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2001.07.24
500 Club - 500 Guerrero
Poker? (I just met her)
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Special Dive-Bar editorial note: We'll be having some guest-hosts running the asylum for the next few weeks, and this coming Tuesday will be hosted by Eric Johnson, who currently holds the longest Dive-Bar attendance record to date. (Like that's something to be proud of!) Some of you may also know him by his professional title, Lawyerboy. His activity is a twist on a game that everyone is familiar with, and it should be more fun than a bad sterno habit... POKER? (I just met her!) The memoirs of the English actor Joseph Crowell touring America in 1829 described a game being played in New Orleans in which each player received five cards, made bets, and the holder of the highest combination of cards won all bets. Poker, as this game of chance was eventually called, moved from New Orleans by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; from the river towns, it spread east by the new railroad and west by covered wagons. By 1909, two members of the Missouri legislature introduced a bill to license poker players to prevent "millions of dollars lost annually by incompetent and foolish persons who do not know the value of a poker hand." And, in 1911, California's attorney general ruled that draw poker was skill and beyond anti-gambling laws, but stud poker was luck and therefore illegal. That stimulated the development of new draw games and the use of wild cards. And wild the game has become! Suicide kings? Federation Day? Strip Poker? The rules vary as much as the players. In an attempt to ruin a game that has been perfected over the ages, we shall play poker with as many rule variants as possible. The dealer shall have dictatorial authority over which rules will be in effect, and when. Alice's croquet game against the Queen of Hearts will seem like a dignified game of polo in comparison. To wrest control from the dealer (and proclaim yourself the new, "kinder" dealer), cheating will be encouraged--perhaps even required. If you have ever played Illuminati, you will feel right at home. The stakes of our game will be M&Ms. Remember: As the dealer wields absolute power, what may be a fortune in, say, green M&Ms, may be worthless (or less than worthless) in the blink of an eye. Or the dealer may decide not to wager in M&Ms at all.... Please bring a deck of cards. Pretty, nonstandard, or naughty cards will receive appreciative "oohs" and "aahs." (Naughty cards, of all varieties and combinations, may be obtained in numerous Chinatown shops for around two dollars.) And, as the stakes of the game will be M&Ms, a wise player would bring a bag or two to serve as their bank (and dinner). We will be meeting at the 500 Club, which is located at 500 Guerrero Street, at the corner of 17th Street--in the sunny Mission District. Guerrero is two blocks west of Mission Street, so it is within easy walking distance of the 16th & Mission BART stop, or accessable by the 14 Mission bus. And Lady Luck is on our side: Tuesdays are Ladies (and Ineffectual Men) Night at the 500 Club, which will be the source of many cheap margaritas, to be sure. For those interested in more about the history of poker, try: http://www.neo-tech.com/poker/appendixa.html
Tuesday, July 24 |