I’m not sure how the topic popped into my head – it may have just been one of those random thoughts. But for whatever reason, I started thinking about poker lingo today and it just sort of struck me that there are a few words or phrases that I really like. Some of my favorites are just goofy words, but the ones I like the most are actually the ones that have the most interesting origins. The first two words I will discuss below I researched when I used to post entries for a site about poker terms, while the third I just learned about while never really knowing its origin.
River
There are a lot of practices and terms in poker that came into existence because of cheating. And while I have never cheated or even considered cheating in a game of poker, I do, for some reason find it very entertaining that it is almost accepted to try to cheat in gambling. You’re just scum if you get caught. Not so much in when trying to cheat a casino, because, after all, they take our money on a daily basis, anyway, but getting caught cheating fellow players in a poker game is grounds for a beating.
The term “river,” believe it or not, stems from cheating. Mississippi River boats, while still in existence as floating casinos today, were big in the 1800’s. Much of the time, rather than having a dedicated dealer in a poker game like we see in casinos today, the players took turns as the dealer, just as they do in many of our home games. Of course, there were sometimes unscrupulous players who would manipulate the deal to their advantage. During the course of the hand, a big pot would build and then the player would deal himself a perfect final card to win the hand and the huge score. If he got caught cheating on that last card, however, his opponents would often grab him and toss him overboard into the Mississippi. Therefore, the last card of the hand became known as the “river” card.
Nuts
I think this one has the coolest origin. Another “old timey” term, “nuts” comes from the American Wild West, which is generally thought of as the last half of the 19th century. Picture a stereotypical poker scene from a cowboy movie. There are a ton of chips and paper bills in the middle of the table and as the hand evolves and the last couple players with cards run out of money, they start tossing more assets in the pot. Jewelry, guns, the deed to their land, or even their horses and wagon (well, those last couple wouldn’t physically be on the table, but you get the idea).
But this being the Wild West and all, sometimes rules and honor were ignored. There was the fear at times that if someone lost a big pot after wagering something that he didn’t actually have on him, he might jump in on his horse or in his wagon and take off before paying up. As a remedy for this, players would sometimes remove the nuts from the wheels of their wagons and put them on the table. Because this meant that the player had no means of escape, the “nuts” indicated that he had supreme confidence that his hand could not be beaten.
Sandbagging
Sandbagging is essentially the same as slow playing, disguising the true strength of your hand by checking or calling rather than raising. Pretending you’re weak when you’re strong. And while I always just liked the sound of the word, I never really knew where it came from until tonight.
There are multiple explanations out there, but the two that seem like the most accepted, and are the most similar, come from auto racing. One of them comes from races in which time trials worked in the reverse way that they do now. Instead of the top performers in the time trials starting in the front rows, the fastest of the qualifiers would actually start in the back, basically giving the slower racers a head start in order to create a more exciting, competitive race. What some drivers would do, though, is hide some heavy sandbags in their cars to slow them down in the time trials, allowing them to start closer to the front. Then, come race time, those sandbags would be gone and the cars would be at full speed.
The other story is similar, but specific to when people would drag race for money or pinks. Drivers looking for a race weight their cars down with sandbags to trick a potential opponent into racing them. Of course, those sandbags would be gone later and the racer would win easily. It was a hustle.