July Senior Championship: Plan A, All the Way?

We had a "Plan A" and "Plan B" for playing poker tonight.  Lil Kim's Cove had a live tournament on Tuesday again -- but that was plan B.  The monthly National League of Poker Senior Championship began 30 minutes earlier.  An early bust at our computer meant we could walk to the live game.  A big night online would mean a live postponement until Wednesday night.  Which would it be?

:01 IN: We have 6-7 of diamonds.  The flop is 3-4-3 (no diamonds).  The table checks.  The turn is 10.  We call a minimum bet of 30, with a straight draw.  The river is Q.  We miss.  Our opponent checks.  So do we - and he has A-10.  A modest loss.

:05 IN: We have A-10 of spades in the Big Blind, and call a doubling of the blind.  The flop is 5s-Ax-7x.  We bet 60; our opponent raises to 400.  We dare to call.  The turn is 6 (not a spade) - and we've never felt more trapped at a poker table.  We know our opponent is going to go all-in, but there's nothing we can do about it and we don't consider this an "all-in" hand.  We check.  He pushes.  We fold, concluding he has something like A-K or two pair.

:20 IN: We've waited 15 minutes to play a hand since that ugly moment.  Now we have J-8 under the gun, fold it -- and J-J-8 appears on the board.  We miss a full house.

:24 IN: We're moved to a different table, and have A-Q of spades under the gun.  We choose to limp in; no one raises.  The flop is 8x-7x-4s.  Everyone checks.  The turn is 9s.  We call a minimum bet of 100, hoping for the best.  The river is Qh -- but that's still top pair.  So when other players check, we go all-in for 265.  They thankfully fold, and we recover to 1,065.

:29 IN: Right before the break, we have 8-8 with the button.  The flop is 3-5-6; everyone checks.  The turn is K.  Everyone checks again.  The river is 7.  Everyone checks again -- and the 8's are good enough!  We win $550.

That gives us $1,265 at the first break -- good for 202nd out of 357 remaining players.  We're thankful for a timely rally.

:35 IN: We have Q-Q, double the blind -- and a player goes all-in for 640 more.  We call, and face A-K of clubs.  But the board brings 6-7-7-9-8 with few clubs!  It's a $1,780 win.

:38 IN: We give 10-4 of clubs a whirl.  The flop is 10s-6s-Ac.  We bet the minimum 150, and get a caller.  The turn is 5s.  Everyone checks.  The river is 10d, giving us three of a kind.  We make a massive (for us) 1,000 bet.  Our opponent folds, and have a total gain of $1,750.

:45 IN: We have 7-10 in the Small Blind, and decide to try it.  The Big Blind goes all-in, with only 75 more chips, and we call.  The flop is 7-4-8.  We bet the minimum 200 with middle pair, and call when an opponent doubles it.  The turn is 9, and that opponent goes all-in for about 105 more.  We quickly call -- which honestly was a mistake, since he showed 9-K.  But the river is J, giving us a winning straight!  Two players get tossed, as we win $2,045.

Not much comes after that, so we reach the one-hour break at $2,890.  We're 86th, with 146 players left -- and Lil Kim's Cove looks very unlikely.

1:08 IN: We return from the break with A-8 of diamonds.  A player goes all-in; we fold -- and that player steals the pot with K-K, because a winning Ace (for us) appears on the flop.

1:17 IN: We have 8-A of spades in the Big Blind.  The flop is a dream-come-true: A-A-8!  Other players in the hand have been quick to bet, so we check.  They don't.  The turn is J.  Now someone bets the minimum 400; we raise to 800 and two players call.  The river is 6.  We go all-in for 1,115  -- and a bit to our disappointment, the opponents fold.  We gain $3,165, never show the full house we hit, and forget about Lil Kim's for the night.

1:24 IN: After a failed straight draw chase with K-10, we have 10-10.  The flop is 3-8-K -- and with the advantage of button position, we respond to checks by betting the minimum 600.  The table runs away, and we win $3,375.

We win two pots in the third period, but rising blinds and antes eat away at them.  The break finds us exactly where we were before: $2,890.  With only 60 players left, we're 51st.  What happens next?  The answer's ahead, but first....


