[Ads-l] help - origin of Poker terms

[Pete Morris]

Thanks for the dates.

Here's one antedating, just to kick off.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Sj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42&dq=poker++%22the+turn+card%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOqsKf8qH7AhWBSEEAHRcMAzUQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=poker%20%20%22the%20turn%20card%22&f=false

"The turn card was a 6 , making 4-6-7-6 in the widow and giving
  the pro a full house ."

Life,  16th August 1968.


------ Original Message ------
>From "Jesse Sheidlower" <jester at PANIX.COM>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 09/11/2022 19:20:18
Subject Re: help - origin of Poker terms

>On Wed, Nov 09, 2022 at 04:07:03PM +0000, Pete Morris wrote:
>>I am a keen poker player.  I'm curious about a number of
>>poker terms whose origin is obscure.
>>
>>But perhaps  nobody ever asked the wizards of ADS.
>>
>>What is the earliest known cite for the following terms?
>>
>>Can anyone here find  antedatings?  Or early cites that suggest
>>an origin?
>>
>>The Flop - the first three community cards in Hold'em or Omaha
>>
>>The Turn - the fourth community card
>>
>>The River - the fifth community card
>
>OED has entries for all three of these, with first cites of 1973 for "flop", 1971 for "turn", and 1978 for "river" (with a 1949 example of "down the river" referring to the last card in seven-card stud).
>
>>The preceding three  have been  discussed at length in poker circles.
>>There are speculations,  but nothing definite known.  I'm also curious
>>about the following.  It's possible they have definite known origins,  but
>>I don't know them.
>>
>>The nuts - an unbeatable poker hand
>
>OED has an entry for _the nuts_ 'an excellent or first-rate person or thing; (_Cards_) an unbeatable hand', though there are no citations for this nuance (which is a problem). There's also a 1973 for _nut flush_.
>
>Jesse Sheidlower
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org