Prayer At The Main Event

[The Lobster 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufNAFVY0Ibo

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

How is it tough to be a christian poker player? Can't you be christian and in essence have nobody ever even know? I'm pretty sure the majority of christians don't really care who knows their religious beliefs. Same can be said for most religions. It's not Hard to be any religion unless you feel the need to boast about it.

That is the thing. Why can't you be a Christian, Gay, Muslim, headbanger, etc without feeling the need to let everyone kinow?I literally couldn't care less about a person's sexuality - what happens in their bedroom is not interesting to me in most cases. I don't care what deity or other forces you feel do or don't guide your life.Where I get confused and a little frustrated is when a person feels the need to express their identity in a public manner. Gay "pride" (Why is someone proud of their sexuality - especially if it is just nature?), religion, politics, atheists, Objectivists... when most people feel the need to broadcast their self definition I get annoyed.So many "Definitions of Self" seem to have to be made somehow explicit and public for the bearer to feel accepted.

[OhKeePa 0]

i have no problem with people praying in public as long as i am allowed to say I don't believe there is a god in your presence w/o you being mad at me

[antistuff 0]

pray it up man, its your business. i think what jerry yang did at the final table was obnoxious, if i was a christian i think i would be offended to be represented that way, but im pretty sure thats not what you have in mind. you sound almost apologetic in your post. why? no need for that. anyone who has a problem with you trying to organize a group prayer at some public event is just a douche.

[antistuff 0]

That is the thing. Why can't you be a Christian, Gay, Muslim, headbanger, etc without feeling the need to let everyone kinow?I literally couldn't care less about a person's sexuality - what happens in their bedroom is not interesting to me in most cases. I don't care what deity or other forces you feel do or don't guide your life.Where I get confused and a little frustrated is when a person feels the need to express their identity in a public manner. Gay "pride" (Why is someone proud of their sexuality - especially if it is just nature?), religion, politics, atheists, Objectivists... when most people feel the need to broadcast their self definition I get annoyed.So many "Definitions of Self" seem to have to be made somehow explicit and public for the bearer to feel accepted.

i don't see a problem with expressing yourself. humans seem to have this need to express themselves to each other, and as far as im concerned thats all good. i think the problem comes in when they are expressing themselves for the sole purpose of pushing their views on you. and this is universal, i don't care what you believe in. im not sure where you're going with the last sentence. lets be a little honest in spite of it sounding sappy, doesn't everybody want to feel accepted in at least some way or on some level?----im thinking more now and some views about things almost seem to imply advertising it to others. im really not sure where the line is between somebody tossing an idea out there to try to inform others about it and what i consider "pushing" their views on you.

[chgocubs99 0]

im thinking more now and some views about things almost seem to imply advertising it to others. im really not sure where the line is between somebody tossing an idea out there to try to inform others about it and what i consider "pushing" their views on you.

When it comes to a few things, most notably religion and politics, I simply don't want it done to me and I would never do it to anyone else, unless we know each other so well that we can and have talked about mostly everything.There's a super-religious guy at our office in a different department, and he comes in our department once in awhile and him and another religious guy talk about it. Sometimes it is somewhat loud and others can hear, and honestly, I just don't want to hear about it. There's things you talk about at certain places, and things you don't, and you don't talk about religion or politics in the office, at school, or at the poker table, for that matter. It has nothing to do with me not accepting your beliefs, I simply don't want to be annoyed by listening to it and certainly don't want to talk about it.Is it someone's "right" to do it? I guess. I'll accept it, but I don't have to like it.

[CBass1724 1]

I literally couldn't care less about a person's sexuality - what happens in their bedroom is not interesting to me in most cases.

I see what you did there.

Where I get confused and a little frustrated is when a person feels the need to express their identity in a public manner. Gay "pride" (Why is someone proud of their sexuality - especially if it is just nature?), religion, politics, atheists, Objectivists... when most people feel the need to broadcast their self definition I get annoyed.

I agree here. Not everybody cares about "your" personal life so no need to share it with everyone. If you're gay, I don't care. If you're muslim, let me eat your bacon and pork chops.

[Wandigo 1]

God isn't going to change the outcome of the cards or make sure that your aces hold up every time. Poker also isn't a sport where you need to worry/pray about staying safe and not getting injured/killed.Asking for God's help is just collusion and should stay away from the tables.Oh, and I'm ready

[PezPoisson 0]

"Father, in the name of Jesus, let me win this one."

[Paul Brevard 0]

pray it up man, its your business. i think what jerry yang did at the final table was obnoxious, if i was a christian i think i would be offended to be represented that way, but im pretty sure thats not what you have in mind. you sound almost apologetic in your post. why? no need for that. anyone who has a problem with you trying to organize a group prayer at some public event is just a douche.