MINISTRY MOMENT: We were moved during the third period to a table where someone had been eliminated moments before by "JudisChips."  We join the chat in progress:


Inda:  lucky judas, read the Book of Judas

We didn't realize Inda was out, so we typed a response....


Me:  Psst Inda - there's
Me:  no book of Judas
Dealer:  johns1938 wins Side Pot 1 ($8020) with Two pair, queens and jacks
Me:  in the Bible

No one responded to our comment, so we don't know if we gave anyone a quick Scripture lesson or not.  But assuming Inda meant what she wrote, it's an example of how many people think things are in the Bible when they're really not.  Let's look at one example, which many poker players can appreciate....

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. - I Timothy 6:10

Read that verse carefully, and note the wording.  It does not say "money is the root of all evil."  For one thing, Paul wrote "the love of money."  After all, he also wrote....

Commend those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. - I Timothy 6:17

God provides the blessing of wealth in the first place -- so Paul's point is to put God first in planning for the future, especially beyond this life.

Note also Paul did not say "the love of money is the root of all evil."  It's a root, but not the only one.  For instance....

But no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. - James 3:8

Regular Bible study will help you learn what God considers good and evil.  You might also learn what are the real 66 books of Scripture.

Now back to the tournament drama, with seven tables left:

1:42 IN: We have 8-A of hearts with the blinds at 600/1,200.  After pondering it, we get in -- but the flop is 4-9-J with no hearts.  When a player bets 3,540, we have no choice but to fold.

1:44 IN: The next hand brings 3-A -- and we decide with blinds approaching, we have little choice.  We go all-in for 1,315.  The flop is 3-5-8.  The turn is 9.  The river is Q.  Another player who pushed with Q-4 wins the main pot, and our great adventure is over.

Out of 1,067 entries in the Senior Championship, we finished 53th -- our best finish in this event in more than a year.  We would have made money in both big NLOP monthly tournaments this month, had we been in a real poker room or casino.  Now if we can carry that over to the live games we really play....

Poker Night 335: Unsynchronized Diving

"Nickelodeon?!?!" a man asked the Tournament Director at The Red Barn tonight.

Yes, sure enough -- one of the big-screen TV's was showing "Nick at Nite" programs, instead of the Olympics.  We tried to explain it was good family programming for a "family game" of poker.  But the channel was changed to MMA bouts on Fox Sports Net.  That's just as well -- we were there to be Victorious at the table, no matter how attractively distracting its star might be.

BLINDS: 50/100

IN THE POCKET: K-Q offsuit

The first couple of hands ended with small losses for us, so we're "under the gun" at about 6,200 chips.  We decide to limp in with face cards, and no one raises; most of the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: Q-4-4

Two pair on the flop?  That looks nice to us - and would anyone really be playing a 4?  So when the play checks to us, we bet 250.  Trouble is, a man across the table raises by adding 1,000.  A couple of players call before our turn comes around again.  This smells like a bluff to us, so we call.

ON THE TURN: 9

That card doesn't seem too harmful, but we decide to "check to the raiser."  That man shows he means business, by tossing out 2,000.

"Get out of my pot, man," he says as a player folds.  But we're still not persuaded.  If he has a Queen, our King kicker is pretty strong.  Our best guess has him holding something like A-K -- so we dare to call.  Three players stay in for....

ON THE RIVER: 10

A Queen would have made us feel a lot better.  But this card is still lower than ours.  We check again.

"Five-thousand," the big bettor announces.  Ouch -- we only have 2,100 chips left.

"Do you have trips?" the player between us asks.

"Yup, I've got trips," is the answer.  But this is poker, so is he giving the correct answer?  The player in the middle doesn't think so; he calls.  But we're now having regrets.

"I've committed a lot to this hand," we say while thinking out loud.  "But you called," we say to the other player, "so I'll fold."

Good decision -- as the big bettor turns over a Jack, and then the third 4.  Yes, he had three of a kind.  He wins a huge pot, and we take a huge loss.

