Hustlers: Richard Nixon’s Story: From Poker To The White House

Richard Nixon’s story begins with a poor grocer’s son and a poker deck. Discover how Navy card games funded his rise to the White House.

Most people remember Nixon for Watergate and little else. However, Richard Nixon’s story starts somewhere far more surprising. Long before the White House, a poker table shaped his future.

A shy Quaker kid from California learned cards in the Navy. Within a few years, he turned his winnings into a political career. In this chapter of our Hustlers series, we follow that wild climb. Grab a seat, because this hand plays out over five decades. Register at any of the online sportsbook sites in the US to find odds on relevant politics!

The Boy From Yorba Linda: Hustlers: Richard Nixon’s Story

According to History, Nixon’s father struggled to make a living operating a grocery store and gas station, and Nixon grew up in a working-class family. Richard came into the world on January 9, 1913. His father built the small farmhouse where he was born. Honestly, few future presidents started with so little. The Nixons had no safety net and no rich uncles. Every dollar mattered, and everybody in the house knew it.

His mother, Hannah, raised the boys in the Quaker faith. Quakers frowned on drinking, dancing, and, yes, gambling. Sunday meant church, and weekdays meant chores. Richard pumped gas and helped behind the counter. Meanwhile, he learned how customers talked, bargained, and complained. That store became his first classroom in reading people.

Tragedy hit the family hard during those years. Two of his brothers, Arthur and Harold, died young. Harold battled tuberculosis for years before he passed. Medical bills drained what little money the family had. Many biographers say grief pushed Richard to work even harder. I think that loss explains a lot about his drive. Of course, nobody in Whittier saw that coming. After all, the boy barely touched a deck of cards. Quaker rules kept him far from any gambling table. The war would change that in a hurry. Register at Everygame Sportsbook for the first online bookie in history!

The Navy And The Poker Table

Of course, Richard Nixon’s story truly started in the military. Pearl Harbor changed plans for millions of young Americans. Before becoming one of the most famous names in gambling, his infamy started to spread simply within the barracks. Why was he so good? For one thing, he never played on emotion. He folded bad hands without a second thought. Moreover, he rarely showed excitement when he held something strong. His debate training paid off in the jungle. After all, he could hold a blank face for hours.

Nixon also ran a little hamburger stand on Green Island. He handed out free burgers, coffee, and even beer. Pilots and sailors loved him for it. That goodwill probably kept plenty of players at his table, too. Friendly guys make easy opponents, after all. I suspect Nixon understood that better than anyone. Estimates of his winnings vary quite a bit. Some sources say $6,000, while others claim closer to $10,000. Either way, that was serious money in the 1940s. For comparison, a working family might earn a few thousand dollars yearly. Nixon sent much of the cash home to Pat. Thus, the grocer’s son finally had a real bankroll.

From Poker Bankroll To Politics: Hustlers: Richard Nixon’s Story

The war ended, and Nixon came home with cash in his pocket. According to Nixon’s own account, he and Pat Nixon decided to put $5,000, which he described as half of their “fortune”, into the 1946 congressional campaign. On the trail, Nixon attacked like a seasoned card shark. He challenged Voorhis to a series of public debates. The veteran congressman accepted, and that was a mistake. Nixon arrived sharp, prepared, and aggressive. Time after time, he kept Voorhis on the defensive. Critics later accused Nixon of playing dirty. His campaign painted Voorhis as soft on communism. Historians still argue about those tactics today. Still, nobody doubts that the strategy worked.

In November 1946, Nixon won the seat comfortably. The grocer’s son was heading to Washington as a congressman. Just a few years earlier, he had never played a hand. Now his poker winnings had bought him a place in national politics. What a return on investment! That early win set the pattern for everything that followed. Nixon learned that big bets could bring huge rewards. Unfortunately, he also learned that aggressive tactics paid off. Both lessons would follow him for the rest of his life.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon’s story became historic. Every great hustler series needs a proper lineup. Earlier in this series, we covered Titanic Thompson. And following Titanic Thompson, Richard Nixon became the second hustler who worked himself up socially by simply gambling and playing the game. Some readers might object to calling a president a hustler. Fair enough. But look at his record. Within seven years of leaving the Navy, Nixon reached the vice presidency.

He did it without family money or powerful connections. Instead, he relied on nerve, timing, and a talent for reading rooms. If that isn’t hustling, then what is? Personally, I find the comparison fascinating. Thompson used his skills to chase money and thrills. Nixon used the same instincts to chase power. One man ended up in the gambling history books. The other ended up in the White House. Yet both started as poor boys who refused to stay poor.

The Checkers Fund: Hustlers: Richard Nixon’s Story

When gamblers rank the US Presidents, they often put Nixon on the highest tier. That might sound strange at first. After all, plenty of presidents loved a good card game. Warren Harding hosted poker nights at the White House. Harry Truman played with reporters and old friends for decades. So why does Nixon get the top spot?

The answer comes down to results. Harding and Truman played for fun among friends. Nixon, on the other hand, played to win real money. His wartime winnings changed the direction of his life. Moreover, he carried a poker mindset into every political crisis. Nothing proves that better than the Checkers speech.

In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower picked Nixon as his running mate. Nixon was only 39 years old at the time. Then, in September, a newspaper dropped a bombshell. It reported that wealthy supporters kept a secret fund for Nixon. The fund held roughly $18,000 for his political expenses. Critics smelled corruption right away. Soon, powerful Republicans wanted him off the ticket. Even Eisenhower seemed ready to cut him loose.

Poker players might call this a stone-cold bluff. Well, it wasn’t entirely a bluff, since investigators found no wrongdoing. Still, Nixon turned a losing position into a winning one. He did it with nerve, timing, and pure theater. That, in our opinion, is why gamblers rank him so high. Few presidents ever played a hand that well under that much pressure.

The Final Table

And the final moment of Richard Nixon’s story was approaching. According to the Richard Nixon Foundation, Nixon could still vividly recall a 1944 poker hand decades later, including a remarkable royal flush he drew while playing five-card stud on Green Island. Then the cards fell perfectly, and he drew a royal flush. Most poker players never see that hand in their whole lives. Nixon saw it in a tent in the South Pacific.

I find it touching that he remembered it so clearly. Think of everything that happened to him afterward. He became vice president, lost in 1960, and later won the presidency. Later, he opened relations with China and met leaders by the dozen. Through all that, one hand of cards stayed sharp in his mind. Clearly, the poker table meant more to him than a hobby.

Of course, every hustler eventually faces a final table. For Nixon, that moment arrived with Watergate. In 1972, burglars broke into Democratic offices at the Watergate complex. Nixon’s aides tried to cover up the White House connection. Over time, tapes revealed that Nixon himself joined the cover-up. This time, the bluff failed.

Nixon’s Death

Nixon died on April 22, 1994, at the age of 81. By then, the Green Island poker games felt like another lifetime. Still, somewhere in his memory, that royal flush sat waiting. It reminded him where the whole wild ride began. Not in Washington, and not in Whittier. It began at a card table under the palm trees. Register at Everygame Sportsbook to bet on recent political events online! 

Click here to stay tuned with Everygame Sportsbook!