What we did not know about poker – interesting facts from the world of the big game

We invite you to move a little away from the strict topic of poker rules and strategies and digress into a list of very interesting and curious facts from the world of this serious game.

We’re not going to talk about hand strength or subtle bluff strategies, we’re going to talk about what’s behind the official part of poker. We understand how many people in the world regularly sit down at the poker table, but not all of them know the details of the history and life of this entertainment. But poker has been considered a game of big politics for many decades, let’s talk about which of the presidents dreams of a Royal Flush and what is the probability of getting repeated combinations in the same hands. So let’s start. Did you know that poker actually boasts at least 150 official games. And all of them, depending on various factors – the country or the time of the game, have their own differences, amendments or nuances. On the territory of the Russian Federation in the period from mid-March 2007 to July 2009, poker had the status of an official sport. According to some reports, today about 20 million people in Russia are registered on one of the online poker rooms. More than twenty-five full-length films were shot and released about this game, most of which are American. By the way – in the United States of America, a third of all poker matches are played for money, and more than 70 million American citizens play poker. And a little more about America – poker there is one of the three most popular television “shows” in terms of the number of audience, taking an honorable third place. The first two positions are taken by football and auto racing, respectively. At the same time, hockey, tennis and basketball remain behind our card star. Nearly half of all American presidents have loved and played the game well. Poker has always been considered a game for the elite and a game for everyone. Add to this an interesting story about how in 2007 a blind player named Hap Lubarsky took part in one of the WSOP – World Series of Poker tournaments, he was part of the Full-Tilt team. In many countries of the world, there are strict age restrictions for those who want to play poker, especially in large tournaments, and on average it is 21 years old, but nowhere is it said about the maximum allowable age. We will surprise you with both numbers – as soon as Joe Cade waited for his twenty-first birthday, he entered and won one of the largest tournaments, while Mr. Paul McKinney got his first gold bracelet from the World Series of Poker in his eightieth anniversary year of life. Let’s add some statistics – the probability that the same participant in a row will get two absolutely identical combinations of cards in poker is, attention – 1 to 2.6 million … agree, the chances are small – you have to be very lucky to make it happen. And yet – the most popular of the varieties of poker today is Texas Hold’em. Let’s talk about hands in poker, but not just about possible hole cards, but about those that have entered the history of poker for important reasons. And the main character, of course, is the same “Dead Man’s Hand” – two pairs – from black aces and black eights, which were in Bill Hickok’s hand at the moment he was shot. It was a game of five-card poker and information about the kicker – the fifth card, unfortunately has not been preserved. Let’s add here the “Hand of Brunson” we mean the real legend of poker Doyle Brunson, he is included in the Poker Hall of Fame, so he managed to become the absolute champion of the World Series of Poker twice with a hand of deuce and tens – so the victory was brought to him by a pocket pair not highest rank. Well, since we are talking about combinations and their special names, here’s another one – a hand containing a pair of eights is called “snowmen”, but a jack and a seven – in English denoted as “J7” were dubbed in honor of the popular drink Jack Daniels. And, by the way, about the products – there is a version that the famous and so beloved by the British sandwiches, went on the path to their popularity due to the fact that one of the Dukes of Montague played poker so much that he did not have time to dine and his courtiers served him a “snack” in convenient form. They put a slice of meat between two slices of bread so that the sire did not get his hands dirty and was not distracted from the game. Some, even professional players, are quite suspicious, and sometimes superstitious people. They also have their own signs – for example, you cannot play a big game with high stakes in a freshly washed shirt or T-shirt, and so on. Maybe they mask the signs of excitement during the game. We have told you some interesting things from the world of poker, but we think that amazing things, people and events will be revealed in its history.