Archive for the ‘Poker History’ Category

Newer Entries »

Is There A Place for Poker In Art?

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Poker Art is something that poker fans may enjoy collecting, and the industry is large enough. Anything from Super Mario chip art to stylish monochrome photographs with titles such as Gunslinger and No Chance, are being produced. With no nuance to entice the eye of a connoisseur it is primarily commercial products.

With an eye fro the game’s complex aesthetics, the serious poker player may have a general interest in is poker in art when he is not challenging a worthy rival. Is there an existence of good art which is significantly related to poker?

Worthwhile references to the game in art are rare despite its immense popularity. With the elite pride of the devotees of some wonderful esoteric practice, they are cherished by some admirers. To my knowledge, poker in music features mainly in modern compositions, but for its expression in sound there does not seem to be much possibility. Video usually accompanies the more successful efforts, and these are restricted to MTV clips. References to poker in songs can be found although these being composed by well meaning fans or even by poker pros that are not that great with words or music, are offered with mostly half-heated solace.

Poker-inspired artwork in music that is the most significant that I am familiar with is The Card Party: Ballet in Three Deals which was first danced by Balanchine’s American Ballet Ensemble. It is one of the rarer curiosities poker admirers might want to see, with music by Stravinsky who also enjoyed poker as a pastime, it is more fanciful than accurate in representing the process of playing cards.

The most obvious example in painting form is Cassius Coolidge’s series of Dogs Playing Poker. Nineteen commercially oriented paintings using anthropomorphized dogs was the order in which these were a part of. It is not even the paintings which are iconic so much, these days, as the general concept of canines around a table in a dimly lit club smoking cigars.

Many works of art, in fact, tend to stylize poker and card games in general, blending them with fantastic themes. Alice in Wonderland would be the most obvious example. Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades is one of his most famous stories. It depicts a player who heard about a card trick from a friend and is desperate to learn it. The story begins as realism and culminates as a sort of card-game horror. An old woman guarding the secret is threatened by the man who desperate to learn the secret, threatens her with an unloaded pistol which unintentionally causes the woman to die from fear. Her corpse glares at him after opening its eyes at the funeral, then at home he is visited by her ghost which tells the secret. In the first game the man’s possessions are double. While playing another game the man knowingly holds an ace but appears to have played a queen causing him to lose everything. After being committed to an asylum in room seventeen he raves, “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen. There is a BAFTA-nominated 1949 fantasy horror adaptation of the story by Thorold Dickinson for the film buffs.

Though not necessarily more accurate, poker tends to be criminally realistic in film, from Cincinnati Kid to Rounders with Edward Norton and Matt Damon.    Rounders did moderately in the box office but because of its decent depiction of the playing process it has become a cult film. Martin Scorsese gave us a memorable sequence in Casino, three years earlier, where by means of a hammer and De Niro’s poker-face threats a young pair of con poker players are expertly detected and deprived to cheat in any near future.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Poker, Poker Art, Poker History | No Comments »

Poker In Fine Art

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Poker fans may enjoy collecting Poker Art, and there is a large enough industry churning out anything from Super Mario chip art to stylish monochrome photographs with titles such as Gunslinger and No Chance. Most of it, however, is primarily commercial products, with little or no nuance to entice the eye of a connoisseur.

What the serious poker player – with an eye for the game’s complex aesthetics – may have a general interest in whenever he is not busy challenging a worthy rival is poker in art: but does good art exist which is significantly related to poker?

Despite its immense popularity, worthwhile references to the game in art are rare and some admirers cherish them with the elite pride of the devotees of some wonderful esoteric practice. Poker in music, to my knowledge, features mainly in modern compositions, but there does not seem to be much possibility for its expression in sound. The more successful efforts are usually accompanied by video, and these are restricted to MTV clips. There are many songs which reference poker, but these offer mostly a half-hearted solace, composed by well meaning fans or even by poker pros that are not necessarily great with words or music.

The most significant poker-inspired artwork in music I am familiar with, and one which by its nature ideally fuses music with visuals, is The Card Party: Ballet in Three Deals, first danced by Balanchine’s American Ballet Ensemble. Music by Stravinsky, who enjoyed poker as pastime, it is one of the rarer curiosities poker admirers might want to see, though it is more fanciful than accurate in representing the process of playing cards.

In painting form, the most obvious example is Cassius Coolidge’s series of Dogs Playing Poker. These were part of an order for 19 commercially oriented paintings using anthropomorphized dogs. Nowadays, it is not even the original paintings which are iconic so much, as the general concept of cigar-smoking canines around a table in a dim-lit club.

