Button (poker)
Encyclopedia
In poker
, the buck or dealer button is a marker used to indicate the player who is dealing or, in casino games with a house dealer, the player who acts last on that deal (who would be the dealer in a home game). The term button is also used for a variety of plastic discs, or lammers, used by casinos to mark the status of players.
in the middle of the nineteenth century, the integrity of the players was unreliable and the honor codes that had regulated gambling for centuries became inadequate. Because the dealer has the greatest opportunity to cheat
(by manipulating the specific cards that players receive, or by inspecting the dealt cards), the players would take turns in this role. To avoid arguments about whose turn it was to deal, the person who was next due to deal would be given a marker. A knife
was a common object used as such a marker, and the marker became generally known as a buck as an abbreviated reference to the buck
's horn that formed the handle of many knives at that time.
When the dealer had finished dealing the cards he "passed the buck". According to Martin, the earliest use of the phrase in print is in the July 1865 edition of Weekly New Mexican: "They draw at the commissary, and at poker after they have passed the buck." The phrase then appears frequently in many sources so it probably originated at about this time. However, Mark Twain
cited it as common slang in Virginia City
when he was a reporter there in 1862.
"Passing the buck" soon became a metaphor
for dodging responsibility. U.S. President Harry S. Truman
was noted for a sign in his office reading "The buck stops here." It was a gift from , Fred Canfil, who found a similar sign in the warden's office at the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma
.
The use of other small disks as such markers led to the alternative term "button". Silver dollar
s were later used as markers and it has been suggested that this is the origin of "buck" as a slang
term for "dollar," though by no means is there universal agreement on this subject. The marker is also referred to as "the hat". The origin of this term is believed to stem from the wearing of a hat having been used to denote dealership.
The dealer button is sometimes modified to indicate a secondary detail about the hand being played—for example, a kill game may use a button with the word "Kill" on one side to show that the current hand is a kill pot, and turn the "Dealer" side up to show that the kill is off, or a dealer's choice
game might replace the dealer button with a placard indicating the chosen game.
At the World Series of Poker
in 2005 Harrah's Entertainment
utilized space on the button for advertising by featuring the logo for Degree antiperspirant.
The term "button" is often used to refer to the dealer position
, which is the position whose turn to bet comes last. Being "on the button" is therefore the most advantageous and most profitable position in poker.
The following table lists the most common lammers and their significance:
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, the buck or dealer button is a marker used to indicate the player who is dealing or, in casino games with a house dealer, the player who acts last on that deal (who would be the dealer in a home game). The term button is also used for a variety of plastic discs, or lammers, used by casinos to mark the status of players.
History
When poker became a popular saloon game in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the middle of the nineteenth century, the integrity of the players was unreliable and the honor codes that had regulated gambling for centuries became inadequate. Because the dealer has the greatest opportunity to cheat
Cheating in poker
Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.-Types of cheating:Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion, sleight-of-hand , or the use of physical objects such as marked cards or holdout devices.Cheating occurs in...
(by manipulating the specific cards that players receive, or by inspecting the dealt cards), the players would take turns in this role. To avoid arguments about whose turn it was to deal, the person who was next due to deal would be given a marker. A knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
was a common object used as such a marker, and the marker became generally known as a buck as an abbreviated reference to the buck
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
's horn that formed the handle of many knives at that time.
When the dealer had finished dealing the cards he "passed the buck". According to Martin, the earliest use of the phrase in print is in the July 1865 edition of Weekly New Mexican: "They draw at the commissary, and at poker after they have passed the buck." The phrase then appears frequently in many sources so it probably originated at about this time. However, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
cited it as common slang in Virginia City
Virginia City
Virginia City is a city located in Storey County, Nevada.Virginia City may also refer to:* Virginia City, Montana* Virginia City, Nevada* Virginia City, Virginia* Virginia City , a 1940 film starring Errol Flynn...
when he was a reporter there in 1862.
"Passing the buck" soon became a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for dodging responsibility. U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
was noted for a sign in his office reading "The buck stops here." It was a gift from , Fred Canfil, who found a similar sign in the warden's office at the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma
El Reno, Oklahoma
El Reno is a city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States, in the central part of the state. A part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area, El Reno is west of downtown Oklahoma City...
.
