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Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 123
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Book Description
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.
Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 123
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Book Description
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.
Author: Time-Life Books
Publisher: Time Life Medical
ISBN: 9780783549033
Category : Gamblers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Presents an illustrated history of gamblers and gambling in the Old West.
Author: William Dale Jennings
Publisher: In the Hands of a Child
ISBN:
Category : Cowboys
Languages : en
Pages : 46
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Book Description
Author: G R Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 149
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Book Description
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.
Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 88
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Book Description
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.
Author: Jack DeMattos
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574415948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 351
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Book Description
Often times the smaller the man, the harder the punch--this adage was true in the case of diminutive Luke Short, whose brief span of years played out in the Wild West. His adventures began as a teenage cowboy who followed the trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads. He then served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars and, finally, he perfected his skills as a gambler in locations that included Leadville, Tombstone, Dodge City, and Fort Worth. In 1883, in what became known as the "Dodge City War," he banded together with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and others to protect his ownership interests in the Long Branch Saloon--an event commemorated by the famous "Dodge City Peace Commission" photograph. The irony is that Luke Short is best remembered for being the winning gunfighter in two of the most celebrated showdowns in Old West history: the shootout with Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona, and the showdown against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. He would have hated that. During his lifetime, Luke Short became one of the best known sporting men in the United States, and one of the wealthiest. He had been a partner in the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, as well as the White Elephant in Fort Worth. He became friends with other wealthy sporting men, such as William H. Harris, Jake Johnson, and Bat Masterson, who helped broaden his gaming interests to include thoroughbred horse racing and boxing. Before he died he would become a familiar figure in Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, and Saratoga Springs, where he raced his string of horses. He traveled with other wealthy sporting men in private railroad cars to attend heavyweight championship fights. Luke Short was always a little man dealing in big games. He married the beautiful Hattie Buck, who could turns heads at all the top resorts they visited as man and wife. Jack DeMattos and Chuck Parsons have researched deeply into all records to produce the first serious biography of Luke Short, revealing in full the epitome of a sporting man of the Wild West.
Author: Robert K. DeArment
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806179783
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday—such are the legendary names that spring to mind when we think of the western gunfighter. But in the American West of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thousands of grassroots gunfighters straddled both sides of the law without hesitation. Deadly Dozen tells the story of twelve infamous gunfighters, feared in their own times but almost forgotten today. Now, noted historian Robert K. DeArment has compiled the stories of these obscure men. DeArment, a life-long student of law and lawlessness in the West, has combed court records, frontier newspapers, and other references to craft twelve complete biographical portraits. The combined stories of Deadly Dozen offer an intensive look into the lives of imposing figures who in their own ways shaped the legendary Old West. More than a collective biography of dangerous gunfighters, Deadly Dozen also functions as a social history of the gunfighter culture of the post-Civil War frontier West. As Walter Noble Burns did for Billy the Kid in 1926 and Stuart N. Lake for Wyatt Earp in 1931, DeArment—himself a talented writer—brings these figures from the Old West to life. John Bull, Pat Desmond, Mart Duggan, Milt Yarberry, Dan Tucker, George Goodell, Bill Standifer, Charley Perry, Barney Riggs, Dan Bogan, Dave Kemp, and Jeff Kidder are the twelve dangerous men that Robert K. DeArment studies in Deadly Dozen: Twelve Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West.
Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: G.R. Williamson
ISBN: 0985278013
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 452
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Book Description
E-Pub edition
Author: Mike Flanagan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780028629452
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
Little known lore about pioneers, easy to understand explanations of land agreements, fascinating adventures of Native Americans, and photos the people of the ole West.
Author: Al Cimino
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 0785833765
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 194
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Book Description
Delve into the world of the Wild West and the gunslingers that populated its dusty towns and saloons.
