Supreme Court of Peroutka Family Card Games

May 2023
   When I was a little kid, I asked my dad to teach me the rules of poker so I could join in the family card games he would play with my big sisters after the supper dishes were cleared away.

   So, Dad taught me what beats what – like one pair is beat by two pair which is beat by three of a kind, etc. He explained that, even though we were just playing for fun, it was important for me to know and understand the rules.

   So, imagine my surprise when my big sister Mary reached for the first pot even though I had a flush and it turns out she just had one pair.  Looking for justice, I turn to my dad, who, of course, is the Supreme Court of Poker at the Peroutka dinner table.

   “Sorry Michael, but the rules of poker are a living, breathing, set of rules,” he says.  “Sometimes we follow them but we always have to be ready for them to evolve.”  

   You see, he continued, “the rules of poker were invented a long, long time ago by crusty old men who never thought about having little girls play poker. And some little girls feel that they should win when they have a pair no matter what anybody else has.”  

   At this point my other sister, Kathy, chimed in, “I have a pair of Queens and Mary just has a pair of nines.  So, I win, right, Dad?”< ...

Want to read more?

Subscribe today!

Learn how to email this article to others