What is the origin of the terms flop,turn and river in poker?
It is possible that the terms originated from the days of poker in the 1800’s and 1900’s in America along the Mississipi ( New Orleans, Texas areas ), and the paddleboat " casinos ", and are a throwback to the paddleboats themselves.
Flop refers to the way the dealer " flops " the cards over ( or may even originate from the – FLOP-FLOP-FLOP sound of the paddlewheels ), Turn may refer to the twists and turns in the Mississipi, and obviously the river refers to the Mississipi herself. Other terms like full boat, and The Wheel ( A-5 straight ) may also originate from here. ( dont quote me on this as its only grapevine information, and even the old timers like Doyle Brunson are unsure of the origins )
First recorded game of Texas Hold Em was in 1925 in Robstown, Texas( generally known as Hold Em back then ), so dont know if Hold Em, was ever played on the old paddleboats.
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Very good question! Being both a poker and word enthusist, I tried hard to find the answer to your question but could not. My best guess is that the terms originated in an ‘underground’ way. Poker is a social activity, so probably some old-school players came up with the terms, and they eventually spread by word of mouth. This would explain why there is no actual origin documentation for the words.
