Card Games in Sherlock Holmes Canon & Premium Tobacco Pairings Vol. 3 Poker
Here I am, back on the 3d of three Mondays where I'll be taking a brief look at specifically-named cardgames that appear in Sherlock Holmes canon. Each installment will include a bit of Sherlockian context, an overview of individual games, and finally, a recommendation as to premium tobacco (cigars & pipes) pairings. We began with Whist (you may read that by clicking here), then followed w/ Ecarte (HERE), and lastly in the here & now, comes Poker. There is your orientation; here is your content...
POKER IN SHERLOCKIAN CANON
The Valley of Fear [VALL] is Arthur Conan Doyle's fourth of four Sherlock Holmes novels. It's based on the true tale of Pinkerton agent James McParland's dealings w/ the Molly Maguires--and, as I'll say again in a short-bit, perhaps rather closely-so. It was published in serialized fashion within the pages of The Strand Magazine, running from its September 1914 issue thru till May 1915's. George H. Doran Company in New York published the book edition on Feb. 27, 1915.
The Valley of Fear is at once an ambitious socio-political shot at sweeping epic, and too, a close to the cuff tight-retelling of history. While quite the page-turner, its non-linear style is at times delivered a tick toward herky-jerky disjointedness. It reads in spots like it doesn't want to be fully grasped. Also, we either get utterly lost in unreadable American pages upon pages, or treated to a tale of the wide-open wild Frontier which easily holds up to anything Louis L'amour could concoct. There are two camps here, I am of the latter.
But what do I know? Well, I know just one more trifle of potential interest regarding VALL--it's viewed by some as a sort of forebearer to the Hardboiled Noir genre within detective stories of years come later. All that aside, where our topic at (Poker) hand arises in its pages, is in that big sweeping American section that stands w/ A Study in Scarlett's same US feature at bookends of the four ACD Sherlock novels. Funny, how that is. Alpha & Omega, suckin' on chili dog outside the Tastee Freez. I think of that a lot, for whatever reason. I'll most likely address it more fully in due(ish) time.
Nevertheless, it is in America that Poker is mentioned by name because Poker itself is, after all, an American game. It hits the canon precisely via Bodymaster Boss McGinty's alibi. "This man was with me in my saloon, playing poker up till midnight, and I can bring a dozen to prove it." This is regarding the whereabouts of one *SPOILER ALERT* John Douglas/Jack McMurdo/Birdy Edwards, when he was, in reality, playing/not playing a careful role in the beat-down of old newspaper editor James Stanger with his supposed fellow Scowerers.
Please note my complete omission of The Speckled Band [SPEC] in which Sherlock bends back into place another type of poker, entirely. On a final note, I have heard made mention of McGinty as America's Moriarty. That's nothing but absolute absurdity.
ON THE GAME OF POKER
ze Germans played Pochen, a bluffing game, as far back as the 16th-century. This eventually evolved into Poque and did-so in France. From there, it can be traced to New Orleans USofA and by the 1830s, a refined version was beginning to be known as Poker. There are a gazillion variants of the game, and c'mon, we're all familiar enough for government work. No need to explore here. One thing... Poker was a draw-only game until the Civil War, when Stud was introduced.
American roots aside, Poker is now a worldwide game, and a perennial family favorite, using say pennies as chips. Also, it's a high-roller casino game where degenerate gamblers move millions of dollars around amongst themselves. Not long ago, internet poker was a craze, and man, some of those incels made a bunch of Benjamins. I should probably digress.
Lest you think the origin of poker as mentioned atop this section is for certain at all, now read this from R. F. Foster in his 1937 edition of Foster's Complete Hoyle: "the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas." Still, others point to the game of Bluff as birthing Poker. As to me, I led with my belief because it involves language tracking and that's nifty.
PREMIUM TOBACCO PAIRINGS
Whether played against grandma for pennies, or against Phil Ivey for more money than God can ante, Poker is ultimately a game of deception and subterfuge that requires a clear head. It also requires patience. Texas Hold 'em? MORE LIKE TEXAS FOLD 'EM. It can be rather boring of a game when played as tight as a nun's you-know-what. Deliberate. It's a deliberate and then it's a reckless game. Clear heads prevail each. Also, so does dumb fucking luck.
That said--grab something to smoke that's mild to accompany the daydreams in-between horrible reckonings. But most importantly and again--to keep that clear head. Plus, mild aromas and room-notes won't piss off Grandma across her kitchen table from you; or make you smell like an ashtray when you need to sell your body to the highest bidder to afford your bus ticket out of Vegas. Don't worry. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas--but then again Peoria or Schenectady Grandma knows... oh, you can just tell.
As far as pipe tobacco goes, I'd actually recommend OTCs like...
COMPANION READING
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