Why is Texas hold 'em so popular? - James McManus

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

Throughout the 1800s, in saloons across the West,

整個 1800 年代， 在美國西部各地的酒吧裡，

you could find cowboys locked in tense standoffs.

都可以看到牛仔陷入緊張的對峙。

But these weren’t shootouts.

但並不是槍戰。

They were simply playing cards—

他們只是在打牌——

for a mountain of chips worth their weight in gold.

用的是一大堆價值相當於黃金的籌碼。

Most men wore loaded pistols in case a player was caught cheating.

多數人會帶著上膛的手槍， 以免遇到有玩家作弊。

When they prepared to make their bets, however,

然而，當他們準備下注時，

these cowboys weren’t focused on their holsters or their cards,

這些牛仔的注意力 不是在槍套上或牌上，

but rather on their opponent’s face.

而是對手的臉上。

Because not even a bullet could protect them from a well-executed bluff.

因為就連子彈也無法讓他們 不被精湛的詐唬 (偷雞) 給騙倒。

From its earliest incarnations, poker has always been a battle of nerves.

撲克牌遊戲打從最早出現起 就一直是比膽量的對戰。

The game first emerged around 1800 in the melting pot of New Orleans.

這種遊戲大約在 1800 年 出現在民族大熔爐的紐奧良。

At this time, two games ruled the card tables:

那時，牌桌上主要有兩種遊戲：

French poque played with a 20-card deck, and English Brag which used 52-cards.

用二十張牌玩的法國 poque，

和用五十二張牌玩的英國吹牛。

Both these games saw players being dealt five cards from a four-suit deck,

這兩種遊戲都會從一副四種 花色的牌當中發五張牌給玩家，

and then trying to make the best hand possible according to a simple hierarchy.

玩家要根據簡單的牌型規則 設法組成一手最好的牌。

They would then wager on whether or not they had the best hand—

他們會賭自己手上的牌 是否是最好的——

either adding more money to the pot

要嘛就投入更多錢，

or folding and forfeiting their chance to win it.

要嘛棄牌，放棄贏的機會。

But since each player's cards were only revealed at the end of the hand,

但因為每位玩家都要到 那一局結束後才攤牌，

someone with bad cards could always bluff—

拿到爛牌的人都可以詐唬——

betting enough to scare his opponents into folding.

用夠高額的賭注把對手嚇到棄牌。

Both games had slightly different hand combinations, but most importantly,

這兩種遊戲的手牌組合 略有不同，但最重要的，

Brag allowed players to discard and draw new cards,

吹牛允許玩家捨棄 不要的牌和抽新牌，

making better hands more likely and allowing for another round of betting.

更有可能取得一手好牌， 也可能會有再一輪的下注。

Eventually, the Southerners merged the two games

最终，南方人合併了這兩種遊戲，

into a new version of poque— which they pronounced pokuh—

創造新版的 poque —— 他們把它唸成 pokuh——

that created bigger pots and opportunities for more complex bluffing.

這個版本的底池更大， 且有機會做更複雜的詐唬。

This winning combination of guile, guts, and gambling caught on quickly.

這種靠狡猾、勇氣和賭博 來成功的遊戲快速傳開。

But its popularity skyrocketed after the invention of the steamboat,

但要到蒸汽船發明之後， 它才大大流行，

which carried livestock, goods, and card games

蒸汽船載著家畜、 商品和撲克牌遊戲

up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers.

北上至密西西比、 俄亥俄和密蘇里河。

By Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860,

到了 1860 年林肯的選舉時，

Americans in every state and territory were playing the newfangled bluffing game.

每個州、每個地區的美國人 都在玩這種新奇的詐唬遊戲。

And while many played for low, friendly stakes,

雖然許多人用小賭怡情的方式在玩，

some gamblers put their homes and livelihoods on the line.

一些賭徒卻把他們所有身家 和財產全都賭進去。

These life-changing bets even found their way into popular novels

就連流行小說中都看得到 這種能改變人生的賭注，

like “Gone with the Wind,”

比如《亂世佳人》，

where Scarlett O’Hara’s father wins an entire plantation

郝思嘉的父親在一場 撲克牌遊戲中就贏了

in a single hand of poker.

