushed all-in on the turn, and scared the table off the pot. But that's admittedly not our style, and bigger cards than a 5 were showing to make us more cautious.
That big loss left us with 325 -- and when we saw A-7 in the next hand as small blind, we went all-in. Of course, that didn't work either. The board brought a pair of Jacks, and a woman held a third one to take two players out on the same hand.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We emptied a box of bandages the other day, and spotted a straggler at the bottom -- a small one, which could be a perfect card protector.
"You brought that for good luck?" a man asked before the game.
"No. I brought that to remind me that Jesus can heal the sick." He can even heal sinful wounds you open, when you're careless. If this whole concept puzzles you, we'll explain in an upcoming post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 201 nights (41.3%) - 15 cashes.
BLINDS: 50/100
IN THE POCKET: A-5 offsuit
We're getting promising cards, but they haven't been working out. An A-4 brought an Ace on the flop a few minutes ago, but an opponent's A-K topped us. Now we're in the big blind with about 3,650 chips. We're itching to make a move, but we choose to check when several other players simply call.
ON THE FLOP: J-7-5
We have bottom pair and lead betting position -- but it's not a good flop for betting, so we check. A man across the table bets 200. We call, as do a couple of others.
ON THE TURN: A
Now we have two pair, and sense a need to be aggressive with it. We bet 1,000. A man to our left calls. The player who raised before trades "reading you" stares with us, then decides to fold. We're now heads-up with the caller.
ON THE RIVER: 4
It's still two pair -- but now we sense the need to slow down. Did our opponent call on the turn with something like A-J? We're not sure, so we bet 500.
"Another 1,500," the opponent announces. Ouch -- we only have 1,825 left. But no potential flush is showing on the board, so we conclude this is a "scare-you-away" bluff. With not much hesitation, we call.
"Two pair?!" we say showing our cards.
"Straight!" our opponent says. He has 6-8, made an open-ended draw on the river -- and he had a big enough stack of chips to make a big hopeful call.
Summary: we think we played the hand properly considering the circumstances. Some people might have pushed all-in on the turn, and scared the table off the pot. But that's admittedly not our style, and bigger cards than a 5 were showing to make us more cautious.
That big loss left us with 325 -- and when we saw A-7 in the next hand as small blind, we went all-in. Of course, that didn't work either. The board brought a pair of Jacks, and a woman held a third one to take two players out on the same hand.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We emptied a box of bandages the other day, and spotted a straggler at the bottom -- a small one, which could be a perfect card protector."You brought that for good luck?" a man asked before the game.
"No. I brought that to remind me that Jesus can heal the sick." He can even heal sinful wounds you open, when you're careless. If this whole concept puzzles you, we'll explain in an upcoming post.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 83 final tables in 201 nights (41.3%) - 15 cashes.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Poker Stars Freeroll: Outdeuced
Only 39,581 people stood in the way of our winning $20,000 tonight, in the Poker Stars.Net "Million Dollar Challenge" freeroll (based on the TV show). And things looked hopeful early....
:10 IN: We have J-8 of spades. A spade flush comes on the river, and we win a $960 pot.
:15 IN: We have K-9 of clubs. The flop is A-Q-10. Players check. The turn is J, and we call a lead player's bet of 400. The river is a 6, and the opponent bets $2,300 with three diamonds showing. We dare to call, and he has nothing! Our stack jumps to $6,735.
:29 IN: We have 7-3 of hearts. The flop is 2-2-A (with one heart, as we recall), and players check. The turn is a 3, giving us two pair. We call a fair-sized bet. The river is a 2, giving us a full house. An opponent bets $1,000. We call, skeptical of a bluff -- but the opponent has a 2, and hit quads! Our stack falls back to the $3,300 range.
:41 IN: Having been outmuscled with rising blinds when good pocket cards missed the flop, we push all-in with J-10 for $896. A player calls with 5-5.
ON THE FLOP: K-4-2
We're losing the race, but have over-cards.
ON THE TURN: 8
So much for straight chances....
ON THE RIVER: 7
The small pair wins the race, and we finish in 17,686th place. Another "top-half" finish, like two weeks ago -- but leaving us wanting more.
:10 IN: We have J-8 of spades. A spade flush comes on the river, and we win a $960 pot.
:15 IN: We have K-9 of clubs. The flop is A-Q-10. Players check. The turn is J, and we call a lead player's bet of 400. The river is a 6, and the opponent bets $2,300 with three diamonds showing. We dare to call, and he has nothing! Our stack jumps to $6,735.
:29 IN: We have 7-3 of hearts. The flop is 2-2-A (with one heart, as we recall), and players check. The turn is a 3, giving us two pair. We call a fair-sized bet. The river is a 2, giving us a full house. An opponent bets $1,000. We call, skeptical of a bluff -- but the opponent has a 2, and hit quads! Our stack falls back to the $3,300 range.
:41 IN: Having been outmuscled with rising blinds when good pocket cards missed the flop, we push all-in with J-10 for $896. A player calls with 5-5.
ON THE FLOP: K-4-2
We're losing the race, but have over-cards.
ON THE TURN: 8
So much for straight chances....
ON THE RIVER: 7
The small pair wins the race, and we finish in 17,686th place. Another "top-half" finish, like two weeks ago -- but leaving us wanting more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
