Language Foul?

It wouldn't be World Series of Poker season without a little controversy - right?  And there's one posted today, from a H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

It involves two players fluent in Russian, who spoke Russian to each other during a hand.  They were both out of the hand at the time.  Many poker rooms in the U.S. have "English-only" rules for tables.  But in this case, a WSOP official ruled the players could speak in Russian "on the side" because they were out of the hand.

The video report we saw didn't reveal what the players discussed in Russian.  It could have been President Vladimir Putin's pending divorce.  But it could have been poker strategy -- so we can understand why others at the table would be annoyed by what they did.

Perhaps the WSOP might consider applying some guidance from the Bible:

If anyone speaks in a tongue, two - or at the most three - should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. - I Corinthians 14:27

Why would the apostle Paul bring up this issue?  Because some early churches had people who spoke in different languages.  Even modern churches have this; you may know of congregations which have separate weekend services in English, Spanish, Korean or some other dialect.

Paul's instruction is that when everyone gathers together, the emphasis should be on unity....

What then shall we say, brothers?  When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or interpretation.  All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. - I Corinthians 14:26

By having one "official language" during a service, everyone can understand what's said.  That way, everyone can profit from it.  We think the same principle can apply at a poker table.  There's no question about what others are doing or discussing if everyone speaks the same language - and if players need assistance in speaking English, an interpreter can help.

We're interested in your comments about this issue.  In the meantime, feliz jugando.  (Spanish for "happy playing.")

Gifted and Rewarded

A recent post looked at what can happen when players show up late for poker tournaments, and what our attitude should be about that.  We based our thinking on a parable of Jesus.  The parable ends with these famous words:

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. - Matthew 20:16

Sometimes the first person to show up for a poker tournament winds up in last place -- as the first person eliminated.  Then there are the latecomers who adjust their game to higher blinds, take over a table and go on to great success.

But as we mentioned before, Jesus's parable is about more than Texas Hold 'em tournaments.  It's about the process of bringing people to salvation -- an eternal relationship with God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

Some people accepted Jesus as their Savior during their teenage years.  Some did it during a "deathbed confession" in old age.  Both will be entitled to the same "gift" of eternal life.  The longtime believer won't live any longer than the latecomer.  After all, eternal life is eternal - without end for all time.

So what's the advantage of "showing up early" in the game of believing?  The Bible hints at an answer....

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. - Matthew 16:27

What will that reward be?  That answer isn't clear.  Another parable of Jesus indicates the reward will be based on how much we've done for Him in the time that we have (Luke 19:11-27).  The more time you have, the more "profit" you can build.

So if you've never accepted Jesus, we recommend you do so quickly -- before the years of life "blind you out" and eliminate that opportunity.  And if you have accepted Him, get into the practice of sharing Him with others.  It could be by words or a quiet example -- but either way, work on building up that spiritual chip stack.

The Price to Pay

We return to our recent chat during a National League of Poker tournament.  The discussion delved into matters of the Holy Spirit -- and then came this:

kingkupkake: 　repentence isnt cheap
Me: 　True.
Me: 　It cost Jesus His life.
kingkupkake: 　poker witness lol
Me: 　amen
We don't recall exactly what happened at the table to bring up repentance -- but it's something we all need to do.

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  "The time has come," he said.  "The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news!" - Mark 1:14-15

Jesus gave us two things to do.  Believing the "good news" (called the "gospel" in other translations) sounds rather easy.  Repenting sounds a little scary.  Yet Jesus also said....

....But unless you repent, you too will all perish. - Luke 13:3, 5

What does it mean to repent?  A study Bible we have offers this definition: "Make a radical change in one's life as a whole."  Our lives tend to be sinful.  But Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins.

But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.... - Acts 3:18-19

Some ministers say you should radically change away from playing poker.  We wouldn't go that far -- but we should repent of harmful destructive things often associated with poker.  Addictions such as smoking, drinking and gambling come to mind.  So do the points listed in God's Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5).

