Gambling In The Old West
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Gambling In The Old West
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Author : G. R. Williamson
language : en
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
Release Date : 2020-11-30
Gambling In The Old West written by G. R. Williamson and has been published by Indian Head Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-11-30 with Games & Activities categories.
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 of television and movies, this book takes a closer look at this integral facet of our history that provokes both condemnation and revelry. 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 business 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 chaws before downing a shot of redeye. 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 of a better saloon was the addition of gambling rooms to the rear or a gambling hall located in a second story above the saloon. This accommodated the serious gamblers where large amounts of cash exchanged hands over the green cloth tables. As it evolved, saloon owners offered someone, usually a noted gambler, the gambling concession - with the saloon getting a percentage of the take. The better the location, the more well-heeled the customers, and the professional expertise of an efficient gambling operation could mean sizeable profits for the owner. Besides location, reputation was everything in the saloon business. From the Mississippi River to the Barbary Coast of California one saloon tried to top the others with what they offered and who gambled there. Big name gamblers drew a crowd and this translated into bigger profits from liquor sales and gambling. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Luke Short, Ben Thompson, Swiftwater Bill Gates, Dick Clark, Rowdy Joe Lowe, and the rest of the old west's gambling superstars ran the gaming operations in most of the better saloons of the era. This book is the first volume of the Hip-Pocket History of the Old West (Series) providing a compact, concise accounts that cover 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.
Gambling Games Of The Old West
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Author : G R Williamson
language : en
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
Release Date : 2021-01-11
Gambling Games Of The Old West written by G R Williamson and has been published by Indian Head Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021-01-11 with Games & Activities categories.
Most of the gamblers of the Old West got their start and reputations by working the circuit of the Mississippi River boats, the railhead cattle towns of Kansas, or the boomtowns that popped up around gold or silver mining. The gunfighter Ben Thompson got his start by running the Bull's Head Saloon with partner Phil Coe in Ellsworth, Kansas. Ben's friend, Bat Masterson, also started his career in the cattle towns of Texas and Kansas. In general, these legendary gamblers were known as "legitimate" or that they played a fair game without cheating. Truth be told, all of them knew the methods employed by the "sharps" to clean the pockets of the other players at the table. They had to know these "tricks" in order to spot a cheater at their table. Did they ever use any of these advantages to increase their odds? Probably so, but the public's perception of these men was that they ran a "square game". Hip-Pocket History of the Old West (Series) 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.
Gamblers Of The Old West
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Author : Bill Kelly
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1995-01-01
Gamblers Of The Old West written by Bill Kelly and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1995-01-01 with Gamblers categories.
Frontier Gambling
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Author : G. R. Williamson
language : en
Publisher: G.R. Williamson
Release Date : 2011
Frontier Gambling written by G. R. Williamson and has been published by G.R. Williamson this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011 with History categories.
Frontier Gambling: The Games, The Gamblers, and the Great Gambling Halls of the Old West is an entertaining look at one of the integral facets of the American West - gambling. Rich in detail and jargon, yet written in an easy to understand style, the book tells how the games were played, legitimately and otherwise; it provides sketches of some of the infamous gamblers and con men of the era; and it covers the notorious saloons and gambling houses where fortunes were wagered night and day in the untamed West.
The Gamblers
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Author : Time-Life Books
language : en
Publisher: Time Life Medical
Release Date : 1978
The Gamblers written by Time-Life Books and has been published by Time Life Medical this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1978 with History categories.
Examines the history of gambling in the American West and discusses numerous gamblers and the games they played.
The World Of The American West 2 Volumes
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Author : Gordon Morris Bakken
language : en
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Release Date : 2016-12-12
The World Of The American West 2 Volumes written by Gordon Morris Bakken and has been published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-12-12 with History categories.
Addressing everything from the details of everyday life to recreation and warfare, this two-volume work examines the social, political, intellectual, and material culture of the American "Old West," from the California Gold Rush of 1849 to the end of the 19th century. What was life really like for ordinary people in the Old West? What did they eat, wear, and think? How did they raise their children? How did they interact with government? What did they do for fun? This encyclopedia provides readers with an engaging and detailed portrayal of the Old West through the examination of social, cultural, and material history. Supported by the most current research, the multivolume set explores various aspects of social history—family, politics, religion, economics, and recreation—to illuminate aspects of a society's emotional life, interactions, opinions, views, beliefs, intimate relationships, and connections between the individual and the greater world. Readers will be exposed to both objective reality and subjective views of a particular culture; as a result, they can create a cohesive, accurate impression of life in the Old West during the second half of the 1800s.
