How often do we use jargon from the familiar game of poker without giving the origins of our cliches a second thought? Most of us know what an ace in the hole is, in general terms, but we seldom stop to consider that it means a face down card in the game of stud poker.

Blue chip might mean stocks to some people but to a poker player it signifies the highest denomination of chips in a game. Passing the buck means handing over responsibility to someone else.

Poker has its origins in the saloons of the nineteenth century, when players took turns dealing so as to minimize the chances that the dealer would cheat. An object known as a buck was passed around the table to indicate whose turn it was to deal. A wild card is an unpredictable factor that allows a player to designate a card as any other card he or she chooses, adding variation to the game. “Deuces wild” is a common example that has made its way into colloquial speech.

There are many others: up the ante, high roller, calling a bluff, when the chips are down. Our language has been forever coloured by a game popularized by Mississippi riverboat gamblers and carried west by the pioneers.