Look over your own life carefully.  Are there things you regret doing or saying?  Is it time to confess them before God - and then walk in a repenting way, instead of simply talking about it?

Poker Day 406: Toss Across

A newcomer at a poker room has a bit of an advantage, because no one else knows how they play.  That may have helped us on our first trip to Arrowhead Poker two weeks ago.  But the disadvantage is that we don't know how others play. Let's see if the tables turned on us today....

BLINDS: 100/200

IN THE POCKET: King of hearts - Queen of hearts

Early feelers haven't worked for us; in one case we folded 8-8 to a big bet on the flop and missed a winning 8 on the river.  Now we have great-looking suited connectors, and a man ahead of us at our table of seven has raised to 700.  We're happy to lay low and call; about half the table is in.

ON THE FLOP: Q-10-4 (no hearts; last card may not be precise)

Top pair and a strong kicker give us hope.  But an older gentleman across from us seems even more optimistic; he tosses out 2,000 without a care.  We're puzzled by what he has (two pair, maybe?!) - but we feel strong enough to call.

"If you called, I'm folding," a man next in line from us.  He was one of the dealers on our last trip to Arrowhead, and will reveal later in the game that we "play tight."  Doesn't he realize loose lips can sink ships -- such as ours?

ON THE TURN: 9

We're now heads-up against the older man, and he tosses out 2,000 more.  This actually makes us more skeptical about what he has -- now thinking he has a Queen only.  So we call again.

ON THE RIVER: A

Without hesitation, our opponent flips out his last pink 5,000 chip to go all-in.  He's been tossing chips like coins into a fountain -- but that Ace was absolutely the last thing we wanted to see.  So we take a moment to think about this.

"If you've got an Ace..." we finally say.  He says nothing.  We conclude (admittedly more out of hope than a read) that he missed some kind of flush draw.  "I'll call."

Sure enough -- our opponent flips over A-J.  He chased a winning hand to the river and won it, throwing up big bluffs along the way.

We never recovered from that big loss -- finally going all in for our last 2,500 with our own A-J amid rising blinds.  Another man went all-in for even more, then showed A-K.  The board paired, but his King kicker was better.  On a day with only two tables playing, we missed the final one by finishing 13th.

MINISTRY MOMENT: The pre-game talk turned to a penny someone had picked up along the way.  What, if anything, made it a "lucky penny"?  Someone said it had to be face-up.  This was news to us.

"All I know," we told a man next to us, "is if you find ten pennies, you tithe on one of them."

Are you familiar with a "tithe"?  The word means a tenth, and it's often used in church-speak.

A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. - Leviticus 27:30

These instructions to ancient Israel were for an agricultural society.  It's different from an "ante" in poker, where everyone contributes the same amount of chips pre-flop.  The amount of the tithe depended on how much of a crop people produced.

The tithe was given to he Levites, who served as ministers -- then national leader Moses passed along a "tenth of that tithe" to Aaron the priest (Numbers 18:21-28).  We suppose poker rooms work somewhat the same way; a certain amount from buy-ins is set aside for covering the room's expenses and salaries.

You might be giving more than a tithe of your income to the government today, in the form of taxes.  But have you given God His tithe?  There's a promise for those who do:

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." - Malachi 3:10

God blesses those who give -- especially if you give to Him.  One way to do this is through a church congregation.  It's only fair to repay ministers who work hard to preach God's Word and provide us spiritual support.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 140 final tables in 406 nights (34.5%) - 22 cashes.

Leading the Right Way

In a recent post, we mentioned an online chat where confessing to God came up.  The discussion continued in the following hands....

Dealer: 　lovesbowling splits Main Pot ($825) with Straight, nine to king
Dealer: 　mks splits Main Pot ($825) with Straight, nine to king
Me: 　(church clap)
kingkupkake: 　holy ghost growl
Me: 　He's leading me away from this
Me: 　Hoping everyone here is led by the Spirit

We admit some Christians have worship services where the Spirit seems to "inspire" all kinds of curious noises and behavior.  But we can't find any Bible verse where the Holy Spirit growls.  Instead we find....