The use of other small disks as such markers led to the alternative term "button". Silver dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
s were later used as markers and it has been suggested that this is the origin of "buck" as a slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term for "dollar," though by no means is there universal agreement on this subject. The marker is also referred to as "the hat". The origin of this term is believed to stem from the wearing of a hat having been used to denote dealership.
Dealer button
Today, a dealer button is typically a white plastic disc with the word "Dealer" on each side. While in home games the player holding the dealer button deals the cards, in casino poker, a casino employee handles this responsibility.The dealer button is sometimes modified to indicate a secondary detail about the hand being played—for example, a kill game may use a button with the word "Kill" on one side to show that the current hand is a kill pot, and turn the "Dealer" side up to show that the kill is off, or a dealer's choice
Dealer's choice
Dealer's choice is a style of poker where each player may deal a different variant. As the deal passes clockwise around the table, each player chooses a variant which is either played just for the current hand or for an entire orbit. It is a common choice for home games, where the tone of the game...
game might replace the dealer button with a placard indicating the chosen game.
At the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
in 2005 Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
utilized space on the button for advertising by featuring the logo for Degree antiperspirant.
The term "button" is often used to refer to the dealer position
Position (poker)
Position in poker refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategy implications. Players who act first are in "early position"; players who act later are in "late position". A player "has position" on opponents acting before him and is "out of...
, which is the position whose turn to bet comes last. Being "on the button" is therefore the most advantageous and most profitable position in poker.
Other buttons
In casino and card room cash games, the dealer's well may contain an assortment of laminated discs that the dealer may place in front of a player's seat under certain conditions. Properly called lammers (rhymes with 'spammers'), but also referred to as buttons, they are separate from and used differently than a Dealer Button.The following table lists the most common lammers and their significance:
| Button | Use |
|---|---|
| All In | Put in front of a player who has wagered all their chips. |
| Blind, Small Blind with Big Blind |
Put in front of the players to show they owe the indicated amounts. The blind button is used in single blind games, while the big & small blind are used together in double blind games. |
| Missed Blind(s) Blind (poker) The blinds are forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button in flop-style poker games. The number of blinds is usually two, but it can range from none to three.... , Missed Big Blind, Missed Small Blind |
Used to mark the position of a player who has missed their turn to pay a blind. When the player returns, the missed blind(s) may be paid immediately, or the player may keep the lammer and wait to play until the unpaid blind comes in turn. Which indicative lammer is used depends on the game being played and/or which blinds are missed. |
| No Player or Absent |
Placed on the table at the position of a player that has been away for an extended period. According to World Series of Poker World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment... Live Action Rules, after the seat has missed the blind(s), each new dealer places an additional lammer in front of the missing player's empty seat. On receiving a third lammer, the absent players chips' could be picked up by the house in order to seat a player waiting to get in the game. |
| Reserved | Put in front of an empty seat to hold it for a player that is arriving soon. |
| Seat Change | A player can request one of these lammers from the dealer and reserve first choice to change seats when a player at the table leaves the game. |
| Third Man Walking | Marks the position of a player who leaves the table when two players are already away. According to World Series of Poker World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment... Live Action Rules, the third player's chips' could be picked up by the house to seat a new player if the third player has not returned when the blind comes to their position. |
| Kill/No Kill or Kill/Leg Up |
Used exclusively in kill games Kill game (poker) In the game of poker, a kill game is a game played using a variation of fixed limit betting rules. A kill game provides for the play of kill hands, which involve an extra blind bet and increased betting limits. Kill games are infrequent but not uncommon in home poker games; many casinos offering... , these lammers are unique since they read differently on each side to indicate the kill status of the pot, similar to the "On/Off" point marker in Craps Craps Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank... . If the kill is active, it is placed "Kill" side up in front of the player who has triggered it to show that player is required to "kill the pot" by posting an increased additional blind for the subsequent hand; Unless the player is also in a regular blind position, which would require only the increased value "kill" blind. If it is not a kill pot, the "No Kill" side is kept up by the dealer, The lammer may also read "Kill" and "Leg Up" on each side to show who has triggered the first half of a requirement to kill the pot ("Leg Up"), or if the pot has been killed. Which of the two differently marked lammers is used depends upon the requirement to trigger the kill pot for that game. |