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Poker & Pop Culture: Lady Gamblers and Poker Alice

It's no great surprise that during our tour thus far of poker games in 19th-century saloons we've mostly encountered only men seated around the tables.

The Old West saloon was a male-dominated arena, primarily occupied by single men seeking respite from labor by drinking, gambling, and fighting. "Saloon culture" (as some scholars of the era have called it) was therefore predictably masculine, with the swinging doors shutting out domestic obligations and — for the most part — women, too.

Especially in the westernmost states, temperance movements wouldn't gain much traction until later in the century — well after areas became settled, men got older, and more families were begun.