Busting Some Classic Poker Fact V. Fiction

Poker is full of amazing stories and tales.

These ideas get embellished over time. We are between fact and fiction here. This article is going to break down some of the best fact - fiction dynamisms!

Some things are just too wild to be true, but who knows what may be lurking beneath that poker face! Test your poker knowledge below by deciding if the statement is true or false, and then check your answers in the section below. We may be talking about poker… but now is not the time to bluff!

Solving The Dynamic Between Poker Fact & Fiction

Questions:

• Dirty clothes and unhygienic behaviour is purposefully used. Fact or fiction?
• Poker is considered an official sport. Fact or fiction?
• Johnny Chan, a poker legend – winner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets – carried a kiwi fruit around during games. Fact or fiction?
• Andrei Karpov bet his wife in a poker game. Fact or fiction?
• You can only play Texas Hold’Em in Texas. Fact or fiction?
• A strong hand makes a player lean either backwards or forwards. Fact or fiction?

Answers:

• Fact! There’s a superstition among poker players that wearing dirty clothes, or rather, the same clothes you wore during a winning streak, rids you of bad luck. That explains why you might have seen a pro wearing the same shirt a few days in a row during the World Series of Poker!
• Fact! Poker was deemed a mind sport by the International Mind Sports Association in 2010… so poker players can now call themselves athletes!
• Fiction! But it’s not far from “fact”. Back when smoking inside casinos was still allowed, Johnny Chan found all the dense fog during games unpleasant, so he carried an orange (not a kiwi) around with him to take in the citrus scent and mask the smell of tobacco.
• Fact! Russian player, Andrei Karpov, did in fact, use his wife as a stake during a losing poker game. After losing, his wife, outraged, divorced him and left him for the winner – they eventually got married!
• Fiction! Poker rooms are, in fact, illegal in Texas, and the only places you can play in Texas are at casinos in the local Indian Reserves and online. The Hold’Em variant named after the state is, of course, also widely played in casinos across the world, both land-based and online.
• Fact! Psychological studies have shown that players usually give away what type of hand they have, and usually lean either forward or backward when playing a strong hand. So keep an eye on your “tells” when you uncover your next beauty!

Conclusion

How did you go! Bluff or truth?

The thing with poker players is they will bet anything and be superstitious to the core. You cannot expect too much neutrality or expected from these guys. It is bluffing and crazy side bets all the way!