Thanks for the response. I must say that I haven't seen the Jerry Yang stuff but you know, I wonder how much of that was to put the guys on tilt. Whatever it was, apparently it worked. Of course it makes us look like weirdos. There are many people who label themselves as Christians and act totally opposite. I can only try to imitate Christ and his examples. I really don't think that he told us to pray for someone else to lose. I think he would allow us to pray for guidance and acceptance of an outcome that we might not agree with but I would never be able to ask him for an Ace on the river! That falls into placing him in a position of favortism and the Bible says that he shows no favortism. I do think that it annoyed a lot of guys and might have put them in situations like a lot of us find ourselves in. I know I have seen guys that I wanted to bust and ended up playing hands I had no reason to be in.Ending this on a good note. I won again today. Not a large crowd at the casino but I beat about 30 for top spot and feel pretty good about next week. That makes 7 wins, and I cashed 3 other times for smaller amnounts out of 14 tourneys. Most were 60-100 players and one only had 22 but it was still a win. I can't get over the bubble for large tourneys though.Think I should pray about it?

[showstopper24 0]

God isn't going to change the outcome of the cards or make sure that your aces hold up every time. Poker also isn't a sport where you need to worry/pray about staying safe and not getting injured/killed.Asking for God's help is just collusion and should stay away from the tables.

[Potomophobia 17]

I saw the title to this thread and stayed away. I'm tired of hearing about religion. But after seeing the longevity, I decided to read the OP.All I have to say is this:If all you wanted to do was try to arrange a prayer meeting before the main event, I would not have cared. To each his own. BUT NO.... you had to turn it into a "we are so persecuted" diatribe. As always with you simple minded twits, you go overboard.It's hard being a Christian? Think about how hard it is being an atheist in a country filled with bible thumping, holier than thou pinheads whose goal in life is to convert me and tell me how to live my life (or kill me).GOD doesn't exist. And even if he did, he would be laughing at you for your stupidity and worthlessness.Have a great tournament.

[Sportsmack 0]

I saw the title to this thread and stayed away. I'm tired of hearing about religion. But after seeing the longevity, I decided to read the OP.All I have to say is this:If all you wanted to do was try to arrange a prayer meeting before the main event, I would not have cared. To each his own. BUT NO.... you had to turn it into a "we are so persecuted" diatribe. As always with you simple minded twits, you go overboard.It's hard being a Christian? Think about how hard it is being an atheist in a country filled with bible thumping, holier than thou pinheads whose goal in life is to convert me and tell me how to live my life (or kill me).GOD doesn't exist. And even if he did, he would be laughing at you for your stupidity and worthlessness.Have a great tournament.

1) Simple minded twits? Wow...just wow.2) My goal in life is not to convert you, if you wanna hear about God then I'll share...but my goal in life is to follow Christ the best that I know how, not to convert you.3) Thanks for calling me and my faith stupid and worthless.4) I used to really respect you sir, now I'm just shaking my head in disbelief at the hatred.You take care sir.

[Paul Brevard 0]

I saw the title to this thread and stayed away. I'm tired of hearing about religion. But after seeing the longevity, I decided to read the OP.All I have to say is this:If all you wanted to do was try to arrange a prayer meeting before the main event, I would not have cared. To each his own. BUT NO.... you had to turn it into a "we are so persecuted" diatribe. As always with you simple minded twits, you go overboard.It's hard being a Christian? Think about how hard it is being an atheist in a country filled with bible thumping, holier than thou pinheads whose goal in life is to convert me and tell me how to live my life (or kill me).GOD doesn't exist. And even if he did, he would be laughing at you for your stupidity and worthlessness.Have a great tournament.

So I guess that means you're not coming?

[DoinSublime 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9oAnyone who doesn't join in with Paul should get together and say a prayer for Joe. Thank you George, you enlightened a lot of people.

[yourboygsarida 0]

I saw the title to this thread and stayed away. I'm tired of hearing about religion. But after seeing the longevity, I decided to read the OP.All I have to say is this:If all you wanted to do was try to arrange a prayer meeting before the main event, I would not have cared. To each his own. BUT NO.... you had to turn it into a "we are so persecuted" diatribe. As always with you simple minded twits, you go overboard.It's hard being a Christian? Think about how hard it is being an atheist in a country filled with bible thumping, holier than thou pinheads whose goal in life is to convert me and tell me how to live my life (or kill me).GOD doesn't exist. And even if he did, he would be laughing at you for your stupidity and worthlessness.Have a great tournament.

tell us how you really feel

[Potomophobia 17]

1) Simple minded twits? Wow...just wow.2) My goal in life is not to convert you, if you wanna hear about God then I'll share...but my goal in life is to follow Christ the best that I know how, not to convert you.3) Thanks for calling me and my faith stupid and worthless.4) I used to really respect you sir, now I'm just shaking my head in disbelief at the hatred.You take care sir.

For what it is worth Sportsmack..... I still respect you.You take care as well.

[fleung22 1]

I knew this would happen. OP there's no point asking to not be offended. Welcome to the world. Somebody will always be offended and examples of music/movie awards are incorrect. People make fun of those folks too. Life is full of angry people! Hey, this morning a saw a chick flip out because whip cream was accidentally put on her cafe mocha!The better question is rights. If you're lucky enough to live in a country with the right to express yourself that's awesome and you should feel good about that. If you feel strongly about something then just do it. Don't worry about what others think. It doesn't matter if you believe in god, satan, UFOs or fairies somebody will always have a negative comment. In fact, if you don't react well to negative responses then a public forum is probably not a place to post. B) fleungPS whoever made the China comment...I am offended

[Paul Brevard 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9oAnyone who doesn't join in with Paul should get together and say a prayer for Joe. Thank you George, you enlightened a lot of people.

