The Mixed Fortunes Of Poker Playing Presidents

The poker playing strategy of President Richard Nixon compared with that of President Harry S. Truman

Following up on our piece about poker playing Presidents of the USA a little while back, a journalist friend reminded us that although Richard Nixon tried the biggest bluff of all time when he openly challenged Congress to impeach him over Watergate, he made the classic mistake of showing his cards (the infamous doctored Oval Office tapes) prior to the bluff and his raising of the stakes. The consequence of that tactical error resulted in Congress “calling” Tricky Dicky’s bluff and bringing him down in the final showdown.

"I'm not bluffing!"

President Harry S. Truman, however, was an altogether smarter poker player. He would frequently fleece the press reporters who followed him around in high stakes games that they could ill afford to lose on their comparatively low salaries. The World War II President demonstrated his skill at deception by playing weak hands after a big win so as to re-distribute money to the financially ravaged reporters. Having demonstrated his nice side for everyone to see and read about, he promptly dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. Keep ‘em guessing. That’s the art. Truman was the true President of Poker.

"I'll raise you Western Europe!"

Beat poker playing presidents and all sorts at: www.DailyStarPoker.com

OLD TRUTHS
You’ll often hear older, experienced poker players grunt, “Any two cards can win it!” They are referring of course to your hole cards. This statement pretty much flies in the face of accepted modern wisdom that a high pair or ace-king as starting hole cards are much more likel