How the Wild West Shaped the Game of Strategy and Chance

The Wild West lives on in timeless tales on the big screen, legendary literature, and mythical folklore. It is synonymous with new horizons, individualism, cowboys, gunfights, barfights, moonshine, and mining. In the Old West, lawmen battled lawlessness as everybody sought opportunity in Frontierland.

Dry heat, sand and dust, tumbleweed, and horse-drawn wagons punctuated the Wild West landscape. It was unrelenting, treacherous territory where only the strong survived.

Between the mayhem, people found comfort in entertainment. Poker was one such pursuit that rapidly gained popularity as miners flush with cash from grueling days’ work and rough and tough cowboys enjoyed some time to themselves at the local watering holes.

They loved their cards as much as wrangling steers and kicking up dust out west. Their games were often high-stakes and intense, with fortunes won and lost in a single hand. In and among this exciting mix were some of the most talented poker aces of all time. Their names are indelibly etched into the annals of poker for all to enjoy.

Everybody played cards back then, including gunfighters, clergymen, prospectors, dance girls, cowpokes, and cattle barons. Even the sheriff and his deputies enjoyed games of poker at the tables in the taverns. It was a game that good and bad folk loved to play. Recounting the spirit of the time invariably fills us with pride; prospectors seeking more info on Arizona’s golden nuggets will not be disappointed. The same applies to NM, NV, CO, IO, MO, WY, and CA.

Wild Bill Hickok – Dead Man’s Hand

Several unique characters emerged as the frontrunners of poker. These dudes played poker fast and furiously, and they quickly gained a reputation as the best in the business. We begin with none other than Wild Bill—James Butler Hickok. Born in Illinois in 1837, James Butler Hickok was many things. He was a folk hero, an actor, a gunslinger, a lawman, and a gambler.

History has served him well since he is possibly one of the most famous card players to emerge from the Wild West. He’s actually part and parcel of the Poker Hall of Fame. Most people don’t know that Wild Bill spent much of his life arresting criminals and playing poker. His life was peppered with incredible adventures. Women loved him, and bad guys feared him.

In 1876, Wild Bill headed to Deadwood, where he became a routine fixture in card-playing tournaments. Deadwood was an old mining town made famous by Hollywood and Wild Bill. On August 2, 1876, Wild Bill played poker at Nuttal and Mann’s Saloon.

Unfortunately, an outlaw named Jack McCall pulled out his six-shooter and blew Wild Bill’s brains out. True story.

This is where it gets interesting: Wild Bill’s last hand was two black Aces + two black 8s. This became known as the eponymous Dead Man’s Hand. At the time of his demise, he was just 39 years old, and only the big guy in the sky knows what other greatness Wild Bill could’ve contributed to the poker world.

Doc Holiday – John Henry, the Poker Ace

If you’ve ever seen Tombstone, the movie, you know who Doc Holliday is. A physician, well, actually a dentist, Doc Holliday loved to play poker in his spare time. He set up his dental practice in Georgia but moved west soon thereafter. He was suffering from tuberculosis and wanted a change of climate to help him heal.

He assisted the legendary Wyatt Earp, who happened to be an avid card player himself. For Doc Holliday, playing cards was just as regular as slinging six-shooters. Recall the 1881 O.K. Corral gunfight where Holliday pulled out his 45 to win the contest. Unfortunately, TB got better of him in November 1887.

Wyatt Earp, the Iconic Lawman

None of the famous lawmen from the Wild West holds a candle to the legendary Wyatt Earp. His name resonates worldwide; he was feared by outlaws and respected by law-abiding citizens.

Like so many others in his time, he enjoyed playing poker games and was known to be someone who bluffed a lot. His travels took him to many locales, including Wichita, Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City. Many of the areas he traversed were intersections of cattle trails in railroads, places where cowboys rode into town to get paid.

And like everyone at the time, a fistful of dollars provided all the firepower these guys needed to have fun. Wyatt’s penchant for playing cards was well known. He was also a proprietor who owned and managed multiple gaming halls across California, Idaho, Washington, Alaska, and Arizona. He continued with his wanderlust and zest for life throughout his life until his untimely death on January 13, 1929, from a UTI.

The list of poker aficionados who emerged from the Wild West is long. Legends like Billy the Kid, the unstoppable Poker Alice, and, to a lesser degree, James Bowie are equally well known. Today, poker’s popularity spans the globe, with more players online and in person than at any other point in history.

It is the world’s number one strategy-based card game. The savvy players came to watch everyone else go all in while they waited their turn, biding their time, and preparing to strike. These historical figures, with their unique playing styles, left an indelible mark on the game of poker, shaping it into the beloved pastime it is today.