In fact, many works of art tend to stylize poker and card games in general, blending them with fantastic themes. The most obvious example would be Alice in Wonderland. One of Alexander Pushkin’s most popular stories is The Queen of Spades which concerns a player desperate to learn a card trick he had heard about from a friend. The story begins as realism and culminates as a sort of card-game horror: the man is so desperate to learn the secret from the old widow guarding it that he threatens her with a pistol (unloaded), unintentionally causing her to die of fear. At the funeral, her corpse opens its eyes and glares at him; then her ghost visits him at his house and discloses the secret. In his first game afterwards the man doubles his possessions. He plays another, but though he knows he was holding an ace, somehow, he appears to have played a queen and lost everything. He is then committed to room 17 of an asylum, raving: Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!. For the film buffs, there is a BAFTA-nominated
1949 British adaptation fantasy-horror adaptation of the story by Thorold Dickinson.

In film, poker tends to be criminally realistic (though not necessarily more accurate), from Cincinnati Kid to Rounders, with Edward Norton and Matt Damon. The last did moderately in the box office but has become a cult film precisely because of its decent depiction of the playing process. Three years earlier Martin Scorsese gave us a memorable sequence in Casino where a pair of con poker players are expertly detected and deprived of the ability to cheat in any near future by means of a hammer and De Niro’s efficient poker-face threats.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Poker, Poker Art, Poker History | No Comments »

The Origins of Modern Day Playing Cards

Monday, September 28th, 2009

In the account books of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant there is an entry dated May 14, 1379 which reads, “Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forms, value eight and a half moutons, where with to buy a pack of cards”. Trying to familiarize a novice’s awkward fingers with what must be one of the most popular and widely known games, takes a while. Through film and fiction if not in real life it is one of the most popular modern online and high-tech casino games. In the giddy atmosphere of first live games one may never realize that the glossy polygons with the unruly freak-show of royal Siamese twins have not in fact always been as they seem to have been.

Central Asia seems to be where the first playing cards originated from. A 10th or 11th century record of paper dominoes is the first known reference to cards. It is printed to represent all of the 21 combinations of a pair of dice, used in other games in China. Artifacts from the 9th century China are the earliest found. The first use of straight writing paper instead of paper rolls is associated by scholars with the first straight-sheet paper cards and the earliest book printing.

Egyptian Mamelukes most likely introduced playing cards in quite modern form to the Europeans in the late 14th century. There were 52 cards in the typical Mameluke deck, four suits (polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups) and three court cards with, rather than persons, depicted abstracted design. At the time, only wealthy Europeans could afford the cards which were hand-made. Woodcuts (used to decorate fabrics) were then applied to paper in a new technique which was introduced around 1400 and mass production followed suit. There are records of professional card makers dating back to the period between 1418 and 1450. Card production is now one of the most flourishing world-wide industries.

In the 15th century the number and style of suits varied; some decks had five suits with hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns which were standard suits in Germany. These are still used today for a distinctive set of card games in Southern Germany. Besides the standard deck, I remember the German suits from my childhood. Because of their relative pictorial richness, I preferred these, particularly the golden nut and greenish cupules of the acorn suit. Perhaps a gift imported into Asia, Kazakhstan from German relatives.

In the early games if the “kings” were the highest card, by the 14th century the “ace” (from the Latin word meaning lowest unit of currency) began to acquire the ability to turn highest card, with the “two” being lowest. During the French Revolution this was a popular mode when the lower classes rising above royalty was vital. Likewise a revolutionary would prefer to play cards with the innovative design of Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities rather than ones with kings and queens. With Napoleon coming to power the classic design returned.

In the 19th century a reversible double image in court cards was introduced. The designs, in the earliest, were American. Though a French card maker of the late 18th century was attributed the invention but the French government prohibited the idea. The purpose was, during a session to prevent players from reversing their court cards and revealing their hands to the opponents.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Poker, Poker History | No Comments »

A Look at the Past: Playing Cards

Friday, September 25th, 2009

An entry dated 14 May 1379 in the account books of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant reads, “Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forums, value eight and a half moutons, where with to buy a pack of cards”. To familiarize a novice’s awkward finger with what must be one of the most popular and widely known modern online and high-tech casino games, takes a while. The unruly freak show of royal Siamese twins, that you first saw on a dog-eared pack on your grandma’s table, may never be realized in the giddy atmosphere of your first live games, that the glossy polygons have not always been as they seem to have always been.

