Poker Songs – Melodies About This Casino Table Game
Best Songs About Poker
There’s a good chance that you’ve had plenty of poker songs about the casino table game. But you probably didn’t realise that was the subject matter. Unsurprisingly, the songwriters who also love gambling love to write about their favourite hobby. So today we thought we’d take a look at a few of the best-known songs, by many different artists, that deal with the popular casino game of poker.
Poker Songs: Ace of Spades – Motorhead
What a better song to start off with than this total headbanger from the English group Motorhead. Without a doubt, this is one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time. This song was from 1980 and comes in at under three minutes. From the moment the baseline starts, you’ll be jumping around. Though in truth the lyrics from Lemmy are quite hard to understand. Mind you, you’ll be too busy playing air guitar to be that concerned. Gambling lyrics will stand out such as, “double up or quit double stake or split” and “pushing up the ante.” And most famously, “a dead man’s hand.” This was the hand that was found on Wild Bill Hickok after he was shot dead whilst playing a game of poker in Deadwood, South Dakota. It’s a hand of black aces and eights.
After we hear the line, “you win some, lose some, it’s all the same to me,” we suggest that it probably means that the band members in Motorhead didn’t really take playing jackpot poker that seriously. As a side note, you can play on many heavy metal branded band slots at most casinos. But if online poker is your thing, then we suggest that you head over to 32Red Poker as they have a huge selection of all poker variants as well as tournaments with daily prizes of up to £1,500.
Desperado – The Eagles
Co-written by Glenn Frey and Don Henley, this is a typical Eagles rock ballad from 1973. For many gamblers, this is certainly one of the ultimate poker songs. It’s full of references to the casino table game. Though the song’s title may speak to many of an outlaw bandit, the band contends that the lyrics tell us that they are instead talking about a protagonist. One who is fearing life in prison and dying alone. For the song’s writers, they see the whole of life’s journey comes down to the luck of the draw. As they sing, “don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy, she’ll beat you if she’s able” or “the queen of hearts is always your best bet.”
This song never saw the light of day as a single. It was the title track on their sophomore album. Nevertheless, it quickly became a fan favourite and was continuously played on all radio stations at the time.
Poker Songs: The Jack – AC/DC
The Australian band AC/DC knocked out this song in 1976. And though it’s full of poker references, it’s not in fact about poker. The infamous “Jack” of the song title refers to the venereal disease, gonorrhoea. That’s because the whole band caught this STD around the same time. So they decided to write a rock song about it. As you do! The song goes into great detail about certain bad hygiene practices. But also it does the rather uncool thing of blaming the women in question. They rather cunningly use gambling poker terms as forms of innuendo. With lyrics such as, “Her deuce was wild, but my ace was high.” Not exactly a song about how to win the jackpot, but nothing dose of penicillin couldn’t cure!
Over the years, particularly when they perform live, AC/DC are constantly changing the lyrics to this track. In many performances, they tend to discard many of the original poker songs references. This is in favour of using more sexually explicit terms.
Deuces Are Wild – Aerosmith
This upbeat and sunny ballad from the pen of Jim Valance and Steven Tyler is a song about deuces wild in poker. Now if you’re a card player, you’ll know that your aim is to land two. That’s because the deuces can replace any other card you might need. In the melodic song, the woman that Tyler is singing about is down because, “I love you ’cause your deuces are wild, girl, like a double shot of lovin’ so fine.” He also points out how well they could be together, “Cause you and me is two of a kind..” As you can see, grammar wasn’t his strong point.
Originally the band saw the song as a single. But the record label put it as a track on their album “Pump.” But since then, the song has gone on to become one of the most popular poker songs ever written. You’ll find it on every issue of Aerosmith Greatest Hits compilations that have come out over the years.
Poker Songs: Diamond Jack – Wishbone Ash
In 1977, Wishbone Ash produced and released one of the best poker songs ever written. Unfortunately, thanks to the band’s lower profile, it’s not that well known. The up-tempo tune looks at the philosophy of life through the lens and metaphor of a game of high stakes poker. For example, they sing “an ace of hearts, the dream of every man”.” As the song plays, it delves into the uncertainty of life. And how, just as in a game of cards, we should relax and enjoy the ride. There’s a reference to a piece of popular subculture in the song that comes from the movie “The Cincinnati Kid.” In this movie, a young pretender at the casino jackpot games table goes bust thanks to a seasoned gambler when he draws the jack of diamonds to form a highly improbable straight.
Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
Although personally, we can’t stand country music, there is one song that is probably the definitive poker song in the history of poker. In fact, it’s a country music classic and certainly for country music listeners, represents one of the most important poker songs ever put to paper. The lyrics centre around Kenny Rogers encountering a gambler on a train. One that was “bound for nowhere.” They agree to a pact, in that for every word of wisdom about gambling the stranger utters, Rogers will give the protagonist in return a sip of whiskey. Drinking whilst playing cards is not going to be one of the best jackpot winning strategies.
The chorus is both catchy and also sums up the gambling elements in the song. “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” This is advice both for the poker player and for someone living out their regular lives. So even if you’re not a country music fan, you may still appreciate this easy-going Texas Hold’em song. It was even covered by the “Man in Black” himself. In the Johnny Cash version, the backing vocals are in perfect harmony with his low gravelly voice. This adds another interesting layer to the melody.
Poker Songs: Poker Face – Lady Gaga
Whether there is a connection or not, it’s still interesting to note that Lady Gaga’s rise to fame coincided with the global poker boom. One that took place thanks to the internet, in the early 2000s. Of course, whether her poker songs lyrics deliberately set out to capitalise on the rising popularity of poker, we will never know. Nevertheless, the 2008 song “Poker Face” features an infectious beat. As well as many poker heavy references such as, “I wanna hold ’em like they do in Texas” or “can’t read my poker face.” Lyrics such as “muffin” and “Russian Roulette” were digitally blurred out in some countries.
The song was a number one hit across the world and was more or less on continuous airplay. And as such, it was impossible to escape for almost a year. But having said that, it’s a great pop banger and will certainly get you moving your body. And “ just like the chicks in the casino”, Lady Gaga certainly hit the jackpot with this song about Texas hold’em with over 13.5 worldwide sales. If you want to hit the jackpot playing online poker, then get yourself a seat at 32Red Poker. They have all your favourite poker games as well as a massive welcome bonus for all new players of 200% up to £1000! This will really help you to get a good start.
