Post by MVGI've searched newgroups and website search engines to the max, and I
cannot find a reference to the etymology of the Texas Hold 'Em terms
"flop", "turn", and "river". Or for "Texas Hold 'Em" name itself.
Clearly the "flop" comes from the flopping over of the cards, but the
others are not obvious and probably amusing. Anyone know?
I'm glad you asked.
'Flop' is actually derived from Dr. Daniel Flopp, the German dental
physician and card-player of the late 19th century who terrorised the
one-card stud and Eight Men Down games in Europe at that time.
The secret of his success was to always carry three extra cards around with
him in his top pocket, normally Aces and Kings, which he would quickly
remove and place on the table whenever he was behind in a hand.
These extra cards gave Flopp a distinct advantage at a time when rules were
vague, but he was eventually told to either stop attempting to play them, or
to share them with all the players. He chose the latter option, and that's
where community cards came from.
The origins of the 'Turn' card are more obtuse, and actually date from just
three years ago. Until the 2002 WSOP, all Holdem and Omaha games were played
with four community cards, with the river following the flop while the
players ate crackers and drank wine.
In some of the larger casinos, the intermission between flop and river was
filled with some form of entertainment while the players ate and drank,
normally dancing girls or Siegfried and Roy. Obviously, with over a million
tables playing concurrently, it was impossible for the WSOP to provide
post-flop entertainment on every hand, so during the 2001 Main Event,
individual players would get up and 'do a turn'.
While it was entertaining to watch Gus Hanson's erotic dancing, Annie Duke's
Animal Magic and Chris Moneymaker singing songs, the 'turn' acts did little
to enhance the sport of poker, so for the following year, the WSOP decided
to scrap this, and introduce an extra 'turn card' instead.
The additional card proved very popular with players, and has stayed with us
ever since.
Finally we come to the 'River' card, which has been so called since ancient
Egyptian times when Cat-like Gods would deal cards from the heavens during
the solstices of the year.
This dramatic, primative form of poker was played by 18-foot-high Mummies,
who used the land of Egypt as their card-table, using giant pyramid-shaped
cards. Hands would take up to a year to complete at times, sometimes longer.
Sometimes these would fall mysteriously from the Stars. At other times they
would grow like leaves from trees. But the final card in any hand would
always be dealt by floating down the River Nile, normally counterfeiting my
two pair, and winning the hand for some lucky fucker with pocket jacks.
And now you know the truth.
BTN