As avid poker players, we all tend to have a few things in common. We are uniquely intelligent and thrive for knowledge, our interests lie in anything poker related, and we often get bored waiting for the right cards to land in the hole. With each of these points in mind, I’ve decided it’s time to explore some of the oddities of the poker world and, as is my nature, share them with the rest of my kind.
World Strip Poker Championship
The first thing I discovered is that they actually host a World Strip Poker Championship. Who knew? Apparently a lot of people did, at least a few hundred that were willing to pay good money to strip down in front of an on-looking crowd for a shot at the £10,000 prize.
The very first World Strip Poker Championship was sponsored by Paddy Power, held on August 19, 2006 at the Café Royale in London. A 32-year-old freelance writer by the name of John Young became the last (clothed) man standing. Young was awarded the top prize of £10,000 and the aptly designed “Gold Fig Leaf” trophy.
To protect the modesty of its competitors, the house gave each player five items of clothing and a comfortably woven towel with which to cover themself after being eliminated, should they choose to use it. Representatives of Paddy Power told John that they would donate and additional £10,000 to cancer research if he “dropped trou”, to which he cordially obliged.
World’s Largest Poker Table
Did you ever see a movie called Wise Guys on Texas Hold’em? Yeah, me neither. But I did come across an odd fact concerning the promotion of this film in 2007 which entailed the construction of the world’s largest poker table. The colossal table measured 30 feet in length and a 12 foot width.
Although the height was customary, the scale was immense, which of course called for reciprocating playing cards that were traditionally flat, but about the size of a standard pillow. The dealer, rather than flinging the enormous cards or taking excessive time to walk around the table, made the smart choice to walk across the top of the table.
Why Do Dogs Play Poker?
Okay, dogs don’t really play poker, but I doubt there’s a single card player out there who hasn’t seen at least one painting (more likely a reproduction) of pooches sitting around the felt, smoking cigars and tossing chips. The concept of dogs playing poker artwork has a rather interesting history to it actually.
It all started in 1903 when a cigar company, Brown & Bigelow, contracted C. M. Coolidge to paint a series of 16 oil paintings to promote their brand. He was asked to incorporate dogs acting like humans. In more than half of these artworks, 9 to be exact, Coolidge chose to exhibit dogs playing poker in a realistic setting. The most famous of all is titled ‘A Bold Bluff’ in which the viewer is able to see the Saint Bernard’s hand and surmise that he is clearly bluffing.