We recovered several minutes when we had 5-5, and a third 5 came on the flop.  We pushed all-in and improved to 4,800.  But other hands went badly after that, as chases in hopes of something big failed.  Forced to go all-in with A-4 in the Small Blind, another man made a full house to eliminate us.  No big comebacks came tonight, as we finished sixth at a table of eight.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The first woman to drop out at our table actually dropped out twice.  She apparently was playing in her first tournament, and she ignored that big bettor's warning to fold when he made a flush with hearts on the flop.  Her K-7 with the wrong suit was dominated -- but the winner did her a favor, and refunded about 2,500 chips so she could keep playing.

This is another example of some poker players having "hearts of gold."  In some casino tournaments, "second chance" buy-ins are allowed for a short period of time.  If you go bust early, you can enter again.  But is life really like that?  It's truly an eternal question....

If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. - Job 14:14

The man who said this received an amazing second chance.  With God's permission, Satan stripped Job of practically everything he had (Job 1:6-2:7).  By the end of the book, God gave him even more blessings (42:12-13) -- but we don't think that's the "renewal" Job is describing here.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:27-28

The Bible shows death is not the end.  For believers in Jesus, salvation will occur at His second coming.  As for the rest....

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

We don't know exactly how, but God is keeping score of everything everyone does.  Jesus will pass judgment on that score at a resurrection of the dead.

If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:15

That "book of life" sounds very valuable.  If your name is there, you can escape the "second death" described in verse 14.  So how can your name get there?  That's a topic for a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 119 final tables in 335 nights (35.5%) - 19 cashes.

For Bettors, For Best

We've been so busy with local poker topics that we haven't mentioned the World Series of Poker Main Event.  The field is down to a final nine -- but this year it will be an October Nine.  The final table drama has been moved up, to avoid a conflict with the U.S. Presidential election.

How curious, considering President Obama made a couple of campaign stops this month with signs saying he's "Betting on America."  How many customers of online poker sites laughed out loud when they saw that -- considering the U.S. Justice Department shut down several sites on "Black Friday" 2011?!

We were not the only ones who were curious about this.  One public radio program called in a language expert, who said the President is trying to show he has confidence in U.S. workers to succeed.

This led us to ponder -- isn't a vote for a Presidential candidate (or for any other political office) a "bet" of sorts?  Voters hope candidate A will do better than candidate B, when it comes to any number of issues.  If he or she does, you might stick with that strategy when the next "bet" comes in two or four years.  If he or she doesn't, you might move the chips around or try a different approach.

We're not endorsing any candidates for office here.  Not any human candidate, that is.  Instead, we recommend a sure bet offered by the Bible....

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants like flies.  But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. - Isaiah 51:6

This verse has both scary words and comforting words.  The things around us are going to disappear?!  Yes - and it's not simply an Old Testament warning:

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. - I John 2:17

Doing God's will leads to salvation -- and eternal life in what Revelation 21 calls a "new heaven and new earth."  And the Bible further claims....

The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. - Psalm 145:13b

Campaign promises made by humans tend to fall short.  God says His promises won't.  Which candidate would you rather trust?


P.S.  Considering eight of the nine Main Event players are U.S. residents, do you think any will wear campaign buttons to the final table?

Lessons From a Frog

It's a rare day when a fellow poker player offers a suggestion for this blog.  So we thank a woman named Laura for telling us about a meditation she did recently -- not on poker, but on frogs.

"Frogs are small and pretty helpless," she explained.  They also spend a lot of time each day sitting on lily pads.  So she concluded the letters in "frog" can teach us all a lesson - to "Fully Rely On God."


Frogs actually are mentioned in the Bible a few times, and not in the nicest ways....

The the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.  If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.  The Nile will teem with frogs....'" - Exodus 8:1-3

Frogs?!  Why a plague of frogs?  Some Bible scholars say Egyptians worshiped a "frog god," believing it helped women during childbirth.  So the real God was making a point here....

He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.  They performed his miraculous signs among them.... Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. - Psalm 105:26-30

The Israelites' God showed He was true, by controlling the "frog god" which was false.  But believe it or not, that false god could make a comeback.

