Poker and My Faith

Disclaimer: The picture at the top is the only funny thing in this blog. And even that will probably be offensive to some people I know. The next blog will be funny, and it won't be another three months between blogs, I promise. So feel free not to read this -- it's kinda long anyway.

I got a Sports Illustrated a few weeks back that included a very interesting story about NFL players balancing their Christian faith with the violence involved in the game of football and the wealth and fame that come with playing in the NFL.
The violence part irritated me -- it made no sense at all. The author implied that you couldn't be a true Christian and deliver hard hits during the course of a game. Because Jesus said to "turn the other cheek", he would never condone the violence that takes place every Sunday between the lines.
To me, Jesus' teaching would apply immediately after the game. After losing a playoff game this season, a Washington Redskins player punched a Seattle Seahawks player in the face when the teams met at midfield. This would be a great time for the Seattle player to "turn the other cheek" and not retaliate when most of the world would call him a sissy for walking away.
During the game, the players are not doing anything to disqualify them from the kingdom of God. They are playing a rough game, but they are all well-compensated and trained men playing against other well-compensated and trained men. Nobody is on the field that doesn't choose to be on the field, and that choice alone doesn't break any scripture. There aren't 85-year-old women wheeling over the middle of the field on a crossing route, getting blindsided by a 260-pound linebacker.
There are lots of times during the course of a game when a Christian player can choose to honor God with his decisions. I'm not talking about pointing to the sky after scoring a touchdown. The words used when addressing teammates and opponents, and the sportsmanship shown on every snap make a difference.
The SI story pretty much said that in order to be a true Christian, you need to be a spineless pacifist pushover. Plus you are automatically sinning by playing on Sunday. Obviously the author hadn't read 98 percent of the Bible.
The wealth and fame aspect of the story, however, definitely got me thinking. How much easier is it for a schoolteacher who makes $35,000 per year to follow Christ than an NFL player making $15 million? It's not hard to think of the differences in lifestyle.
Even if the NFL player gives 10 or 20 percent of his income away, he's going to have a lot of money left over, and it will be easy to put those toys and possessions ahead of Christ. Plus, even if he is married, he will have women throwing themselves at him in every city. Not to mention the male fans and autograph-hounds that can make someone feel like -- hmmm -- like God himself. Also, playing any sport at the highest level is no picnic. During the season, players work six days a week, and many players watch film on that one day off. Doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else.
There's no doubt that it's hard to follow Christ as an NFL player. Jesus himself says as much: "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24)

It didn't take me long to find a bunch of parallels between the story on Christians in the NFL and Christians playing poker for a living.
Just as the author of the SI piece seemed to think you couldn't possibly be a Christian and play football for a living, many people -- including a fair number at the church I belong to -- seem to think you can't be a Christian and play poker for a living.
Just as I believe the SI writer's logic was terrible because he had no knowledge of the Bible, many Christians (especially those one or two generations older than I am) have no knowledge of poker. Or the knowledge they do have is false.
Poker is just as close to 100 percent skill as anything else in life -- chess, football, or any job at all. In any given chess match, a world class player might make a major mistake or a novice might play nearly perfectly. That's luck. In football, a blown call by a ref or a tipped pass lingering in the air might be the difference between winning and losing. A middle manager at any job at all might get a huge raise or get laid off, just because his company was bought or sold by the higher-ups. Those things are all luck, but in the long run the top chess players will win the most matches, the great football players will be recognized as such and the cream of the crop of any profession will eventually rise to the top. (Actually, doesn't it seem more likely that luck plays a bigger role in the real world than in either of my other examples?)
If poker were a game of luck, nobody could do it for a living. The casino gets its cut out of every hand, not to mention the costs of food, gas, tipping, etc. But unlike any other game at the casino (slots, blackjack, craps, et al), the players aren't competing against the house, they're playing against each other.
Of course, on any given night, one turn of the card can be the difference between winning and losing. Obviously that's luck. But over the long term, you will either win or lose at poker based on how good you are. Nothing else. Thus, there are at least a dozen people who play poker for a living who regularly show up at Riverwind Casino (where I usually play) and thousands more around the world.
After graduating from OU with a journalism degree in 2002, I spent seven great years as a sportswriter at the Lawton Constitution. Basically, I was paid to watch games, listen to bawdy humor from other sportswriters and then write about the games.
When people in the church (or my family, for that matter) would ask about my job, they always thought it was the coolest job in the world. When I started playing poker for a living, suddenly the reactions from that group of people split 50/50. Half of them still thought I had the coolest job in the world, but the other half acted like my new job was as a crack mule.
Funny thing is, my job now is almost the same as being a sportswriter. Now I play in the game instead of just watching. I listen to bawdy humor from poker players instead of sportswriters. I make more money -- though that's not saying much (sportswriters at smaller papers like the Constitution are literally at or under the poverty line.) And I don't have to write. 
I spent a lot of time praying over the decision. Part of me expected God to shoot it down. But I felt more than just peace about it. I felt this was what I was supposed to do. Not for the rest of my life, but for this season, however long it may last. I felt it was an opportunity to better support my family and make a positive impact on a lot of people. Poker is an intimate game -- you get to know people pretty well after a few years of sitting at a table with them for hours on end.

There is a great opportunity to reach out and be a difference maker. But it's awfully hard. This is where I see the other big parallel between poker and the story on being a Christian in the NFL.
The temptations, at least for me, are different than the ones seen by NFL players. One of the criticisms launched by the anti-poker Christians is that poker worships money. While poker is certainly a cash economy, I have never felt it came anywhere close to being an idol for me. I enjoy giving 10% of my monthly profits to various ministries and I don't cheat on my taxes even though it's kind of stupid not to when the government can never prove exactly how much you make.
I also don't have to worry about women throwing themselves at me like NFL players do.
But although I don't face the same temptations as an NFL player, poker presents unique problems for someone trying to serve God. For starters, it's a self-absorbing endeavor. Unlike football players trying to help their team win (or sportswriters trying to help get a newspaper out), I'm playing an individual game with the goal of beating other people out of their money. I spend 10 or 12 hours constantly thinking about the best outcome for me on a given hand. I eat when I want to. I leave when I want to (most of the time). If the game is really good, I might play all night. If I feel like not playing one night, there's no boss telling me I can't. Lots of reasons why it's easy to get my priorities out of whack, and I really struggle with that.
I'll also be the first to admit that there have been many times when I have been the exact opposite of what a Christian should be at the poker table. Whether it's succumbing to peer pressure or getting irritated at the outcome of a hand, I have made poor decisions and said things I wish I hadn't said.
Obviously I wouldn't be a perfect person regardless of my profession, but I have to think there might be a few less bumps in the road had I chosen something else.
I don't really have a good conclusion for this one. I love certain things about my job, mainly the flexibility and being able to spend lots of time with my girls when most people are working. But I also constantly struggle with the thought that my life is flying by and I am not doing much to serve God or others. I know that someday I will do something else, but I don't know when that is or what it will be. I've always been interested in coaching, perhaps that will be it.
Ultimately, I suppose I just need to make the most out of every day, and be grateful for the grace God has given me.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24).

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)