Livin On Jacks And Queens
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Author : Robert Randisi
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2015-01-23
Livin On Jacks And Queens written by Robert Randisi and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015-01-23 with categories.
Legendary western writer and noted anthologist Robert J. Randisi offers up a winning hand with fourteen never-before-published tales of the Old West, each revolving around the central theme of gambling. Among the stories you can expect to be dealt here are: Jacks or Better by Johnny Boggs A Cold Deck by Phil Dunlap The Reckoning by Randy Lee Eickhoff It Takes a Gambler by Jerry Guin Odds on a Lawman by Christine Matthews Pay the Ferryman by Matthew P. Mayo White Face, Red Blood by Rod Miller Hazard by Nik Morton Acey Deucy by John Nesbitt The Mark of an Imposter: An Evelyn Page/Calvin Carter Adventure by Scott Parker Horseshoe and Pistols by Robert J. Randisi Too Many Aces by Charlie Steel Missouri Boat Race by Chuck Tyrell The Legend of 'Blind Ned' Baldwin by Lori Van Pelt
The Mobilized American West 1940 2000
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Author : John M. Findlay
language : en
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Release Date : 2023-07
The Mobilized American West 1940 2000 written by John M. Findlay and has been published by U of Nebraska Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-07 with History categories.
In the years between 1940 and 2000, the American Far West went from being a relative backwater of the United States to a considerably more developed, modern, and prosperous region--one capable of influencing not just the nation but the world. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, the population of the West had multiplied more than four times since 1940, and western states had transitioned from rural to urban, becoming the most urbanized section of the country. Massive investment, both private and public, in the western economy had produced regional prosperity, and the tourism industry had undergone massive expansion, altering the ways Americans identified with the West. In The Mobilized American West, 1940-2000, John M. Findlay presents a historical overview of the American West in its decades of modern development. During the years of U.S. mobilization for World War II and the Cold War, the West remained a significant, distinct region even as its development accelerated rapidly and, in many ways, it became better integrated into the rest of the country. By examining events and trends that occurred in the West, Findlay argues that a distinctive, region-wide political culture developed in the western states from a commitment to direct democracy, the role played by the federal government in owning and managing such a large amount of land, and the way different groups of westerners identified with and defined the region. While illustrating western distinctiveness, Findlay also aims to show how, in its sustaining mobilization for war, the region became tethered to the entire nation more than ever before, but on its own terms. Findlay presents an innovative approach to viewing the American West as a region distinctive of the United States, one that occasionally stood ahead of, at odds with, and even in defiance of the nation.
Notorious Gamblers Of The Old West
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Author : G. Williamson
language : en
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date : 2018-02-03
Notorious Gamblers Of The Old West written by G. Williamson and has been published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-02-03 with categories.
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 most of the men of the American West, even including some preachers. It's true that a large percentage of the people that populated the American West frequently gambled but only a small amount of them were actually professional gamblers. Heralded by some, despised by many, the professional gamblers were often solitary individuals driven by a passion to win - sometimes at all costs. Some came from a background of the well-heeled upper class while most came from meager origins desperate to improve their lot in life. Along the way, they were praised as being "knights of the green cloth" or ridiculed with such pejorative terms as "tinhorns" or "blacklegs." 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. Notorious Gamblers tells the true story of the Old West gamblers and how they used "tricks" to cheat the other players. Along the way you will meet Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holiday, Luke Short, and the rest of the major frontier gamblers. "I always liked to set a lot of silver on the table in front of me all the time. That's the main reason my table always got the biggest play. It was like flies after molasses syrup." - Long John Dunn
Forgotten Games Of The Old West
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Author : G. R Williamson
language : en
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
Release Date :
Forgotten Games Of The Old West written by G. R Williamson and has been published by Indian Head Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on with Games & Activities categories.
Faro and Monte were the most popular gambling games of the Old West. Today, most of us have no idea about Faro and Monte. Why? Whenever a gambling game is depicted in a western saloon it is Poker - whether it's television, movies, or novels we are led to believe that there were no other games, other than Poker. Why is that? Because it's easy to see a player with a full house of aces and eights is probably going to win the pot sitting on the table in front of him. We look through the blinders of our currant vision of gambling (which does not offer Faro and Monte.) What were these forgotten games, how they were played, why were they so popular, and why aren't they played in casinos today? This is the true story of Faro and Monte - readers will come to know the real story behind the games that ruled the gambling saloons of the Old West.