poker

¹

[ poh-ker ]

noun

1. a person or thing that pokes. poke.
2. a metal rod for poking poke or stirring a fire.

poker

²

[ poh-ker ]

noun

1. a card game played by two or more persons, in which the players bet on the value of their hands, the winner taking the pool.

poker

¹

/ ˈpəʊkə /

noun

1. a metal rod, usually with a handle, for stirring a fire
2. a person or thing that pokes

poker

²

/ ˈpəʊkə /

noun

1. a card game of bluff and skill in which bets are made on the hands dealt, the highest-ranking hand (containing the most valuable combinations of sequences and sets of cards) winning the pool

Word History and Origins

Origin of poker¹

First recorded in 1525–35; poke ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of poker²

1825–35, Americanism; perhaps originally braggart, bluffer; compare Middle Low German poken to brag, play, Middle Dutch poken to bluff, brag

Word History and Origins

Origin of poker¹

C19: probably from French poque similar card game

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with poker , also see stiff as a board (poker) .

Example Sentences

Newly divorced, I wanted none of the “boys club” that had become my married life, where I would come home from work exhausted, fall asleep on the couch, and wake up to a poker party at the dining room table hosted by my unemployed husband.

From Washington Blade

He has also worked on numerous artificial intelligence research projects from F1 racing, to poker bots, to brain simulations.

From MIT Technology Review

So, when the Slovakia-based user behind the dDandis account began streaming poker games to his 35,000 Twitch followers last month, trouble with the authorities soon ensued.

From Ozy

Just as when you trade in part of a poker hand for fresh cards, there was no way of knowing whether the final chimeras would be stronger or weaker.

From MIT Technology Review

Bullhooks, which resemble fire pokers and were used to control elephants during training, were also banned in cities and states across the United States.

From Washington Post

Greer is a young, entrepreneurial, poker-loving Texan who ended up in Silicon Valley.

From The Daily Beast

Horace had been playing poker with a mortician, who had put the car up as collateral.

From The Daily Beast

He was an excellent pool sharp and quick at poker and bridge.

From The Daily Beast

The next day, her father was apparently back at the poker tournament.

From The Daily Beast

He seemed to find his own escape in poker and had had just been in a big poker tournament on June 28.

From The Daily Beast

In sheer nervousness, Hilda also dropped to her knees on the hearthrug, and began to worry the fire with the poker.

From Project Gutenberg

The paper and the poker are abandoned, chairs are drawn towards the baize-covered table.

From Project Gutenberg

She wondered if the old gambling spirit had broken out again, and asked if they were playing poker or mont.

From Project Gutenberg

The same sort of trick may be performed with a poker, round which is evenly pasted a sheet of paper.

From Project Gutenberg

But I shall do my duty, although I am less at home with the lance or the sword than with the poker of the furnace in my bakery.

From Project Gutenberg