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. - Exodus 16:2

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." - John 6:41

The King James Version translate "grumble" as "murmuring."  People have murmured against God's appointed leaders throughout time - from Moses in the Old Testament to Jesus in the New Testament.  We think the grumblers wound up on the wrong side of history.

It's easy to get into a grumbling mood at the poker table.  You might be dealt low disjointed cards hand after hand for 30 minutes.  But that's when we need to remember that's not a godly approach.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.... - Philippians 2:14-15

 Yes, everything.  No, that's not easy - not at all.  But pray for the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts and words.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.... If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. - Galatians 5:16, 18

This online chat isn't over yet; it will continue in an upcoming post.

Better Early Than Late?

It's World Series of Poker season in Las Vegas - and the first big event of the year is a record setter.  More than 6,300 players are entered in the "Millionaire Maker" tournament, with a $1,500 buy-in leading to a million-dollar top prize.

Based on the newspaper article we read, apparently players were allowed to enter after the official starting time.  Admittedly that's always irked us a bit -- people showing up as much as 45 minutes late, yet being allowed to sit down and start playing as if nothing has happened.

Perhaps because of our background in broadcasting, we try to be on time for everything we do -- including poker games.  We're happy to be rewarded at some establishments with extra chips for an "on-time bonus."  But it seems to us that's what everybody should be doing. Yet we're reminded of a parable from Jesus:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right." - Matthew 20:1-4

The following verses describe the landowner rounding up more workers during the course of the day - even at the 11th hour of a 12-hour day.  Yet when the payoff came at day's end, look at what happened....

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each one of them also received a denarius. - Matthew 20:9-10

Does that seem fair to you?  Verses 11-12 show the "early birds" didn't think so, and they grumbled about it.

But he answered one of them, "Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?" - Matthew 20:13

Read the "contract details" from verse 2, and that's absolutely correct.

"Take your pay and go.  I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you." - Matthew 20:14

In poker terms: the player who walks into a 12:00 noon game at 12:50 p.m. still could win the first-place money.

"Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?  Or are you envious because I am generous?" - Matthew 20:15

This landowner erred on the side of generosity -- on the side of giving.  When you look at things from his perspective, it's hard to fault that.

We can see advantages to being at a poker table on time.  For example, you can build a big chip stack while the blinds are small.  Latecomers may be given the same number of starting chips, but have less margin for error because of bigger blinds.  But in some poker rooms, latecomers actually have their starting count reduced to reflect missing rounds of blinds.

Which player do you think has an edge in this situation?  Leave a comment with your thoughts.  And we should note this parable has implications far beyond the poker room; we'll address those in a future post.

Good Clean Fun

"This is a laid-back Sunday," the dealer said during a recent poker outing.  "If you have any dirty jokes to tell...."

Trouble is, he made that invitation to the wrong person.  "No," we admitted.  "I only know the clean ones."

Whether you're at the poker table or in a workplace, this advice from the Bible could come in handy:

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving thanks. - Ephesians 5:3-4 (KJV)

Some people look at verses like this and conclude God hates any kind of fun - far beyond a poker game, maybe even joke-telling.  But this is another case where a change in Bible translation makes a big difference....

Nor should there be any obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. - Ephesians 5:4 (NIV)

We're led to think the emphasis of this warning is against "X-rated" language and humor.  After all, the Bible shows God sometimes laughs.  Really.

...But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. - Psalm 37:13

Some of the things which make God laugh might surprise you.  We did a Bible study about that several years ago, when we wrote comedy to make a living.  Well, we tried to write comedy.  These days, we feel more likely to make money with a straight than a punch line -- but we'll throw in a one-liner at the table from time to time.