BARGE Glossary
This document contains terms and definitions common to the BARGE (Big
August Rec.Gambling Excursion) event. If you attend BARGE or join one
of the BARGE mailing lists, you might hear some of these words and
phrases. If you consult this guide, you might actually find out what
they mean. You might also be confused since some of these definitions
contain something we like to call irony.
This document should be considered very preliminary. We are
actively soliciting additional terms that aren't listed here, corrections
to definitions, and links to the orgins of some terms. Consequently,
this page should be viewed as very much a work in progress.
- ADB
- alt.drunken.bastards, a USENET newsgroup that epitomizes the
philosophy of a subset of BARGE attendees. Note, these days only one of
the three components of the group title are actually required to be granted
membership.
- aiyah!
- An expression of dismay over one's circumstances. Adapted from the
asian language. Yes, we know "asian" isn't a real language. Trust us,
this makes sense in this context.
- Al
- The generic name for the husband of a BARGEr. See Peg.
- binglaha
- An Omaha poker variant popular at BARGE. It is played exactly as
pot-limit Omaha, except that on the flop a single die is rolled. If
the result of the roll is a 1, 2, or 3, the game is played high-low
split eight-or-better. If the roll is 4, 5, or 6, the game is played
high-only. The person originally responsible for this monstrosity is
Don "ADB Bingo" Reick.
- Calcutta
- Calcutta? You must be mistaken. That would be wrong. In other
contexts a Calcutta refers to a wagering pool on the outcome of some
other event, something especially common in the backgammon world.
At BARGE, something like this would be unsanctioned wagering, and
we wouldn't want any of that, now would we. You might be looking for
the symposium.
- Canadian presto
- If presto is pocket fives, then given the current exchange
rate, Canadian presto would be pocket fours. Similar to the old
joke about pocket queens being called Canadian rockets. Canadian
exchange rate jokes are always funny.
- chat friend
- 1. Friend from the Internet. Originally referred to IRC, but these
days is likely to be mistaken to refer to a more modern real-time
messaging protocol. 2. More often than not, this term would be used
ironically by someone who is imitating an Internet newbie. An example
would be saying quite loudly, "Will you be my chat friend?!"
- chip castle
- Like a sand castle, except more valuable because it's made out
of casino chips that can typically be redeemed for currency. Some
poker players make fairly elaborate constructions out of their chip
stacks. Most of the people who think they do this but have never
been to BARGE are pikers.
- chowaha
- A poker game frequently dealt at BARGE. "Casino chowaha" differs
from "real" chowaha, a game invented by BARGEr Mike Chow. We can't
imagine how it got its name. In casino chowaha, everyone gets two
cards, followed by a round of betting. Then there are three flops
(forming a square of nine cards), followed by two turn cards (placed to
the right of the flops, in between rows 1 & 2, and rows 2 & 3,
respectively), followed by one river card (placed to the right of
and between the two turn cards.) Each player makes the best five card
hand out of their two down cards and each possible five card board.
Note: If one is playing the top row of the flop, then one cannot play
the bottom turn card. Similarly, if one is playing the bottom flop,
then one must play the bottom turn card. In Casino chowaha, the pot
is awarded to the high hand. Real chowaha is often played high/low
split.
- craps crawl
- Annual tradition at BARGE whereby a group of inebriated BARGErs
start at one end of Fremont street playing craps wildly and drinking
wildly working their way through a variety of casinos. Betting the
"dark side" is allowed, and betting the dark
side and spiking the ball when the dice show "7" is grudgingly tolerated.
- dark side
- 1. Betting the "don't pass" and "don't come" in craps. This is as
opposed to a right side bet.
2. Nolan Dalla's ADB nickname.
- death march
- Annual BARGE golf outing, traditionally held at noon by badly
hung-over participants.
- ding
- The sound that occurs in one's head when a fortune smiles on such
a person allowing them to win in a situation where victory had previously
seemed unlikely.
- dork march
- A play on the death march event, except
it's miniature golf and traditionally not held at the height of the
day's heat. Participants may or may not be hung-over.
- gamb000l!
- A battle cry for someone who plans to engage (enthusiastically) in
some contest of chance. Can be used as a verb, as in the grammatically
problematic, "I gamb00l you!" The number of "0"s is variable, but at
least two is required and more suggests greater emphasis. Can be
abbreviated "gambo".
- golden r00ler
- A virtual trophy (and on occasion, an actual trophy) given as an
award to the person who least exemplifies the spirit of BARGE for the
year prior to a given BARGE event. The inaugural recipient was Ernie E
in 1998. See also r00ler.
- gumbo
- The Texas hold'em starting hand of 85, properly called "Nacogdoches
gumbo". Nacogdoches gumbo does not have to but may be suited. The
hand was one of many named by Tyler Wong, but this is pretty much the
only one anybody remembers.
- IGHN
- Abbreviation for, "I go home now." A phrase one utters when one
has just been forced out of a gambling situation due to lack of money
or chips.
- jerj
- Jerk, as in a person whose behavior is unsocial. The origin is the
following
post
to rec.gambling.poker.
