5 Ways Poker Has Influenced Popular Culture

The origins of poker date back to the 19^th century, and since it’s inception we have seen the game infiltrate into many areas of western culture. In fact some credit the ‘poker boom’ of the late 90’s and 00’s with the release of the Hollywood movie Rounders. We take a look below at five ways the game of poker has influenced popular culture.

Art

We’re all familiar with Dogs Playing Poker, the 16 painting series by C.M. Coolidge, but despite this, on first inspection you might not think it’s possible for poker to have had an effect on the sophisticated art world.

However, in the 2008 BBC documentary, The Great Contemporary Art Bubble with Ben Lewis, he discovered a pool of secret deals and market manipulation, stating:

“Contemporary art has now become a poker game for the richest men and women in the world… They are daring each other to raise the stakes and call their bluff.”

Just because there aren’t collections dedicated to the sport, doesn’t mean that a knowledge of the game hasn’t inspired artist’s behaviour when it comes to getting the most out of their work.

Music

Perhaps the most successful poker-related song of recent years is Lady Gaga’s Poker Face which, with 14 million copies sold, is considered one of the most successful singles of all time. Whilst it might be the most famous poker related song, there are plenty of golden oldies out there too like Motorhead’s The Ace of Spades and of course Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas. If you’re looking for more songs to add to your poker playlist, check out these top ten poker songs.

 

Film

There have been countless films over the years that feature poker related storylines and scenes, and they’re usually box office hits. Why? Because Hollywood tends to portray a glamorous lifestyle surrounded by beautiful women and plenty of money. Take Casino Royale for example.

Even the true poker-based films like Rounders – where a reformed gambler starts playing again to help a friend pay off his debts – still play on the natural human thirst for danger and success which is ultimately why they’ve been so successful.

Travel

Specifically stag-dos and lads holidays, but also girls getaways and romantic retreats, Las Vegas has become the gambling capital of the world and it’s a lifestyle everyone wants to experience, with more than 42 million visitors each year.

In 2015, The Strip’s gaming revenue was a massive $6.3billion – no wonder Vegas is the city that springs to mind when anyone even utters the word “gambling”.

It seems gambling is pretty invincible too, because even after being hit by the recession, Vegas remains one of the world’s premier gaming destinations and at the top of many people’s travel bucket lists.

Language and books

Another surprising one here is the influence that poker has had on books and language. There are so many great poker-related stories out there nowadays. There are of course the poker games with gripping build-ups, intended to get your heart pumping and adrenaline racing, mentioned in a lot of fiction nowadays but the thing that’s really surprising is the number of poker strategy books available. You might not think that means much but the very fact that these books have been published and are available means that there’s a market for them and poker is now very much a part of everyday life.

From books we also get language; have you ever caught yourself saying, call your bluff, an ace up my sleeve, poker face or even upping the ante? Well, you can thank poker for all of these and many more of the terms we use on a day-to-day basis, even if we don’t play the game ourselves.