Life on Tilt Circa 1900

There's no shortage of poker folklore or legend and I've been getting some interesting calls these days sharing some favorites.

Today a guy named Michael Noonan rang me up. He saw an article about Life on Tilt and wanted to share a story that happened over 100 years ago.

Turns out Michael's great-grandfather enjoyed a good game of poker. Well, he got involved in one of the infamous underground card games in New York City and the stakes got quite high. At one point in the evening, the group decided they wanted to wager more than their cash on hand and players offered to put up some collateral.

These games get pretty crazy and the house allowed the players to 'play behind.' Michael's great-grandfather decided to put his fleet of tugboats on the line. This is similar to the old west when a cowboy would bet "the nuts" - indicating the nuts to his wagon wheels, ensuring the bettor wouldn't go anywhere if the hand was lost.

Well, unfortunately for Michael's great-grandfather, the hand didn't work out and he lost his fleet of tugboats. Imagine showing up at home the next day to explain that one!

Now that's Life on Tilt!

John