- mass barring
- Some casinos have been truly paranoid about blackjack card counters,
some to the point of being so aggressive that players without an advantage
of any sort have been frequently barred.
Starting in 1993 [ I think ], and running through 1996 [ maybe ] an
unofficial BARGE event was for a bunch of card counters would descend
on one of these casinos, and get backed off. Hijinks ensued. One
of these trips is chronicled in the book Knock-Out Blackjack,
by Vancura and Fuchs.
- must drink
- A poker game in which teetotalers are not welcome. The "must"
terminology comes from the familiar "must move" type of poker game.
Often at BARGE a "must drink, must straddle, must toke, must not move
HORSEL (HORSE + California lowball)" game will break out.
- Nolan, you're not going to like this.
- A sentence you might say to Nolan when something is about to happen
that he won't like, such as getting beat by a brutal suck-out on the
river, again. Can also be applied to another r00ler
by substituting their name for Nolan's, although statistically it's much
more likely that something will happen that Nolan won't like than that
such an event will happen to another person.
- non-smoking smoker
- A smoker is a dinner where one is encouraged to celebrate the end
of a fine meal with a cigar, a tradition at early BARGEs and ATLARGEs.
Some who might have liked to participate in such an event are non-smokers,
so they created their own "rival" event. As of December 8, 2006,
restaurants in Nevada do not permit smoking, so the original "smoker" no
longer exists.
- north shore
- The verb form of pussy, as in, "I heard
Scottro was coming to BARGE this year." "Naw, he north
shored at the last minute, again." Named for Mike
"ADB North Shore" McManus.
- Peg
- A reference to one's wife. For example, "I had planned to go to
Las Vegas for the whole week, but Peg would only let me stay three
days." Referring to one's wife as "Peg" comes from the long-running
television series, Married With Children. Consequently,
a female BARGEr talking about her husband would refer to him as
Al.
- pocker
- A gambling game of skill played with cards. Some would spell
it "poker". Those people aren't true r00lerz.
- presto
- A two-card hold'em hand consisting of pocket fives. The ultimate
hand of magical significance among BARGErs. Loosely, it can also refer
to any hand that includes two fives. Someone should suggest a good
link to the origin story.
- pussy
- A term, originally popularized by the tiltboys,
used to describe someone who doesn't attend BARGE. Ironic, isn't it,
that it has been years since any of the tiltboys, or should we say,
tiltpussies, have attended BARGE.
- Quick bet
- Dave "Quick" Horwitz would offer a last-longer bet against the
entire tournament field of the NL hold'em event, called a "Quick bet".
In [year], Dave was the first person to bust out of the NL tournament.
- rai
- An abbreviation of the commonly used poker term "raise". Must
be said emphatically. A proper response to a player who says, "Rai!"
can either be "Re-rai!" or "Rai-rai!"
- RGP
- An abbreviation for the USENET newsgroup rec.gambling.poker.
- right side
- A bet with the shooter at a craps table, as opposed to
the dark side.
- r00ler
- Someone who "rules" at gambling. On occasion, this can be used
ironically. Can also be used as a gerundive (r00ling) or a verb
(to r00l). The proper plural is "r00lerz".
- saddenz
- What one says when something unfortunate happens. If "saddenz"
just doesn't cut it, one could always invoke "mega saddenz", as in,
"I can't go to BARGE this year. Mega saddenz."
- stoloff
- To make a bet and then refuse to honor the terms of it. This is
tantamount to a capital crime among gamb00lers.
Named for someone, but we can't think of who at the moment.
- symposium
- BARGE event whereby BARGErs sit around and ostensibly debate matters
of great importance to society rather than perform any unsanctioned
gambling, such as bidding on players to win the annual no-limit hold'em
tournament in a format commonly called a "Calcutta"
in other settings. If you go, you might want to bring a pile of money,
though, just in case.
- Team CHORSE
- A tournament-like competition between teams of six players each
playing one of the games that comprise CHORSE in rotation. (These
days the games are split so that two members from each team are in
action at any one time.) CHORSE consists of limit Crazy pineapple,
Hold'em, Omaha high/low split, Razz, 7-card Stud, 7-card stud high/low
Eight-or-better. The game is played for a fixed duration, and the
team with the largest (remaining) stack is declared the winner.
- throw down the pink hat
- A BARGE way of challenging someone in some manner.
- tiltboys
- A group of gamb00lers who used to attend
BARGE. They have a web site.
Many BARGErs consider them to be a bunch of pussies.
- virgin
- 1. A first-time attendee to BARGE. 2. As "craps virgin", someone who
has never played craps before. Craps virgins are thought to be lucky
by "right side" bettors.
- virgin queen
- The representative of a given BARGE's class of virgins. This title
is given regardless of gender or orientation.
- WABOR
- Abbreviation for "what a bunch of r00lerz".
- WAR
- Abbreviation for "what a r00ler".
- world roshambo championships
- A tournament typically held after the banquet each year. Since no
casino is involved, it would be improper to gamble for money, so the
tournament is just for fun. The cost to enter traditionally is 100
units of fun.
- YGHN
- Abbreviation for, "You go home now." Said to an opponent you
have just decisively r00led.