Then I saw three evil spirits which looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  They are spirits of demons, performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. - Revelation 16:13-14

These "frogs" (or whatever they really are) apparently will be far from small and helpless.  They'll organize world leaders to gather at Armageddon (verse 16) -- but chapters 17-19 indicate Jesus will return to Earth and smite many of them.

Bottom line: yes, we recommend Laura's advice.  Fully rely on God - even when you're playing poker.  And have nothing to do with green hopping lookalikes.

July Poker Studs Championship: Three-Quarter Time

Lil Kim's Cove still is in a Tuesday night poker mood, instead of Thursday.  So in other weeks, we would have traveled to Soho Bar and Grill for Wednesday night action -- but not this week.  We qualified weeks ago for the National League of Poker's monthly "Poker Studs" tournament.  We saved on gas and didn't have to pay for soda -- but could we turn a profit?

:01 IN: We have 8-9 offsuit, but we notice a lot of "instant folding" at our table.  So with a flop of 6-3-3, we bet the minimum 30 -- and apparently due to absences, the table folds!  We win $105, and wind up taking three more small pots that way in the next three minutes.

:05 IN: We have K-10 on the button, and our main rival at the table doubles the blind.  We call.  The flop is 6-5-K.  We bet 100, and he calls.  The flop is Q.  We both check.  The river is 3, and our bet of 100 brings a fold.  We win $435.

:10 IN: We have 7-6 of diamonds.  The flop is 5x-7x-Qd.  We bet the minimum 40, and call a doubling by an opponent.  The turn is 9 (not a diamond).  We both check.  The river is 3.  We both check - and our 7's beat A-5!  It's a $380 gain.

:20 IN: After splitting a pot with K-A, we have K-Q of spades "under the gun."  A player goes all-in for 655, and we dare to call along with another player.  The flop is Jx-3x-4s.  Our opponent bets 180, and we reluctantly fold.  Too bad; the turn is Q, and our pair of Queens would have topped the 9-9 and 4-5 the others have.  That costs us about half our stack.

:25 IN: We have 3-4 of spades, realizing we need a comeback.  Playing them gets rewarded with a flop of 3-4-7.  We go all-in for 400, and the table folds!

That brings us to the half-hour break at 1,100 chips -- above the starting 1,000, and putting us in 206th place.  There are 306 players still in the running.

:39 IN: We have 3-5 of diamonds in the Small Blind, and choose to try them.  The flop is 6-K-4.  The table checks, to our joy.  The turn is 5 -- and with our pair, we bet the minimum 150.  The table folds, for a $900 win.

Not much else happens for us in the second period, so we reach the one-hour break with only 700 chips.  We're still in the tournament, but barely -- 118th out of 126 players.  But then....

1:08 IN: We come out of the break with A-Q, and decide to push immediately for 675 (subtracting an ante of 25).  A caller shows A-3!  The flop is 8-Q-10.  The turn is 2.  The river is 8.  We practically "triple up" again, to $2,050.

1:11 IN: We have Q-K of clubs in the Big Blind.  The flop is 10-2-K.  We bet 500, and get two callers.  The turn is 3.  The table checks.  The river is 7.  An opponent goes all-in; we dare to call -- and the opponents can't beat our Kings!  (They have 10-J and A-J.)  We eliminate one player, and seize a pot of $5,255.

1:15 IN: We have A-8 on the button.  The flop is 2-5-A, and our minimum bet of 400 brings a caller.  The turn is K.  Everyone checks.  The river is 3.  We bet 600 - and our opponent folds!  It's a pot of $3,850, putting our stack above 7,400.

1:27 IN: We have A-K in the Small Blind, and decide to limp in.  The flop is 3-J-8.  An opponent bets the minimum 600, and we call.  The turn is 5; everyone checks.  The river is 9.  We dare to bet 600 with two top "overcards," and our opponent folds!  It's a win of $4,875; now our stack is above 8,100.

1:29 IN: The next hand brings us K-K on the button!  An opponent goes all-in for 1,670; we call along with one other player.  The flop is 4-6-7.  Our bet of 1,600 chases the other player off.  The pusher then shows K-10 - and he's gone, after the turn and river are 3-6.  The pot is worth $6,410.

