That Time I Played Poker at John Wayne’s Table

Years ago, I used to regularly attend the Christmas parties of a prestigious public relations firm in Southern California. They were always held in upscale venues usually near the ocean. These were over-the-top affairs. I often felt out of place. One could say I was intimidated by the hipness, wealth, and power of the attendees.

At this particular party, I found myself on John Wayne’s yacht. John Wayne lived in Newport Beach for decades. He had a home on the bay. Of course, he also had a yacht.

Being an old movie buff, I found the memorabilia on board intriguing. I am also a fan of the flawed man’s work. If you have only seen him in war movies or westerns, this movie will be a pleasant surprise.

In any case, it felt cool to be on the man’s yacht. A place he would have spent a good deal of time. A place where other famous people hung out too. My date was intrigued by John Wayne memorabilia, too.

She accompanied me as I wandered through the decks. Ordinarily, she would have been a part of the firm’s owners’ entourage. I was pleasantly surprised she had decided to come along. Others had drifted from the main party and were strolling on deck. The boat was big.

We stumbled upon a couple who had realized there were beds on board. We beat a hasty retreat from their tryst. We found a room with an unattended bar. There were couches and chairs around the place. It looked like it might be the Duke’s hangout when he was entertaining.

I looked around the room. I imagined who might have been sitting on that couch or that chair in this yacht’s heyday. Then I saw the table. It was a beautiful hardwood table, probably oak.

It was a poker table. I hadn’t realized John Wayne had been a poker player. I fancied myself a poker player. I sat down at the table.

I fantasized about sitting here with John Huston, Howard Hawkes, and whomever else played poker with John Wayne. Another couple wandered into the room followed shortly by two others. The table became the centerpiece of conversation.

Most of us were now sitting at the poker table. We talked about who might have been sitting in the seats each of us now occupied. We lamented the lack of a deck of cards because there were poker chips at the table.

I looked about the room for a deck of cards. Several other people got up and started looking for a deck of cards somewhere in the room. We all came up empty.

I spied a notepad. It was on a desk with a couple of pencils. I had an idea. I could hear the wakes of Newport Harbor lapping against the bow. I thought of Tallulah Bankhead fishing off the edge of a small boat. I was reminded of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie, Lifeboat.

The movie is all about what happens on a small lifeboat after their ship is sunk by a German submarine. The whole movie is shot in a few hundred square feet. Two of the characters play cards with a paper deck they made on the lifeboat.

This movie is worth watching. I cannot give it enough thumbs up. The interplay of the characters in such close quarters is riveting. Hitchcock always liked to make cameos in his movies. It is ingenious how he slips himself into this movie.

I returned to the table with the notepad and pencils. I suggested I could make a deck as they did in the movie Lifeboat. I clumsily make a few cards. I was beginning to think it would take too long and everyone would lose interest.

However, to my great surprise, there was enthusiasm for the idea. Public relations firms do a lot of advertising, so they hire graphic artists. One of the people at the table was such an artist. He grabs a pencil and starts making a deck of cards along with me.

Before I know it I am counting out a deck of 52 cards. Three others are interested in playing a few hands of poker at John Wayne’s table. I am starting to think this party might be fun.

I am a veteran of a poker group who always played dealer call games. That meant as the deal went around, you might be playing seven-card stud, five-card draw, or Omaha. I knew I could run a simple Texas Hold’em game. That is what I did.

I counted out the chips. Everyone got $50 in one and two-dollar denominations. The max bet was $5 and there could be only one raise and reraise. Everyone agreed these rules were reasonable and we were off.

I cannot recall if I won more than a hand or two. I was dealing the flop. I was running the bets. I was managing the pot. I’d call the turn and then the river. In between, I kept the conversation light and fun.

I could not believe how things went that night. It was like a scene from a movie. More and more people found their way into the poker room. The table had spectators and it was surrounded by laughter.

The owner of the public relations firm eventually found his way to the poker table. He was looking for his entourage. Here I had lured away his party and was holding court at John Wayne’s poker table. I smiled broadly at him.

We were down there for some time. I don’t know how long. It was at least an hour probably more. Once the owner came down, enthusiasm for the game waned. We all made our way back to the main room and shortly after that down the gangplank.

We had burned a good deal of the night at John Wayne’s poker table. I was pleased with myself. It was a moment. It was a moment enhanced by my affection for old movies too.

I don’t think I would have thought of making a deck from notepad paper without having watched the movie Lifeboat. I sometimes thought my date found me to be a fuddy-duddy watching old movies. It made me seem a bit more cool than usual on this night. Old movies are history, yes, but old movies are cool too. Watching some of the great screen classics will make you more interesting in unexpected ways.