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he Guardian Poker Column |
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Victoria
Coren |
Friday December 16, 2005
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How to play poker (How to play has been running from issue 16) |
Since the poker explosion, it has become mainstream and
very uncool to talk seriously of "big slick" and "the cowboys". Inventing your
own jargon, however, remains quite acceptable. There was a veritable snowfall
of entries to my Yuletide poker competition a couple of weeks ago, in which I
promised a free set of excellent poker chips (equipment) to whoever coined the best Christmassy nickname for
a poker hand..
My favourite entries translated the visual look of the
hands into festive symbols. Several readers suggested "candy canes" or
"Christmas stockings" for JJ. Vicki Grimshaw from Leeds came up with "party
hats" for AA. Brian Ballantyne emailed to suggest "the baubles" for 66 and "I
Saw Three Ships" for a set of fours (444). I think all those nicknames are
charming, and I shall be using them myself until twelfth night. |
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On a nativity theme, Dan Gregory suggested a
full house could be "a no-roomer"; and Fran Oestreicher offered "a Herod" for
72, "because it should be put down on delivery." Many readers suggested "gold,
frankincense and myrrh" for three kings, but I prefer the more poetic name put
forward by Harry Markham: "the stargazers".
Peter Dunne suggested naming
a royal flush after Cliff Richard, because "it's only seen once a year, but
always number one". Harder-hearted Simon Alpren from Hertfordshire gave the
same name to 92 "because it's crap". Another idea for a pair of jacks came from
Bernie Hill ("the silent knights"), while Chris Taylor thought a heart or
diamond flush could be "Santa" because it turns up in a red suit.
But
the winner is Vicki Grimshaw. "Party hats" is a perfect seasonal nickname for
AA. It's visually cute, and encapsulates that festive cheer one always feels on
finding the aces. (I also liked Vicki's back-up suggestion of "the Queen's
speech" for Q2, because "it's a queen with something entirely
inconsequential".) Chips on the way, Vicki! I hope they go well with your
turkey.
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