1:30 IN: The very next hand brings us A-K again!  An opponent bets 2,100; of course we call - but he shows 7-7.  The flop is 9-9-Q.  The turn is Q.  The river is J -- and the two pair on the board plus our Ace wins us the $6,300 pot!  We score a "three-hand slam," improving our stack to $16,870.

1:37 IN: We have 9-9 in the Big Blind.  An opponent goes all-in for 406 more.  Sure we call -- and lead his 3-K.  The flop is 2-2-A.  The turn is 10.  The river is.... K.  Ouch, so close to another one!

But that electrifying third period brings us to another break with $12,410 - a gain of 1,773 percent from 30 minutes earlier!  With only 51 players left, we sit in 16th.

1:42 IN: We return from the break with K-7 in the Small Blind.  The flop is 2-4-J, all spades -- and our King is a spade.  The table checks.  The turn is 9c.  The table checks again.  The river is 5c.  We try a minimum bet of 1,200, and wind up with a sidepot of $2,612.  (A player who pushed pre-flop takes the main pot with 9-K.)

1:48 IN: We have J-10 offsuit, and decide to "play it safe" by folding.  Bad move -- as the flop and turn bring 10-K-10-K.  The players still in the hand had nothing close to our potential full house.

1:52 IN: We have K-K on the button, as our stack drops from rising blinds and antes.  When our turn comes, we go all-in for $6,872.  A player calls with A-K.  The flop is J-5-2.  The turn is J.  The river is.... Ace!  Ouch, does that hurt.  Our opponent claims a $12,904 pot -- and suddenly we're down to $1,670.

1:55 IN: We have Q-Q, and realize we have little choice.  We go all-in for 1,520, and a second player pushes with us.  The flop is 9-J-5.  The turn is 7.  The river is 6 -- but that other pusher has 9-5!  He claims the main pot.  We take a side pot worth a grand total of $24.  "Nice consolation prize," we write on the chat line.

1:56 IN: The antes force us to put those $24 in with the very next hand.  We have A-J, so there's hope -- and our only opponent has K-6.  But the flop is 6-7-3.  The turn is 6.  "Of course," we write as the river is 7.  We're finally eliminated to an unlikely full house.

We're convinced we played the last four hands exactly right; the cards simply didn't come out right for us.  Yet 31st is our best finish ever in the "Stud of the Month" contest.  And with 861 entries in this tournament, we would have been rewarded with a nice check at a casino.  sadly, the NLOP tournament only paid off the final table of 10.

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 253 point wins in 1,064 games (23.8%), 78 final tables, 7 cashes plus 3 other wins. No-River Hold 'em- 7 point wins in 40 games (17.5%), 6 final tables, 1 cash win.

POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $79,880 (corrected), down $2,047. (We missed $200 somewhere.)

After the Storm

Professional poker players are known for keeping their cool during a game.  But of course, the ones who don't make for "great television" -- in the same way outlandish actions are more likely to appear on the evening news than ordinary trips to dinner.

The shouting match at our poker table this week over a misdealt card didn't have to happen.  Several people could have handled things much better. For instance....


1. The woman who lost the big hand vented all the way across the table at the dealer.  Jesus taught a better approach:

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. - Matthew 18:15

Jesus went on to add a second step you should take, before getting everyone else (in His example "the church") involved -- getting "one or two others" to hear the dispute (verses 16-17).


2. The dealer verbally apologized.  That's good.  But he did it on the loudness level of the complainer, almost trying to shout her down.  That's not so good.

A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. - Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)

In this case, the upset woman probably never would have heard a quiet apology which interrupted her.  So our approach probably would have been to let the woman speak her piece -- and apologize quietly once she was finished.


3.  The Tournament Director heard the argument -- but when he walked over, he told everyone involved to settle it among themselves.  We're not sure if he had anything better to do, but he missed an opportunity:

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. - Romans 14:19

Or as Jesus put it: "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9).  Many approaches could have been used to bring peace to this argument.  Perhaps he could have let each party speak their piece uninterrupted, then offering guidance.  (If you have a better idea, please leave a comment.)


