This is from our book
A History of The World from A Gambler’s Perspective which I co-wrote with Antonio Carrasco. It's the story of by far the most important poker hand ever played.
The Most Important Hand Ever Played
How Union General William T. Sherman Used Poker to Defeat His Opponent
For this chapter the authors would like to recognize the book
Never Call Retreat by Bruce Catton.
One of the more common themes you’ll find in some of today’s poker literature are articles that describe poker hands. Sometimes these are instructive in nature, and sometimes they are just describing a dramatic situation, especially an important hand played late in a tournament where much money was at stake.
In fact, a few of these articles have been written by Mason, and we enjoy reading many of them, and many poker players do as well. They are informative, in many instances illustrate the dramatics and complexities of poker, and help to explain why this wonderful game keeps so many of us occupied to some degree.
But it turns out that among all the poker hands ever played and written about, there is one particular hand whose importance is probably far more significant than all other poker hands ever played put together. Now that’s a mouthful, and the real shame is that most people don’t know anything about it. Of course, this chapter will soon correct this.
First, some background. The year was 1864 and the United States Civil War was nearing its climax. Even though the North was winning, it was not winning by enough to assure that the war would end with a favorable conclusion for the Union side. As we’ve already seen, the Confederate Army led by Robert E. Lee in Northern Virginia had frustrated all Northern attempts to capture the city of Richmond, and the price the North would have to pay for total victory seemed too great for many people, and the number of casualties, on both sides, was incredibly high. This meant that there was a good chance that Lincoln would not be reelected, and that his political opponent, General George B. McClellan, would be the new president in 1865. There was also much speculation that McClellan would end the killing and was willing to divide the United States into two countries.
However, the war in the West had gone much better for the North. The Confederacy had been split in two with the capture of Vicksburg, and they had a large army in Northern Georgia that was headed towards Atlanta. But there were still problems, and The Confederate Army of Tennessee was in its way.
This army also had a new commander, General Joseph E. Johnston, an extraordinary defensive tactician. Johnston understood that as long as his army survived, the Southern nation would survive, and didn’t want to fight unless he had a clear advantage. Thus, a war of maneuver began where the two armies “danced” their way towards the city of Atlanta with Johnston constantly retreating to a new and strong defensive position which he had prepared in advance.
Some military historians think that Johnston was actually winning as he retreated, and Johnston claimed that in the constant skirmishes that took place between the two armies, his side was doing much better.
In addition, Johnston knew what might happen in the election of 1864. If he could hold out against William T. Sherman, the Union Commander in Northern Georgia, and not allow him that ultimate victory the North so badly needed, then Lincoln might be defeated at the polls. This was literally the best chance the South had.
Unfortunately for Johnston, Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, did not see things quite the same way. Davis wanted the invader brought to battle and defeated. So, at the outskirts of Atlanta, Johnston was relieved of his command and was replaced by the aggressive and courageous fighter General John B. Hood
Now you might be wondering what all of this has to do with a poker hand. Well, a curious event now occurred. Sherman apparently didn’t know much about Hood. So, he put a call out in his army asking for any information about his new opponent, And one of Sherman’s subordinates, a Kentucky colonel, whose name we have never seen, related a story to his commander about Hood playing in a poker game many years before the Civil War began. Apparently, Hood had bet $2,500, a very large sum in those days, with “nary a pair in his hand.” Sherman immediately understood what this meant. Instead of being against a defensive tactician who was forcing him to fight a war of maneuver and often at a disadvantage, the Union Army should now brace itself for an attack. Sherman correctly assumed that someone’s aggressive tendencies were as likely to show up on the battlefield as they were at the poker table. Sherman now knew that he was against a fighter, not a tactician.
In fact, if his army was still on maneuver and was hit directly in the “side,” the Confederates could punch a hole in his lines, separate his forces, and perhaps even defeat the whole Union cause. The dance was now over, and large bets would be made.
As suspected, the attack came soon. And after several vicious battles, including the Battle of Atlanta, Sherman, who had correctly predicted his opponent’s intention all because of a poker game held many years before, achieved the decisive victory that the North and President Lincoln so badly needed, and the City of Atlanta was “fairly won.”
So, how important was this poker hand? Well, if it hadn’t been played, there might not be a United States as we know it, and all of world history might have been different. Also, don’t let anyone ever tell you that poker isn’t important, or that they just played a hand of a lifetime. The results can’t compare to that hand played many years ago.
Finally, a few things that we don’t know, and which should be of interest to those of you who are poker players:
1. We don’t know what form of poker Hood was playing. Our guess would be some form of no-limit draw poker since draw poker was the most widely played form of poker at that time. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
2. We don’t know if Hood was caught bluffing or showed the hand after raking in a big pot.
3. We don’t know if this was a well thought out play on Hood’s part or whether he was just “steaming.”*
4. We have no idea as to how good a poker player Hood might have been. But we do suspect that Union General Sherman, like Confederate General Robert E. Lee, would have been very good if he ever sat at the poker table.
So, there you have it, the most important poker hand ever played. It’s impact on history was quite significant, and as stated previously, no other hand of poker can compare with the results it eventually had. And that’s an interesting aspect of poker. Remember the “meta-game” where we mentioned how the play of a poker hand can affect the play of a future poker hand. Well, here was an example of how the play of a poker hand affected the battlefield years later in an unanticipated way, and also had an impact on history.
* Steaming is a term that poker players sometimes use to describe a player who gets emotionally upset and begins to play poorly. A player who is steaming is also said to be “on tilt.”
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For those interested here's the Amazon link to our book:
https://www.amazon.com/History-World...%2C130&sr=1-12
Mason
