Gambling in the Wild West

Gambling: From Excitement to Existential Risk

Gambling in the Wild West - the image is omnipresent in western films of the past and present: somewhere in a dusty saloon, far from civilization, a group of cowboys sit hunched over a few cards and gamble for their last possessions. But was this the actual reality?

Was gambling really as widespread as Hollywood would have us believe? The Beaver Creek Pioneer on a short overwiew of Old West gambling!

In this article

Gambling as a lifestyle

Although it might be assumed that gambling in America's Wild West was merely a spare-time activity for bored cowboys, history tells us otherwise: Soldiers, lumberjacks, prospectors, cattle ranchers, gunslingers and even priests - almost everyone tried their luck at the gaming tables.

Gambling quickly became the social norm and made its way into almost the entire spectrum of everyday life. Everyone gambled. Some gamblers even made the constant risk their profession and were employed in saloons. Their goal: to take money out of the pockets of their fellow players for the benefit of the saloon. In some cases, however, this led to the complete bankruptcy of the establishment.

A quarrel breaks out among these gentlemen at cards - Frederic Remington, 1887

An indicator of the prosperity of a frontier town was often the value of the stakes placed by gamblers in the saloons. The games were not only for entertainment, but also offered opportunities to make quick profits and to forget the hard life of the frontier for a while.

A few, on the other hand, managed to become so wealthy through gambling that they became real celebrities - which in turn encouraged others to try their luck at the game.

Gambling could be found even in the remotest corners of civilization. Even if the saloon only consisted of a tent, one thing was certain: there were card games, dice tables and other ways to gamble the hard-earned money.

Faro players in a saloon tent in Randsburg, California, ca. 1900

Gambling in California: Gold rush in the Wild West

As early as 1848, California became a paradise for gamblers. Miners, who had made money quickly due to the gold rush there, put their money on one card. Gambling halls sprang up and were lavishly equipped to attract gold seekers. San Francisco developed into an epicenter of gambling with numerous saloons such as the famous El Dorado.

Portsmouth Square – San Francisco 1851

Faro, roulette and blackjack were played there with large sums of money. The gambling industry became the driving force behind the local economy and remained an important part of social life for a long time, despite the subsequent strict regulations.

Popular games and the allure of quick money

The stake at faro was usually between 25 cents and 1 dollar. By comparison, a cowboy on a cattle trail earned a maximum monthly wage of 100 dollars. However, lower pay was common, depending on the job and task. At the end of the 19th century, an average unskilled laborer had a weekly wage of about 9 dollars in a 52-hour work week. The Sears and Roebuck catalog of 1897, for example, priced a pair of ordinary boots for everyday wear at $3.50.

The decor of the faro tables was often opulent and the cards were decorated with ornate images. Faro was a very risky game. It was therefore sometimes referred to as a “tiger” - symbolizing the danger and thrill that players voluntarily faced.

The game itself originated in France, where it was called Pharaon (French for an Egyptian pharaoh). The game enjoyed great popularity even then and spread to England and Germany. Eventually, it also landed on the American continent, where it became one of the most popular games of chance.

In addition to faro, dice games such as “chuck-a-luck”, “three-card monte” and roulette were also extremely popular, as they promised fast games and high winnings.

Poker - An American original?

Historical precursors of the game of poker can be found in 16th century Germany. Initially, a card game known as poch was played here. This game also spread throughout Europe, particularly in France, where it was known as poque.

The players play with a Poch board on which individual cards and combinations of different cards are depicted. A Poch round has three game phases: In the first phase, the players "poch". Here, bets are placed based on the cards in the hand, similar to poker today. In the second phase, players take money from a pot, depending on whether they have cards in their hand in the suit of the current trump. This is where the poch board comes into play: the players take the amount previously paid in from the hollows of the board on which the cards are shown. In the final phase, cards are discarded. The first player to run out of cards wins this phase.

Historians date the birth of the actual game of poker back to the Mississippi region at the end of the 18th century, where many variations of the game circulated. The game spread from there to the most remote corners of the country.

Union soldiers at a poker game, 1864

A popular variant of the game is five-card draw, where players had five cards in their hand and could “swap” them during the course of the game in the hope of getting a better hand. Other variants included seven-card stud or Texas hold em, which is still very popular today.

The era of steamboats: gambling on a grand scale

A special form of gambling developed on the famous Mississippi river steamers. Here, professional gamblers, often disguised as respectable citizens, were able to lure naive passengers and have them play for high stakes.

The steamboat “Robert E. Lee”, ca. 1884

Manipulation and fraud were commonplace. However, anyone who was caught had to expect harsh consequences.

They knew that no other player could have the card and therefore calculated better chances of winning. In addition, it was of course possible to bring the withheld card back into play if this could improve a player's own hand.

The steamboats offered a luxurious environment for gamblers and passengers alike, but this did not protect them from fraud and violence. Stories of players who gambled away their entire fortune and fell into existential crises were an everyday occurrence.

Famous gamblers in the Wild West

No winnings without the risk - Famous gamblers such as George Devol or Canada Bill Jones became legends of the Wild West. Their stories were passed on and embellished many times over.

Women in gambling: Heroines in a man's world?

Although women were rare in Wild West gambling, however, when they did gamble, they were not completely unknown. Some made it to great fame and thus also to a certain wealth and standing in society.

Other notable female gamblers were Belle Siddons, a former Confederate spy who later ran casinos, and Madame Simone Jules, who was the first known female gambler in California and attracted many players with her charisma and skillful tricks.

Gambling among the Natives: Between ritual and competition

Gambling was also widespread beyond the major cities and settlements - long before they were built. Gambling was very important to the indigenous peoples of North America long before the arrival of the Europeans and was deeply rooted in their cultural and religious traditions.

The Mandan warriors, for example, tried to shoot as many arrows as possible with their bows so that they were in the air at the same time. This often involved betting for material stakes.

Popular games included dice games, guessing games such as the “hand game” or games of skill in which participants tried to cleverly deceive their opponent.

Indian gamblers risked everything, from material goods to their family members - it was not uncommon for their own wives to be offered as wagers. The games were often accompanied by day-long ceremonies in which singing and dancing played a central role. Conflicts arising from such games could even end fatally.

Games introduced by white settlers were also adapted. In the middle of the 19th century, for example, the Apache were prohibited from trading goods in the south-western trading centers. As a result, it was no longer possible for them to gamble there. The Apache then developed their own decks of cards, which consisted of painted rawhide.

Social consequences and risks

Although gambling was firmly anchored in the culture of the Wild West, it also caused considerable social problems. Gambling addiction, poverty and violence were widespread. Desperate gamblers sometimes even took their own lives after losing everything.

Gambling not only brought prosperity, but also destroyed livelihoods and families - as is still the case today.

Although it is possible today to get help with gambling addiction, the ladies and gentlemen of that time were less fortunate. Moral resistance repeatedly led to legal restrictions and bans, but gambling nevertheless remained widespread, both legally and underground.

Gambling had a lasting impact on the face and mentality of the Wild West - on the one hand as a simple thrill and on the other as a merciless risk and opportunity in equal measure.

Colton White – Beaver Creek Pioneer