Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill: Poker, Politics, and Power

Thomas “Tip” O’Neill was a 20th Century American Hero. One of the last, great, liberal New Deal Democrats, he dedicated himself to a lifetime in politics fighting for the working class and underprivileged.

He came from a family of risk-takers, Irish immigrants who gambled everything to win a new life in the USA. Born in 1912, O’Neill grew up in the poor, urban, Irish working- class neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass. Here he developed a lifelong love for baseball, betting, cards, and common folk.

He writes in his memoirs, “All through my teenage years and into my twenties, my life revolved around a neighborhood gang” whose clubhouse was an abandoned basement barbershop. “There was always a card game”, poker or gin, “Nobody had much money; so the games were for a few pennies, a nickel at most.”

Young O’Neill had a talent for numbers, counting cards, figuring odds and percentages. It proved to be a valuable asset for a poker player as well as a p… Continue reading Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill: Poker, Politics, and Power

Tue, December 20th, 2005

Poker lingo:

RAIL - A barrier dividing the card playing area from a public area.
TURN - The fourth community card in Hold'em.
FIRE - To make the first bet in a betting round. Used to emphasize that the player bet when a check was possible, showing strength.
FLOP GAME - Any of a number of poker games where a flop is dealt.
TIGHT - [1] A style of play that entails playing fewer hands than average. Antonym: LOOSE. [2] A FULL HOUSE.
LEAK - To show one's hole cards (often unknowingly).

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