You always did look like a Joe freak to me. Good luck with that.

[Paul Brevard 0]

I knew this would happen. OP there's no point asking to not be offended. Welcome to the world. Somebody will always be offended and examples of music/movie awards are incorrect. People make fun of those folks too. Life is full of angry people! Hey, this morning a saw a chick flip out because whip cream was accidentally put on her cafe mocha!The better question is rights. If you're lucky enough to live in a country with the right to express yourself that's awesome and you should feel good about that. If you feel strongly about something then just do it. Don't worry about what others think. It doesn't matter if you believe in god, satan, UFOs or fairies somebody will always have a negative comment. In fact, if you don't react well to negative responses then a public forum is probably not a place to post. B) fleungPS whoever made the China comment...I am offended

I hear ya. I just didn't want to offend anyone but after posting here, I really don't care. I just read Daniels blog and had read what the idiot posted on the site about how he couldn't be a Christian if he was rich and thought I would have a little prayer before the ME. I wasn't going to pray for any one person but after reading some of these post, I've changed my mind. The Bible says for me to pray for my enemies so I am going to pray for each and everyone of them as they shake my hand, wish the table good luck, and start that lonely walk to the lobby. This ought to be good....

[fleung22 1]

wish the table good luck

This brings up a whole new subject. You know what grinds my gears?People who say “good luck” to a whole table of players that they’re about to play with…it’s such an insincere statement.Now if you’re just stupid and being nice that’s fine. I appreciate the fine gestures from the local idiot and smile. It sounds nice but makes no sense.Firstly, you can’t be wishing everybody good luck. That’s like going up to the starting line at the Olympics 100-meter dash and hoping they all win. Unless you’re a care bear you don’t all win just by finishing the race. If I say “good luck” to Daniel then I’m specifically hoping his hands beat out everyone elses.Second, you never REALLY mean it. I once said good luck to a fellow and he proceeded beat the snot out of me. I don’t mean in a god-loving-then-offending-way. He made several 2 and 3 outers. Now THAT’s wishing someone good luck and having it happen. If I meant it I would have been happy right? I wasn’t happy.So I’ve developed a new line and say it with the same enthusiasm. I say “Good round!”I’m hoping he has a good round at the links after I knock him out.Of course if it’s deep into the evening and too late to golf or maybe it’s like the guy who plays with his feet because he has no hands then I replace “good round”with “suck my balls”. I think if you smile and say it nicely they still appreciate it.

[quadaces 0]

BLAH BLAH BLAH.

This is all I heard in your entire post!

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

This brings up a whole new subject. You know what grinds my gears?People who say “good luck” to a whole table of players that they’re about to play with…it’s such an insincere statement.Now if you’re just stupid and being nice that’s fine. I appreciate the fine gestures from the local idiot and smile. It sounds nice but makes no sense.Firstly, you can’t be wishing everybody good luck. That’s like going up to the starting line at the Olympics 100-meter dash and hoping they all win. Unless you’re a care bear you don’t all win just by finishing the race. If I say “good luck” to Daniel then I’m specifically hoping his hands beat out everyone elses.Second, you never REALLY mean it. I once said good luck to a fellow and he proceeded beat the snot out of me. I don’t mean in a god-loving-then-offending-way. He made several 2 and 3 outers. Now THAT’s wishing someone good luck and having it happen. If I meant it I would have been happy right? I wasn’t happy.So I’ve developed a new line and say it with the same enthusiasm. I say “Good round!”I’m hoping he has a good round at the links after I knock him out.Of course if it’s deep into the evening and too late to golf or maybe it’s like the guy who plays with his feet because he has no hands then I replace “good round”with “suck my balls”. I think if you smile and say it nicely they still appreciate it.

Dude.It is called being polite and social. Sort of like saying "Have a Nice Day" to someone who when you don't really care if they really have a nice day. Poker, especially Live Poker, is for most players a Social Game, not just a competition. Social Graces are part of the whole experience and part of many of our games.

[No_Neck 0]

Is it someone's "right" to do it? YES I'll accept it, but I don't have to like it.

I think this pretty much it

[Paul Brevard 0]

Hey guys. It's kinda strange how things happen when you're all caught up in things and then you are dropped you back down to earth to make you realize what is really important.Today I found out that my Dad has a large cancer on his mouth. He may have let it go too long but they believe they can still remove it all. He has several spots on his body but they think they are small and can be removed. My parents want me to take my wife and go on the trip and "win a million" but at the moment, poker doesn't seem that important. Thanks for the responses during the post. I'll have to see how the week pans out before I decide on what I'm going to do.For now, I would appreciate it if you'd say a little prayer for my Dad. Those that don't believe, your thoughts and concern are greatly appreciated.Goodluck out there in the ME, unless of course I decide to go. If so, I hope you all go card dead.Paul