A Short History of Poker in the White House
Before he was President Barack Obama was just a junior statesman trying to prove himself in the Illinois legislature. It was during this time that he started a regular poker game which he used to win friends and win over adversaries.
While poker might seem a somewhat scandalous choice of game for a politician given issues with its legality and somewhat colorful history it has been popular with numerous presidents.
In his latest book historian and author James McManus revealed that plenty of other U.S. presidents knew their way around a poker table as well. Richard Nixon helped finance his first congressional race with his World War II poker winnings and was known as a savvy player. Harry Truman played in the White House with a customized set of chips that were embossed with the presidential seal. He also took the opportunity to explain the order to attack Hiroshima during a stud game with reporters. FDR also liked to play and often held nickel poker games while in office to help him unwind.
While baseball might be known as America's pastime it seems that presidents have often relied on the common language of poker to explain their policies to the American people. Abraham Lincoln famously used poker terminology to explain one of his foreign policy moves. Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal had its origins in poker and he explained his program thus: "When I say I believe in a square deal, I do not mean... to give every man the best hand. If the cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has not got the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is that there shall not be any crookedness in the dealing."
So, while poker and online poker games might not be legal in some states it is a fact that America's own card game, poker, is and was enjoyed by some of the most powerful men in history.
Before he was President Barack Obama was just a junior statesman trying to prove himself in the Illinois legislature. It was during this time that he started a regular poker game which he used to win friends and win over adversaries.
While poker might seem a somewhat scandalous choice of game for a politician given issues with its legality and somewhat colorful history it has been popular with numerous presidents.
In his latest book historian and author James McManus revealed that plenty of other U.S. presidents knew their way around a poker table as well. Richard Nixon helped finance his first congressional race with his World War II poker winnings and was known as a savvy player. Harry Truman played in the White House with a customized set of chips that were embossed with the presidential seal. He also took the opportunity to explain the order to attack Hiroshima during a stud game with reporters. FDR also liked to play and often held nickel poker games while in office to help him unwind.
While baseball might be known as America's pastime it seems that presidents have often relied on the common language of poker to explain their policies to the American people. Abraham Lincoln famously used poker terminology to explain one of his foreign policy moves. Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal had its origins in poker and he explained his program thus: "When I say I believe in a square deal, I do not mean... to give every man the best hand. If the cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has not got the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is that there shall not be any crookedness in the dealing."
So, while poker and online poker games might not be legal in some states it is a fact that America's own card game, poker, is and was enjoyed by some of the most powerful men in history.
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