Nixon’s poker campaign
Former U.S. President Richard Nixon reportedly financed his first political campaign with money he won playing poker in the United States Navy during World War II. His winnings helped pay for his successful U.S. Congress run in 1946. Apparently, Nixon decided that his lucrative pastime would not be viewed favorably as his political career gained momentum, and he gave up poker in 1952 when he became Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate.
In his autobiography, Nixon wrote: “I learned that the people who have the cards are usually the ones who talk the least and the softest; those who are lying tend to talk loudly and give themselves away.”
Origin of “the nuts”
In poker, “the nuts” refers to the top poker hand possible with the cards on the table. According to some poker experts, the term originated in the wild west, where players sometimes bet their horse and wagon. When a player put up his horse and wagon in a game, he would be forced to remove the nuts from his wagon wheels and place them in the pot, so that he couldn’t run away if he lost the bet. Therefore, it was assumed that anyone would bet “the nuts” with only the best possible poker hand
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November 20, 2008
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