Guest Blogger

While I was back in San Francisco for a few days I was able to take in a couple baseball games. Going to as many games as possible has been one of my favorite parts about living in the Bay Area. I'm a huge Giants fan and AT&T Park is one of the nicest parks in country. Many of you will discover this during the All Star game this summer. The Giants defeated the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in both games I attended, which should boost their confidence in the climb back to a winning record. Barry Bonds hit homerun 738, which was great to see. No matter what you think of the guy he is one of the greatest ball players of this or any other generation.

All the hot dogs, peanuts, and cracker jacks got me thinking. We know baseball is the national pastime, but I think poker deserves to be considered an American pastime as well. If you think about it, we have internalized romantic versions of each game in our minds. Both games also continue to thrive and grow. While my recent proximity to the game has changed my vision of poker in the last year, I can vividly recall my adolescent vision of poker. I always picture a Saloon in the old west where cowboys stroll in through a swinging door to have a shot of whiskey, listen to the piano player, and take a load off. In the back corner of the room smoke rises from a circular green-felt table. Red, white, and blue chips are tossed into pots by Doc Holliday, Sam Bowie, your usual collection of riff-raff, and Wild Bill Hickock (with his back to the wall). They play cards late into the night while the occasional argument breaks out during a tense bluff or an accusation of cheating. Of course, every man at the table has a six-shooter strapped to his waist.

Your internal version of poker may be different. It might bring up images of a stud game taking place on a Mississippi steam boat as the white vessel steams up the river. It might be the classic image of five dogs sitting around a poker table, or even the images on the playing cards themselves. Poker is as deeply embedded into what we refer to as Americana as the historical periods in which the game was spread across the country.

To finish off my comparison of American pastimes I pondered some of the characters that make, and have made these games so popular. First things first, baseball has the Babe. Poker has the Texas Dolly. Both men are larger than life, and patriarchs of their game. Johnny Moss would have to be poker's Ty Cobb, his brusque demeanor often rubbing opponents and fans the wrong way. Stu Ungar would be Mickey Mantle, arguably the most impressive talent their game has ever seen. They were unfortunately, equally defined by what they could have accomplished if health problems and fast living had not diminished their prime. Phil Hellmuth has to be Barry Bonds. You either love him, or you hate him, but you can't look away. You can't miss what they'll do next. I may be reaching on this one, but I would say Amarillo Slim is the felt's Willie Mays, it's "Say Hey" kid. These two me are legends who were not only great players, but also possessed a contagious human spirit. I know I could keep going here but I have to hop on my flight to Vegas, but I've jump-started the discussion. Shoot me an email and let me know what you come up with, or if you disagree with my picks thus far.

Ryan "Force" Lucchesi
force@wisehandpoker.com