How Baseball Became Synonymous with Poker Culture
The sport of baseball has become an indispensable part of life in American culture. From its nascent beginnings as a recreation in the 19th century to evolving into America’s national pastime, it as iconic as the hot dog, burger or even Coca-Cola. But there is another lesser-known distant cousin who rose up in American consciousness around the same time as baseball did and that is the iconic game of poker.
In fact, when baseball formed its first league in 1876, variations of the game of poker called baseball and night baseball popped up. Writer and international spy Herbert O. Yardley popularized this synergy when he commented on them in his memoirs, “The Education of a Poker Player,” in 1957.
Upon the first review, the similarities between both sports are not apparent, but once you look further, there are many, chiefly among them the up-and-down pace.
In one moment, you could be mesmerized by the snails’ pace of an inning while the next, experiencing adrenaline-fueled excitement. At one quick turn, an entire game is flipped on its head.
Another similarity is that both require mental toughness and a savviness for strategy.
Poker isn’t a game for charlatans as there are elements of luck. But you must incorporate the luck, love of numbers and overall strategy into your game. It’s mainly about the long game where patience is a virtue; not playing out of emotion but embracing all aspects of the game and anticipating your opponent’s countermove. The mental fortitude of players is something that weeds out the weaker players, as these games can usually last hours upon hours.
A study by the well-known “Freakonomics” co-author Steven D. Levitt set out to dispel the idea that poker was only a game of luck. He sought to explore the synergy of baseball and poker by comparing the skill of both sports scientifically in a data analysis.
In 2011, he released a paper called, “The Role of Skill Versus Luck in Poker: Evidence from the World Series of Poker.” In it, he shined a light on the skill level of poker players by comparing the results of professional poker players appearing at the World Series of Poker to the success rate of the strongest MLB teams against lower-ranking teams. He found that the better skilled the player, the more likely the victory. He showed that their winning rate was 55 percent of the time over lower-ranked teams or individuals.
In the report, he said, “To the extent that baseball would unquestionably be judged a game of skill, the same conclusion might reasonably be applied to poker in light of the data.”
In baseball, poker is also used for injured MLB players to stay mentally active and alert. While they are working their way back toward full fitness, baseball teams encourage players to keep their minds active with poker amid the routine of rehabilitation.
It’s also a favorite pastime with a lot of retired baseball players, many of whom are making the transition from the fields of dreams to the poker tables.
One of poker and baseball’s most famous ambassadors is the three-time All-Star pitcher Orel Hershiser. Basing most of his games out at Red Rock Casino Las Vegas, he’s been an aspiring pro poker player for some years now. Since hanging up his glove in 2000, he has appeared at the 2008 World Series of Poker and the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Another one of poker’s most-celebrated moonlighters is the baseball great Jose Canseco as well as the former relief pitcher Brad Lidge, among many others. For a full rundown of pro baseball players who have tried their hand at poker, you can head here.
Today, the poker world has changed a lot, gone are the days when professional baseball players would wind down in the warm-up rooms with poker. Now, some of these players are fixtures online poker tournaments, playing the game through their Oculus in VR mode or winning a royal flush on their mobile appliances.
As these games continue to evolve, baseball and poker will continue to enjoy a healthy relationship with each other. Whether you’re a baseball player running a poker night with your friends or you’re out at Wrigley Field discussing last night’s winning hand, these pastimes enjoy a lot more in common than most people think.
As the historian Jacques Barzun wrote of American culture in 1954: “whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and the reality of the game.” Fifty years later, poker writer James McManus paraphrased Barzun: “Whoever wants to learn the heart and mind of America had better learn poker.”
