August 8, 2005
The Hammer --Grubby did it
by Otis
Please see the post below for my brother's first final table appearance
Scanning Oddjack for the latest Cinnabon update (just can't get enough of that), I happened across a link to a Newsweek story. In it, the writer gives us the following:
Playing from his home PC against a half dozen strangers from around the world, Kim won three hands with a pocket pair of aces, a two pair of kings and nines and, finally, by turning a full house from what poker pros disdainfully call "the hammer"—a seven and two of different suits.
Huh?
Indeed, as Oddjack rightly points out, the Newsweek article has turned "a poker blogging meme into mainstream acceptance."
But, Oddjack fails to give credit where it is due. If my history is correct (and, in a gesture of full disclosure, I will admit to at one point in my life believing Harpo Marx was a Britsh Prime Minister), I believe it was our favorite poker blogging, play writing, slot expert who birthed this little creation.
At PokerGrub, Grubby himself seemed a little embarassed at first for taking an old poker term and giving it a new poker meaning:
Okay, The Hammer isn't specifically the 72o hand. At least not officially. In poker, the hammer is defined as the last position (the cut-off), particularly when you're heads-up. The 72 offsuit got the nickname The Hammer from my home game, and my mission is to adopt it into legitimate Oxford Dictionary poker parlance. Let's make it official and play The Hammer on the hammer!
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While it may not be Oxford material yet, it's made one of the most mainstream American news weeklies. What's more, it actually appears in an About.com glossary of poker terms.
Folks, I think Grubby did it.
The Hammer is official.
And that kicks more ass than a toilet seat.
In honor of this achievement, I played this hand...
I noticed that too trying to get my cinnabon fix. I can't believe it, Grubby's the man.
1) What poker "pros" beyond Professional Poker Player Chris Halverson (tm) call this hand the hammer? ;-)
2) Disdainfully!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
3) That rocks :-)
Never seen it played better than CJ at the X.
Newsweek should cover that.
I was so excited when I read that, I may have peed myself a little.
Glad to do what I can to make a great slang term "official." -- and I saw your comment over on Maudie's blog re: up for poker being absent on the best blogs list. My apologies -- you're right. This blog is a daily read for me.
I'm shortly going to have part 2 of fave blogs -- I really wanted to have 20 -- or more -- but the about.com corporate templates I have to use limit to ten at a time. This will be remedied.
That's okay, I was just joking about not being on the list. There's plenty of great poker blogs out there to promote!
This is beyond awesome. I think Grubby deserves a spot in the Poker Blogger Hall of Fame for this. If there isn't a Poker Blogger Hall of Fame, we should start one, and then induct Grubby.
Hammer boat trumps them all.
Hammer boat trumps them all.
***clears throat***
Quads.
This is my first time checking out your blog, and i will be a frequent visitor, the hammer what a solid name and glad to see it stickin around. i am new to the blogging scene, and i am just getting started you can check out my blog at
http://www.burnandturn.com
When I saw that, I shed a tear.
Watershed. Moment.
I will defer to the masses, but I was under the impression that it came from Dr. Pauly. I met Pauly at a home game in NYC, and I met a guy with the last name Hammer, who supposedly always played 72o, hence the nickname. Now, I'll admit there was more than a bit of alcohol that night, so as I stated, I defer to the masses.
Phenonemal!!!!
YEE-HAWWWWW!!!! Can't wait to see how often it gets laid down in 2 weeks ;)
uhhh...I spelled phenomenal wrong... I was overly excited.
That's a nasty beat if someone's playing the Doyle Brunson hand.
did he really invent it? I'd heard that phrase used to describe the 2 7 all over the place...
Yes, Grubby is the inventor of the HAMMER. That is indisputable. It probably became blogified around January of last year... and in a short time, it exploded in popularity.
That people doubt it's origin is a testament to the poker blogger's ability to seep into poker's pop culture world!!!
I wasn't really doubting. I only started reading poker blogs a couple weeks ago. It's cool to know a blogger made the name of a hand so popular. Some of my friends have used it at home games, and I've heard The Hammer talked about on InterPoker, which is mainly European players. Grubby is global.
I have to say, The Hammer is definitely one of the better names out there.
Is it to late for Grub to claim copywrite?
T-Shirt: "Grubby says: "The Hammer Tastes Great.""
