The fabulous fate of Poker Alice

As you all know, the poker game was not born from the last rain! Embark with us for a moment, in the time of saloon , cowboys and Indians, for a thrilling story of the most mythical of card games. During our American trip, we will make you discover the adventures of the first professional poker player: Alice Poker! Between travels, guns and loves, it is a thrilling story that we will try to revive... The time of several winning hands.

Poker to live in the Wild West era

Her birth name, Alice Nevers, crossed the Atlantic with her family to settle in the state of Virginia at the beginning of the year 1851. Because of the gold rush, Alice moves to Colorado where she meets a man, Frank Duffield, a poker lover. Before his death caused by an accidental explosion in a mine, Alice's husband had left a very important legacy in Alice's eyes: the practice of poker!

Indeed, according to legend, Alice frequently moved with her husband during his wild card games. By observation, she would have learned all the basics and essential strategies to win a poker game. It is in particular this practice that has allowed her to support herself, just widowed. While no profession "reserved" for women interested her, Alice then decides to live entirely from playing cards! Thanks to assets that only a young woman of the time possessed around the tables, Alice was able to pull her weight to strip a good number of men who bet all their income on poker. Following these first victories, the legend was born...

Between macho men, pistols and bluffing romances

By word of mouth, Alice's reputation grew so much that a crowd of miners were rushing into the saloon to compete with the famous poker player. It is even said that the owners of the establishments begged her to come and attack the regulars of their gambling halls! Her opponents were warned of this, however, since she did not hesitate to start a game with this sentence: " Pray to the Lord and then make your games, because I will take all your money without any regrets. »

While all the players began to call her Alice Poker, the young woman fell in love with a house painter, Warren Tubbs who later became her playmate. Moreover, during an outstanding game, one of their opponent brandishes a knife to threaten Alice's friend. The latter, far from being intimidated, uses her pistol to shoot in the arm of the wrong player who had, no doubt, drunk too much to accept his defeat.

Following many cashed-in winnings, Alice settled down by starting a family and buying a ranch with her companion Warren. Nevertheless, when she died, history seemed to repeat itself since Poker Alice put her foot back in the stirrup to challenge the best poker players and thus, try to earn a living.

Alice in the legend of the card game

The story of Alice Poker is exciting and punctuated with anecdotes that are always so crispy. After the death of her third husband, the poker player embarked on a completely different adventure by creating her own saloon . At the time of Prohibition, Alice Poker still sold alcohol to accompany game lovers until one day a soldier, intoxicated, caused a fight in his establishment.

Cigar in her mouth, Alice did not let herself be fooled and shot the man with her 38 caliber. Imprisoned, then acquitted, the poker lover continued to live from the card game, but also from her small business. Until her death at the age of 79, Alice Poker experienced several problems with the American justice system for drunkenness, but also because of her professional activity. Pardoned at 75 years old in view of her age, Alice said in particular: " I could knit like people my age, but I'd rather play poker with experts than eat . »