Central Asia is where the very first playing cards seem to have been originated. A 10th or 11th century record of paper dominoes, printed to represent all of the 21 combinations of a pair of dice, is the first known reference to cards. Artifacts from the 9th century China are the earliest found artifacts. The straight-sheet paper cards are associated by scholars to the first straight-sheet writing paper as opposed to paper rolls (being one of many ancient Chinese inventions so obvious now to any sane modern) and with the earliest book printing.

In quite modern form, playing cards were likely introduced in the late 14th century into Europe by Egyptian Mamelukes. Consisting of 52 cards, four suits (polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups), and three court cards which depicted abstracting design rather than persons, this was the typical Mameluke deck. Only wealthy Europeans could, at the time, afford the hand-made cards. Around 1400 the technique of applying woodcuts (used until then to decorate fabric) to paper and mass production followed suit. There are records of professional card makers in the period between 1418 and 1450. Currently, one of the most flourishing world-wide industries is card production.

In the 15th century playing cards the number and style of suits varied: some decks had five suits, the standard suits in Germany were hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns. In Southern Germany these suits are still used today for a distinctive set of card games. Besides the more standard deck, from my childhood, I remember the German suits which because of their relative pictorial richness I preferred them. Especially the golden nut and greenish cupules of the acorn suit. A gift perhaps imported from German relatives into Asia, Kazakhstan.

In the early games if the “kings” were the highest card in the suit then by the 14th century the “ace” ( from the Latin word for the lowest unit of currency) began to turn highest card, which left the “two” as the lowest. During the French Revolution when it was vital that the lower classes rise above royalty this was an especially popular mode. To play cards with Kings and Queens would likely be disdained by a revolutionary who would prefer the innovative designs of Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities. With the coming of Napoleon to power the classic design returned.

In the 19th century a reversible double image in court cards was introduced. Although the earliest designs were America, a French card maker of the late 18th century is attributed the invention. The French government prohibited the idea. To prevent players from reversing their court cards during a session was the purpose, as this would reveal their hands to the opponents even the non-observant ones.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Poker History | No Comments »

A Brief History of the Playing Card

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

“Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forms, value eight and a half moutons, where with to buy a pack of cards” – so reads an entry dated May 14, 1379 in the account books of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant. It takes a while to familiarize a novice’s awkward fingers with what must be one of the most popular and widely known (through film and fiction if not through real life) modern online and high-tech casino games. And in the giddy atmosphere of first live games one may never realize that the glossy polygons – an as yet unruly freak-show of royal Siamese twins – have not in fact always been as they seem to have always been since forever, since you first saw a dog-eared pack on your grandma’s table.

The very first playing cards seem to have originated in Central Asia. The first known reference to cards is a 10th or 11th century record of paper dominoes, printed to represent all of the 21 combinations of a pair of dice, used in other games in China. The earliest found artifacts come from 9th century China. Scholars associate the first straight-sheet paper cards with the first use of straight writing paper as opposed to paper rolls (being one of the many ancient Chinese inventions so obvious now to any sane modern) and with the earliest book printing.

Playing cards in quite modern form were likely introduced into Europe by Egyptian Mamelukes in the late 14th century. The typical Mameluke deck had 52 cards, four suits (polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups), and three court cards which depicted abstracted design rather than persons. At the time, cards were hand-made and only wealthy Europeans could afford them. But the technique of applying woodcuts (used till then to decorate fabric) to paper was introduced around 1400 and mass production followed suit. In the period between 1418 and 1450 there are records of professional card makers. Nowadays, card production is one of the most flourishing world-wide industries.

The number and style of suits in 15th century playing cards varied: some decks had five suits, and hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns were the standard suits in Germany, still used today in Southern Germany for a distinctive set of card games. From my own childhood, besides the now standard deck, I remember the German suits which I much preferred because of their relative pictorial richness, particularly the golden nut and greenish cupule of the acorn suit: perhaps a gift imported into Asia, Kazakhstan from German relatives.

If the kings were the highest card in the suit in early games, by the 14th century the “Ace” (stemming from the Latin for the lowest unit of currency, as) began to acquire the ability to turn highest card, leaving the Two as lowest. This was an especially popular mode during the French Revolution when it was vital that the lower classes rise above royalty. A revolutionary would likewise disdain to play cards with Kings and Queens, preferring the innovative design of Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities, but the classic design returned with the coming of Napoleon to power.

A reversible double image in court cards was introduced in the 19th century. The earliest of such designs was American, though the invention is attributed to a French card maker of the late 18th century whose idea was prohibited by the French government. The purpose was to prevent players from reversing their court cards during a session, thus in part revealing their hands to even not the most observant of opponents

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Gambling, Poker, Poker History | No Comments »

Newer Entries »