Fun But Forgotten Poker Facts Part 2

In part 1 of Fun but Forgotten Poker Facts we looked at the legacies of Chip Reese, Gary Berland and Amarillo Slim. In part 2, we will continue our list with more biographies, some math and etymology to boot.

- Ante Means Something

So many of the nicknames, mottos and terms in the poker world come from the depths of stressed players making painfully simple observations (calling a pair of Queens, Ladies for example.) Interestingly, the term ante comes from the Latin meaning “before.”

- Hal Lubarsky Wins Blind

You have to love poker because it is so equal-opportunity in nature. Skinny, fat, old, young, man, woman – all shapes and sizes can and have made money in poker. You can go ahead and add blind to that list. Vegas pro Hal Lubarsky came to Nevada and became a high-stakes pro…lost his vision to a degenerative disease… then made a triumphant return to the bigtime poker world with a deep run in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. So there officially would be no excuses – if you want to get good at poker, then get good at poker.

- There’s Worse than Aces v. Deuce – Seven

Although you’re never going to see a more dramatic spread than pocket Rockets v. the Great Garbage Hand ( 7 – 2o) mathematically speaking, there is worse (statistically, 7-2 is an 11% favorite to win against AA.) The worst possible place to be pre-flop is with an Ace – Middle hand like A- 7 against a pair of Aces. A-7 is precisely a 5.65% favorite to win. That’s about 1 out of 20 hands… ouch.

- Yes, They Do Pay Taxes

God only how much they claim (and how many of them actually claim anything) but poker players do pay taxes. Particularly on those televised major tournament events – you can go ahead and cut those massive payouts in half as capital gains before any player ever touches them.

- ESPN was Here Before

Although the internet explosion did not occur until that fateful PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker run in the 2003 WSOP, ESPN has been broadcasting the World Series of Poker for decades, beginning with the 1988 WSOP. CBS first aired the biggest poker tournament in the world in 1978 and in the true spirit of poker, a few years of the WSOP were put on Pay – Per – View.