“Poker alice”...A
By Buckaroo
"Praise the Lord and place your bets. I'll take
your money with no regrets.”
No this quote is not from the famous poker
player Johnny Chan but from Alice Ivers
Tubbs, better known as “Poker Alice”.
Alice was born in Devonshire, England in
1851. When Alice was a young girl, her father,
a schoolmaster, moved the family to Virginia.
While living in Virginia Alice had a formal education at a boarding school. Then, as a teenager, her family moved to Leadville, Colorado.
While she lived in Leadville, Alice met
Frank Duffield. Frank worked as a mining engineer with steady employment and, when Alice was 20, they married. Her life would soon change
along with her name.
Like most men, Frank enjoyed the popular past time of the old west
mining towns; gambling. Alice, not wanting to stay at home alone, went
with him to the gambling halls. At first Alice just watched and studied her
husband and the card game. In no time Alice was sitting at the poker table
skillfully playing poker opposite her husband. Women were an uncommon
sight at poker tables back then and she quickly became known as
“Poker Alice”.
Then tragedy struck when Frank was killed in a mining explosion. With
no means of support, “Poker Alice” realized she would have to use her new
gambling skills to support herself so she took to the poker tables to earn a
living. Her beauty, sophistication and style made her a welcomed and popular player at all the gambling halls. The miners loved her charm and wit,
and she loved their money! Poker Alice went from mining town to mining
town puffing on a large black cigar and winning thousands. At one point,
she claimed to have one $250,000.