highball

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>See Tom Clark's _Dictionary of Gambling & Gaming_ (c. 1987):
>
>highball, n.  A poker game in which the player holding the highest
>ranking hand wins.  Compare lowball.  [1881 DAE, 1894 OED]
>
>lowball, n.  A variation in poker in which the lowest hand wins rather
>than the highest hand.  Compare highball.  [ca. 1961 Hotel Coll]
>
>This would lead me to believe lowball is the "retronym".

The "highball" listed in the OED with an 1894 citation apparently was a
game using balls and a bottle ... I imagine something like poker dice,
maybe? I think this game is now long forgotten?

"Lowball" (poker) MIGHT be based on the name of this old game (another
possibility: formed as in "lowball offer" [however that came to be]).
"Lowball" (poker) is surely older than 1961, but I can't find a reference
for its age. It's in Webster's Third.

The modern "highball" quoted above is almost surely based on "lowball".
This is a natural development e.g. in a game of dealer's choice where
"lowball" is a common choice ["We'll play five-card draw." "Lowball again?"
"No, highball this time."]

-- Doug Wilson