Master's Corner - The History of NZ Poker

by Maurie Pears MASTER’S CORNER – THE HISTORY OF NZ POKER Whoever has played in NZ or Australia will remember the great team of players who have long terrorised the Aussie players. The old games at “Paula and Kurt” and the more modern challenges with the Wellington push. They made a great bunch at the Adelaide tournaments from 1987 onwards and Australian Poker wouldn’t be the same without them. THE EARLY DAYS Poker in the 30s 40s & 50s consisted mainly of home games, plus games at the Gentlemen’s Club, and the Greek, Italian and Yugoslav club games in the major & provincial cities. The game everywhere was straddle poker. The big games were with 2 blinds one pound, two pounds and four to buy. The next player could of course go over blind (in the dark) for four pound making it eight to buy. This was very serious poker when the tradesmen’s wage was less than twenty pound a week. There were of course smaller games everywhere, as there were in Australia, starting at a two bob blind. MANILA COMES ONTO THE SCENE In the mid to late 60s the games changed with the introduction from Australia of two card Manila. This was a stripped deck 32-card game (7’s up). The house ran the game, providing dealers and refreshments, and took a rake from every pot. Sometimes the rake was capped, sometimes not. Sometimes the misa would choke a horse. There was a distinct social divergence between the Draw poker players and the Manila crowd. Draw was more the domain of the traditional poker purists, whereas Manila, with its betting on every up card, seemed to attract the punters who relied on their betting skills and a large luck factor for their excitement. THE CHARACTERS The games in Wellington grew large and it was not uncommon after a heavy weekend for some of the Greek restaurants to have new owners. Johnny Kocbek was an early proprietor of such a game in Wigan Street. His stories of the antics of some of his more flexible patrons - cold decking, marking cards, team playing and edge shooting would make your hair stand on end. Who said only the Aussies are shifty? Around Wellington the Federal club, Wigan Street and the Chez Paree (the Aussies must have taught the Kiwis how to spell in French!) were some of the venues boasting some of Wellington’s more colourful card playing characters. One such character was nicknamed Little Billy and he was far from little. When he got into his Ford Anglia (a small motor car which is now an antique and found only in New Zealand) outside the Chez Paree it took on an alarming tilt. When he passed away, he was upstairs in a house in Newtown. The undertakers had to cut the side of the house out as the stairs were too narrow to be able to stretcher him down, and his coffin at the funeral was square. He is remembered as a great character and mate of poker. THE 80s In the early 80’s Omaha came into vogue and had a brief 2 to 3 year surge in popularity. Games at the Pink Palace in Oriental Bay Wellington attracted a good following. Betting was capped at $200 per card with $200 raises. Today, the casinos are popular but outside action is still available. Wellington centres round The Aces or Kings Club in Courtney Place. In Wellington Manila is still going strong. There remains a lot of interest in Casino Poker at Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland for top games and top entertainment.