Poker and the Christian: The Response
A Christian's Response to the game of poker and his perspective on gambling.
Last Updated: May 7, 2008
I'm under this impression that not many people come to my website. The Christian and Poker article has certainly brought many visitors to my site. I've had a good discussion with people who agree and disagree with my first article.
I've met a few pastors who have their own little home game and a few believers who have played in many of the local cardrooms that I play in.
I want to devote this article to some of the criticism and disagreements that have been brought to my attention. So sit back and here we go. Here are some of the websites that I will be responding to, though not directly.
Poker, Lies and Deceptions
Criticism: Poker requires you to use lies and deceit in order to win.
Again, the answer to this is Yes and No. Bluffing is a tool that you need to have in order to win at poker. While this is true, bluffing is not the only tool. You need an understanding of odds. You need to have the ability to understand your opponent and the ability to read their hands and make decisions based on that.
When playing any game, like chess, bridge, gin, basketball, and football, you need to understand your opponent and how they approach the game. You need to anticipate how they play and then come up with a way to counter their tendancies.
Every game you play required "bluffing". In every game you play, you are not going to advertise your next movie. When playing chess, you do not say to your opponent, "Hey, before you make your next move, I'm going to attack your queen, so you better focus your next move on protecting your queen." No, you disguise your next move using deception. In baseball, you don't tell the batter that you're going to throw a fastball, low and away. In fact, a baseball player may throw a sinker that drops just before it reaches the plate. In fact, the sinkerball, looks like a fastball but does not follow a straight path. That my friend, is deception. And it's a part of the game.
In poker, if I flop the nuts, according to the games rules, I need to act in order to get my opponent to bet in to my hand and increase the pots. The key is for the other player to spot this deceptions and fold. Also, if I feel like my opponent is bluffing, then my job is to pick up on that and punish the other player for trying to deceive me. My reward is to take his money.
My point is that poker is a game, not gambling. There are rules and tactics to the game and lying is one of them. There are elements of lying and deceit in every game in the world. So if you can use these tools in a game situation, then don't play any game ever.
On the other hand, do not take lying and deceit into the real world. Your marriage is not a game. Raising children is not a game. Working hard at your job is not a game. It requires honesty and open communication. I've been to many car lots where making the sale was a game and you said and did anything possible to make a sale. This is wrong.
All games require the use of deception to win. But remember life is not a game.
Stealing Another Person's Mortgage Payment
This on is the toughest. I hear it a lot. Although I hear it mostly from my fellow Christians as the reason they no longer play poker. The argument basically goes, "I can't play poker because I can't take money from someone who is gambling away their mortgage payment or their children's food or other life necessity."
I'll be honest I don't necessarily have a good response to this. I'll give you a few of my thoughts and then I have something real important to say at the end.
Here's a few of my thoughts on this subject. The first is an issue of percentages, because I play at the low levels, I'm rarely playing against people who are gambling their mortgage. You need to play higher stakes to do this and believe me I've heard stories of people who defy God's will and are gambling their mortgages. Most of the people you are playing are players. You pay your entry (buy-in). They pay theirs and the best person wins. A very straightforward and God-honoring transaction.
Have I ever played against a guy who is gambling his mortgage. I can't say that I have never played against such a person, but I may have. I will tell you that I've played against people who have gambling problems. and I felt bad at times taking their money. One time I took money from a guy who then walked up from the table went right to the ATM got more money only to lose it to me in the next hand.
When I play poker I employ money management. In fact, my entire bankroll is never at risk in any one session, two sessions or even three session. I have a limit to what I will lose. I can not go broke in a single session. That's proper God honoring money management and stewardship.
On the flip side, I can only control what I do. I can not control what others do. If a person wants to gamble his entire bankroll, I can not stop him from doing it. Nor can I read minds and know that he is doing it. Also, my presence at the table is not going to stop him from risking his bankroll. Believe me, if I'm not at the table taking this guys money, then someone else will be. Whether in God's providence, I'm there or not, this person will lose his money and he will be accountable for that. Not the other people at the table. God does not judge his children based on whether you were present at the table when a person lost his child's college fund.
What we forgot is that sin is a willful definance of God's will. You can not accidentally commit a sin. Sin requires a willful thought to commit it. You are not held accountable for accountable for the actions and motivations of others you are in contact with.
But what if you do know about the actions of others. God, on the other hand, will judge you if you knowingly take this person's college fund. What if I watch a person empty his bank account at an ATM and then I follow him to a table in order to take it all. That is where you cross the line. You are now specifically trying to hurt a person. As a Christian, I believe it is God's will to confront that person and tell him that what he is doing is a mistake and not a part of God's will. Even if he tells you that God told him to do gamble all of his money.
As a Chrsitian, I feel that I would be obligated to try and win his money and give it back to him as a means to attempt to rescue this person. That's sounds high and mighty but as Christians we are called to compassion.
Another thought is that if I'm not at the table to take a person's buyin, then someone else will. That someone else is most likely not a Christian. I hear this alot. Why are there no Christians in Hollywood, politics, the media, etc? Because Christian have made mistake of getting out of "secular" society instead of being "salt" and "light" in the world. Christians need to be where the non-Christians are, how else will a non-Christian ever see Christ.
My Final Point
We truly need to come to an understanding about what is a Christian Poker Player. Because I believe there are Christian Poker Players.
To me, a Christian poker player has both skill and character.
A Christian Poker Player has skill. A Christian poker player needs to study the game and get good at it. They need to use all of the tools of the game, betting, analyzing situations, calculating pot odds, reading your opponent and yes, bluffing. A Christian pokers player prays that God will give him/her clarity of thought and the wisdom to make good decisions.
A Christian Poker Player has character. At the table, you show the characteristics of Christ, like humility. You don't slow roll or act beligerant at the table. You are polite and curteous to your fellow players and especially the dealer. You tip when you win and like I've done many times, I ask if I tipped the dealer on the last hand if you forget.
Christian Poker Players show compassion when a person is down on his luck. Provides counsel for those getting in over their heads. Shares wisdom. And most of all is an example of Christ at the table.
I'm sure after I publish this, I'm going to have to write a third article, but that's OK. Thank you for all of you who have read my first article. Please keep coming back and let me know what you think. alan@mypalal.com