Poker Fun Facts

The Dead Man’s Hand

Wild Bill Hickok had made a habit of sitting with his back to a corner while he played poker in Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, South Dakota, so he could protect himself from potential assailants. But on the fateful day of August 2, 1876, no such seat was available and he was forced to sit with only one of the two entrances visible.

Hickok’s fears proved to be founded since Jack McCall entered through the door behind him and shot him in the back of the head. To this day, any hand consisting of a pair of black eights and a pair of black aces is known as the “Dead Man’s Hand” since that was what Hickok was holding.

16:1

The odds of being dealt a pocket pair are 16:1.

649740:1

The odds of making a royal flush are 649,740:1.

60-80 million

The number of Americans who play poker regularly is estimated to be between 60-80 million players.

Man Vs. Machine

In 2007 at the Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in Vancouver, British Columbia, Phil Laak and Ali Eslami took on the poker program Polaris, in four rounds of Limit Holdem. Round one was a draw, round two was a loss for human team and then rounds three and four saw back-to-back victories for Laak and Eslami giving them the win.

A Fifth Suit?

The standard deck of cards had a fifth suit added to it in 1937 but was eventually discarded since not enough people were willing to buy whole new decks.

Televised Poker

Poker is currently the third most-watched televised sport on cable TV followed only by car racing and football.

Chip and a Chair

The famous poker phrase, “Chip and chair” which refers to still having a chance to win a tournament as long as you have one chip left, comes Jack Strauss in 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event. Strauss had made a massive raise pushing all his chips into the pot, got called and lost the hand. As he was getting up from the table he noticed that he still had a $500 chip under a napkin. Since he had never declared himself “all-in” he was allowed to stay in the game and play. He went on to win the whole tournament.

Necessity is the Mother of Sandwiches

The 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montague, was a man known for his love of gambling. Once engaged in a game, he would be reluctant to leave for a meal so he would have a servant bring him a piece of meat between two slices of bread which he could eat with one hand while he continued to play cards with the other. The handy culinary invention became known as the sandwich.