My western romance Gambling with Love is set in 1883 in Denver, Colorado against the backdrop of a high-stakes poker tournament. The heroine, Lainie Conrad, is a professional poker player seeking revenge against the gambler responsible for her husband’s murder. Her plans for revenge are compromised when U.S. Deputy Marshal Nick Foster shows up to arrest and escort her back east to stand trial for suspected murder.
While I grew up in a card-playing family, I’ve never played much poker, although I’m comfortable with a “friendly” game now and then. So, in order to write the grand tournament poker scene in Gambling with Love with historical accuracy, I needed to refresh my memory with the basic rules and etiquette and also research the history of cards and poker to put it into historical context. I was not disappointed in the plethora of websites, blogs, and books on both topics.
Read the rest of the article for a brief history of poker and watch the book video HERE.
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Writing through history one romance upon a time