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    Gambling Games of the Old West
    Gambling Games of the Old West
    Gambling Games of the Old West
    Ebook145 pages1 hour

    Gambling Games of the Old West

    By G.R. Williamson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Gambling played a major role in the lives of the men that drove the western movement of Americans across the continent during the nineteenth century. Wherever there were men with money there was gambling. Saloons and gambling halls had a large array of games to entice customers to take a chance of walking out a winner - a very little chance.

    The soft slap of cards, the click of dice, and the rattle of a roulette wheel greeted players as they walked into the top saloons of the 1880's. But what were the games of that era? How were they played and why are most of the games not found in casinos today?

    Ante up and find out in this concise, compact book that takes you inside the frontier gambling saloons and gambling halls. Card games, dice games, and wheel games are vividly described with plenty of vintage photographs to illustrate how the games were played.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndian Head Publishing
    Release dateJan 21, 2019
    ISBN9781386748274
    Gambling Games of the Old West
    Author

    G.R. Williamson

    G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas, with his wife and trusty chihuahua Shooter. He spent his early years living in Crystal City, Texas, which is located twenty miles west of King Fisher's ranch in Dimmitt County. As a Boy Scout, he hunted for arrowheads on the land that once belonged to King Fisher, and he fished in the alligator waters of Espantosa Lake. He has written many articles on Texas historical figures and events in Texas history. In addition, he has penned several western film screenplays that make their way to California from time to time. Currently he is at work on two nonfiction books-one on the last old-time Texas bank and train robber and the other on frontier gambling.

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      Book preview

      Gambling Games of the Old West - G.R. Williamson

      Welcome 

      Hip-Pocket History of the Old West

      (Series)

      Welcome to this compact book that gives concise accounts of odd or little-known facets of the American West. Historically accurate, but told in an easy to read format, with just a twist of humor. Informative, yet entertaining, the Hip-Pocket History series provides little nuggets without having to wade through a 400-page book of dry academic ostentatiousness.

      Preface

      Many years ago, I had an elderly lady tell me, If it weren't for a pair of fours, I would not be here talking to you. When I asked her to explain what she meant, she went on to say that her grandmother had been won in a poker game in Mexico and that had her grandfather not won her as his wife, her mother would have never been born. Then, with a tinkle in her eye and a sly grin she added, Of course the fours were backed with a pair of aces.

      That conversation began a long historical research of saloon gambling in the Old West. I decided that covering the entire spectrum of gambling that was prevalent throughout the western frontier would take an enormous volume of work to do it justice. Rather, I chose to focus on the usual games of chance that could be found in saloons and gambling halls (often called resorts).

      I purposely omitted other very popular forms of wagering such as: billiards, horse racing, lotteries, cock fights, dog fights, shooting matches, prizefighting, and a long list of other forms of betting.

      The writer Herbert Asbury wrote a series of books that cover the various forms of American gambling where you can find extensive details on these games.

      Over the course of time, I began to listen to the everyday idioms and colloquialisms that have gambling origins and was astounded at how our vernacular conversations are permeated with them. Every day, around the office or at the coffee shop you hear expressions like: oh, you bet, luck of the draw, dollars to doughnuts, call a spade a spade, the cards are stacked against him, hedge your bets, got lost in the shuffle, up the ante, or he cashed in his chips. Then there is the ever-popular cliché that someone is not playing with a full deck. Therefore, at the risk of teetering on the brink of heresy, it is possible to submit, Gambling is as much American as Mom and apple pie.

      Introduction

      Gambling played a major role in the lives of the men that drove the western movement of Americans across the continent during the nineteenth century. Games of chance were dear to the hearts of not only cowboys, but also gold miners, plantation owners, bankers, merchants, soldiers, trappers, buffalo hunters, muleskinners, and most of the other men of the American West, even including some preachers. Wherever there were men with money there was gambling – and most of it was crooked.

      Whether it was rigged, fixed, double-dealt, cold-decked, braced or otherwise manipulated - very little was left to luck and skill. Though there were some gamblers who were known as on-the-square or legitimate, if that word can be used when referring to the players of the day, most used some form of advantage to win much more often than they lost. Some were not gamblers at all but mere con men skinning suckers as fast as they could find them.

      With this in mind, exactly what were the casino games of chance played during the wild days of the West, what were the rules, and how were they played? Who were the major players and where did they ply their trade? How did they employ tricks to cheat the other players without being detected? Why did most of the games of the western frontier pass into oblivion and why are these same games not played in gambling casinos today? Though most of us think we have a fairly good running knowledge of Old West gambling, largely provided by the westerns on television and movies, this book takes a closer look at this integral facet of our history that provokes both condemnation and revelry. Leaving the moral issues of gambling to be defined and discussed by philosophers and theologians, this work explores the myth and lore that drove men to risk fortunes, big or small, on the turn of a card or the spin of a wheel.

      Whether it was a game of poker played on a blanket or a faro bet placed in an elegant saloon, it is a safe bet to say that gambling fulfilled one of the basic needs of the early frontiersman – liquor, lust, and luck. Most settlements started with a small clump of buildings (quite often little more than tents) that usually included a general mercantile store, a livery stable or wagon yard, and a saloon. Then, as the settlement grew, a few more businesses sprung up and more often than not additional saloons crowded in to provide the major form of entertainment available to the men of that era – games of chance. Unlike today with the plethora of entertainment choices provided by television, movies, computers and other technological devices, the frontiersman had very few choices as a diversion from his everyday toils. Most often, he was reduced to reading a book, chatting with friends, or playing a game. Books were often hard to come by and any game worth playing was worth wagering.

      As western saloons evolved, a typical layout usually followed along these lines: an entrance foyer, the bar area with maybe a few card tables and billiards tables in the back. Traditionally, saloons were housed in a building that was longer than it was wide, with an overhanging awning covering the front entrance. Contrary to most of our movie images of saloons, they quite often did not have bat-wing doors; instead, one or more standard wooden doors with glass panels provided access from the street. Once inside the door, customers usually saw a long bar running down the right wall. The bar was usually a massive work of oak with a brass rail that provided a foot prop while standing for a drink. Here and there, a few spittoons enabled tobacco chewers to deposit their chaw before downing a shot of red-eye. To the left were a few card tables and chairs strictly meant for gambling – all drinking was done standing up. When you could not manage the upright position any longer, you were told that you had had enough and go sleep it off.

      Over time, a class distinction developed among saloons in which there were low dives and first class saloons Gamblers were interested in the upscale saloons while conmen and sharps operated in the skin houses where drunks were sometimes allowed to sleep on the floor after having their pockets cleaned out. Usually the mark

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