一整片莊園。

But as pots became bigger, so did the temptation to cheat.

但隨著底池越來越大， 作弊的誘惑也越來越大。

Some players enlisted an accomplice to spy on opponents

一些玩家會找同謀來監視對手，

and used props to communicate their hands.

並用道具來傳達他們手上的牌。

Others marked important cards with nicks, dents, or invisible ink.

也有人用痕跡、凹痕， 或隱形墨水來標記重要的牌。

But perhaps the most common method was sneaking a cold deck into the game.

但也許最常見的方法是 把做過手腳的牌偷偷安插到遊戲中。

Cold decks were pre-sequenced to give victims powerful hands

做過手腳的牌是預先排好順序的牌， 讓受害者拿到強大的好牌，

that encouraged them to bet big,

鼓勵他們提高賭注，

while giving the cheater an even better one.

但卻也同時給作弊者更好的牌。

However, even cheaters had to keep up with the game’s constant changes.

然而，就連作弊者也得跟上 這種遊戲不斷的改變。

As poker moved west with the Gold Rush, new variants emerged.

當撲克牌遊戲隨著淘金熱西傳， 新變化出現了。

Five-card Stud became the game of choice

用五張牌玩的梭哈成了遊戲的首選，

among notorious gunmen like Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok.

愛好者包括惡名昭張的 槍手，如哈勒戴醫生、

懷特‧厄普和狂野比爾。

With four rounds of betting,

因為有四輪下注，

Five-card Stud produced even more lucrative pots,

五張牌的梭哈有更有利可圖的底池，

encouraging so much cheating that California outlawed the game in 1885.

鼓勵太多人作弊，

以致於加州在 1885 年 立法禁止了該遊戲。

Meanwhile, back in Texas, another variant emerged

同時，在德州也出現了另一種變化，

to solve the common problem of having too many players and not enough cards.

可以解決玩家太多而牌不夠的問題。

This game, known as Texas Hold'em,

這種遊戲被稱為德州撲克，

became a favorite because its low ratio of private, hidden cards

大家最喜歡它，是因為 相對於公開展示的牌，

to shared, exposed cards

私人、隱藏的牌少很多，

allowed for plenty of deductions and tactical maneuvering.

因此有更多推理和戰略操作的空間。

Even more exciting was no-limit Hold’em, which allowed players to go all in,

讓更人興奮的是無限注德州撲克，

允許玩家全押，

betting everything they had at any point in the hand.

把任何時點手上 所有的一切都賭下去。

In 1928, Hungarian polymath John von Neumann

1928 年，匈牙利 博學家約翰‧馮‧諾伊曼

sought to explain the nuances of betting and bluffing in mathematical terms.

試圖用數學來解釋 下注和詐唬的微妙之處。

His work became the foundation for a whole new branch of mathematics

他的研究成了一個 數學新分支的基礎，

called game theory,

這個分支叫賽局理論，

which has grown to be vitally important not only in high-stakes poker,

它後來發展成極重要的理論， 不僅用在高賭注的撲克牌遊戲，

but in economics and military strategy.

也用在經濟學和軍事策略上。

In the late 20th century, game theory became essential

二十世紀末，

在應對核戰的地緣政治遊戲方面，

for navigating the geopolitical bluffing game of nuclear warfare.

賽局理論變得至關重要。

Today, America’s card game is an international affair,

現今，美國的撲克牌遊戲是國際活動，

attracting players from over a hundred countries

吸引一百多個國家的玩家參與

to the annual World Series of Poker.

一年一度的世界撲克大賽。

Fortunes are made and lost every day on casino floors, poker websites,

每天，在賭場裡、撲克網站上和數千個

實體和線上巡迴賽中， 都有人贏或輸了賭注。

and in thousands of live and online tournaments.

So while a single game's outcome will never be certain,

因此，雖然無法肯定 一場遊戲的結果，

poker is definitely here to stay.

能肯定的是撲克牌遊戲會延續下去。