Poker: Myth & Fact II

I knew there was something I liked about this game...

At any rate, elements of Eurasian-born poker first found its way to America via New Orleans between 1803-1805, thus becoming the birthplace of American poker, along with the birthplace of people dressing and acting really weird during Mardi Gras.

As immigrants, tourists, sailors and passing-through crustaceans navigated the New Orleans of the new century, they picked up this strange new game, and it began its spread into the former Colonies. With the natural American ability to slaughter any foreign language as a preliminary step to incorporating bits and pieces of it into their lexicon, As Nas/Poque began being referred to as "poker" in 1820, and it formally became known thus by 1834.

Around 1835, poker's popularity was increasing through a land of the free, home of the brave, and lands as yet acquired thereinto. With popularity came ways to increase the number of players who could participate: a 32 card deck replaced the 20 card one, introducing four new suits (hearts, spades, picks, shovels) with eight cards per suit, from ace down to 7. Following this in 1840, poker saw a mating with the British card game known as 'commerce' or 'bragg', which used a 52 card deck (four suits of hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs, and 13 cards per suit, 2 through ace); poker adopted the British style deck, and that remains the basic design today.

As technology advanced, so did poker: in the 1850s, a 'draw' feature appeared for the first time in the game. It remains so today, though the other 'draw' it elicited in those days -- involving belt utilities that made loud noises and were used to, among other things, abruptly settle disputes -- is discouraged nowadays. The 'draw' feature added to the game allowed players to discard and re-draw up to three cards to a hand, before showdown. This led to larger pots and an increased interest in the game, though when the other 'draw' feature came into play -- usually as a result of a disagreement with the result of a hand -- it did shorten life expectancy.

Further additions during the Civil War included the poker game "five card stud" -- each player gets five cards, and makes the best hand possible therefrom -- and winning hands called "straight" (five sequential cards of differing suits), a flush (five cards of the same suit, not necessarily in order), and a "bull run" (aka, a totally routed hand, occasionally played out by whole brigades during a less-than-auspicious battle).

In the 1870s, a joker was added to the deck, giving birth to the 'wild card' option, and "jacks or better to open" was introduced (a player needed a pair of jacks or better to start the betting).

Game variations continued to sprout up well into the 20th Century, with the most popular of them being "7 card stud": a player was dealt seven cards (some face up, some face down), and had to make the best 5 card hand possible therefrom. 7 card stud took on world-wide appeal during World War II, almost rivalling survival in popularity.

Today, there are at least 70 game variations of poker that are recognized and played in casinos around the world. Among the more popular games in the US are five card draw, five card stud, seven card stud, Texas Hold 'em (a 7 card variation), High-Low (a variation of five draw), seven card no-peek, joker stud, Pineapple Hold 'em, Anaconda, 52 card pickup (when I try card tricks), Go Fish, Tae Kwon Duck (the Asian version of 52 pickup), Shotgun stud and strip poker (it used to be my personal fav).

Okay, so I'm kidding on the strip poker.

In the most popular of poker games, winning hands rank as follows:

-an arrest warrant (if the game's illegal, it trumps all)

-royal flush (A-10, suited)

-straight flush (five suited cards in sequence)

-four of a kind

-full house (three of a kind plus a pair)

-flush (five suited, not sequenced)

-straight

-three of a kind

-two pair

-one pair

-high card (usually in a Boulder CO pot/meth emporium)

For a few non-standard games, additional winning hands can include five of a kind (with the wild joker option), a round-the-corner straight (such as a Q-K-A-2-3), or a royal fizzbin (you'll have to ask William Shatner about that one; be prepared to take notes that are totally worthless).

There is also an "arrrrgh", which one might think is popular among the pirates of the Caribbean and Somalia, but is actually when you think you have a winner and 'bet the farm', only to lose at showdown to a better hand you were sure wouldn't surface.

There originally was a Part III to this series, as I wrapped up by describing an evening of my sitting in on a casino game of Texas Hold 'Em; but I don't need a whole entry to describe the action (the cards are dealt, my wallet is passed around the table, I fold, the cards are shuffled, repeat).

I stick to Go Fish and 52 card pickup these days. Unless I'm sitting at a table of 20-30 something babes, a look in the mirror usually quells my love of strip poker ;-)