[Ads-l] Antedating of "Poker" (Card Gane) by Barry Popik

[Shapiro, Fred]

As I have said before, there are a bunch of people on this list who are cleverer than I am and post amazing and important antedatings.  However, the one who most awes me with the quantity of their important antedatings is Barry Popik.  I have tried for decades to find citations for the very important term "poker" (card game) earlier than the OED's 1832 cite, without success.  The 1832 cite was found by James Clapp and passed on to the OED by me.  Now Barry has found "poker" in 1827:

poker (OED, n4, 1832)

1827 National Banner and Nashville Whig 29 Sept. 1 / 2 (Newspapers.com)

While at Mobile, Alston was engaged at a match game of bluff or poker for $300 with a certain Mr McAdams, who is one of the shrewdest bluff, poker, seven-up or euchre players in the United States.

Fred Shapiro

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