Someone noted to us during a break this shouting match occurred in a "free poker" game.  Yes, first-place prize money was at stake -- but nowhere close to the millions of dollars at the World Series of Poker Main Event.  So was the loud argument really worth it?  The Bible offers a much better idea:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4:31-32

P.S. Neither party in the argument made it to the final table.  We did -- along with a woman who admitted she intentionally walked away from the table during the spat so she wouldn't have her "blood boil."  Is there a lesson there for all of us?

Poker Night 334: The Ways of Escape

"I need a second-hour rally," we said to ourselves after the first hour of play Monday night at The Red Barn. Nothing seemed to be working for us.  Pocket 8's in the Big Blind were overpowered on the flop.  A-3 looked promising when the flop brought an Ace, but a woman stayed in with 6-9 and made two pair at the river.  The hour ended with us holding a meager 1,850 chips.

We didn't think of our self-talk as a prayer -- but maybe it was, because things started happening for us in the second hour.  First we dealt ourselves A-Q, and a successful push advanced us to 5,000.  Then we moved to a different table, and this happened....

BLINDS: 1,000/2,000

IN THE POCKET: 5-8 of spades

Ugh -- this isn't the sort of hand you want for a desperation all-in bet.  But we're in the Big Blind, and we have no choice.  We're forced to go all-in for our last 2,000, sight unseen with these cards.  Several players around us call.

ON THE FLOP: 8-4-2 (suits don't matter)

Hmmm -- maybe there's hope for us yet.  The table checks to the dealer.  But then he makes a massive bet in the 10,000 range.  Everyone else folds, a couple expressing frustration as they do.  No complaints from us, though....

"Well, you gave me top pair," we say as we show our cards.

The dealer almost ashamedly turns over K-7!  He made a massive bluff, and may have done us a big favor.

ON THE TURN: 5

Wow - a second pair!  If we can avoid a straight....

ON THE RIVER: Q (as best we recall)

A couple of men gripe at the dealer, about running them off winning hands.  "We were trying to take him out," complains one man -- and he does not mean a late-night dinner after the tournament.

"Thank you very much," we say as we drag in a 12,000-chip blessing.

Several hands later, A-9 brought a 9 on the turn -- good enough to advance us to 24,000.  Then in the third hour, A-3 looked beaten when a man had a pocket pair and two Queens were on the board.  But an Ace landed on the river, to keep us alive again!

After a divided pot where we were forced to play 2-2 in the Big Blind and a third 2 arrived on the flop, we survived to the final table.  But our run ended there, as 10-4 in the Big Blind failed to bring a pair for us.  A double-takeout ended our evening with an eighth-place tie -- and also thanks to God for helping us escape defeat at least five times.

In fact, a song on Christian radio as we drove home expressed our mood very well: sometimes "miracles just happen."  (But for believers in God, should there really be any "just" about it?)

MINISTRY MOMENT: A fierce argument developed in the first hour, over a hand where the dealer turned over a card too soon and apparently cost a woman a big hand.  We had folded our cards and didn't really pay close attention.  But the woman went to the Tournament Director to say something, then returned with a loud voice to berate the dealer for his error.

"I apologize," the dealer said several times with equal loudness.  "Nobody is [insert expletives here] perfect!"

We bowed our head at our seat and let other players calm things down; one man stood and took charge right away to cool the tension.  Several players reminded the woman everyone can make mistakes when dealing cards.  They're correct, of course.  All of us are human.  For those who might disagree....

If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. - I John 1:8 (CEV)

In fact, when the complaining woman's turn as Dealer came, she tried to send cards to an open seat for a moment.  A quiet word of correction resolved that.  No one "rubbed it in" (well, at least not to her face).  How easy it is to see the faults of others, instead of focusing and working on our own....

You're nothing but show-offs!  First, take the log out of your own eye.  Then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend's eye. - Matthew 7:5 (CEV)

There's much more that we can say about this situation -- but we're posting late at night, so we'll share more in an upcoming post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 119 final tables in 334 nights (35.6%) - 19 cashes.