Poker News

Casino vocabulary 'makes talking poker fun'

2009-03-03 16:56:55

The vocabulary of poker makes it as fun to talk about as it is to play, one expert has commented.

In an article for the Poker News website, Martin Harris looks at the many nicknames and phrases that the game has generated and lifts the lid on some of their origins.

He states to wear a poker face, call someone's bluff or suggest the chips are down is now natural to many, but adds there is even more quirky jargon to be found in poker.

In Texas hold'em, for example, many popular TV personalities make an appearance at the table, with an "Alan Alda" being the term coined for a double ace and a ten and a jack - or T-J - being known as a "TJ Hooker".

Broderick Crawford, star of 1950s show Highway Patrol, lends his name to a ten-four hand - as it was a call sign his character often used on screen - and a "King Kong" for pocket kings has now evolved into other versions such as "Gorillas in the Mist".

Ten-two is referred to as T2 - the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie - and elsewhere, Dolly Parton (nine-five), Quentin Tarantino (queen-ten) and Anna Kournikova (ace-king) have also been name checked.