Poker & Pop Culture, Revisited

In yesterday’s post I referred to some references to poker in popular culture. Got me thinking further about other, similar examples, both of late and from further back in history.

I have a piece over on Betfair Poker today that refers to one such example, the awesomely-named Thanatopsis Pleasure and Inside Straight Club, a poker club that involved members of the famous Algonquin Round Table from the 1920s. The article kind of revives an old series of columns I had begun over on PokerNews some time ago.

These “Poker & Pop Culture” columns have had a bit more shelf life than some of the other articles I’ve written, and I find myself going back to them every now and then. In fact, just yesterday on Twitter my friend B.J. Nemeth made a reference to how poker came up a lot on the old “Star Trek: Next Generation” series, and I was able to point him to a fairly long piece compiling all of those references.

Anyhow, here’s a list of all 20 of those “Poker & Pop Culture” columns I’ve done, with links to each.

The Thanatopsis Pleasure and Inside Straight Club (10/8/10)
Poker and Space Exploration (7/21/09)
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (5/19/09)
Herbert O. Yardley’s ‘The Education of a Poker Player’ (4/28/09)
‘California Split’ (4/14/09)

Mainstream Magazines on the Poker Boom (3/31/09)
Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man’s Hand (3/17/09)
Hold’em Hand Nicknames (3/3/09)
Mark Twain (2/17/09)
Matt Damon and Ed Norton Enter the 1998 WSOP (2/3/09)

The Films of W.C. Fields (1/20/09)
Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler’ (12/30/08)
Dogs Playing Poker (12/17/08)
Bret Maverick (12/2/08)
Gabe Kaplan (11/18/08)

Poker-Playing Presidents (11/4/08)
CBS and the World Series of Poker (10/21/08)
Critical Reception of ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ (10/7/08)
Amarillo Slim Goes on Johnny Carson (9/23/08)
Moss & Dandalos, Dazzling With Dollars (9/9/08)

Some of these are definitely better than others, I think, but I’m gonna guess there’s bound to be at least one or two items of interest to most folks in there somewhere. My favorites include the one about C.M. Coolidge's “Dogs Playing Poker” paintings, the one telling the story behind ”The Gambler,” and the Star Trek one.

I’ve had more than a few posts here on Hard-Boiled Poker that have fit under this “Poker & Pop Culture” heading, too. I think I might create a separate page listing all of those posts/articles in the near future.

If you happen to click through and read any of those pieces, come back and let me know what you think. Meanwhile, have a good weekend all.