Presidential Poker - Abraham Lincoln

So much is known about Abraham Lincoln. He is known as the 16th president of the United States of America. He is known as the President who ended Slavery, and the Commander in Chief during the Civil War. He is known as the author of one of the most famous of American speeches, ""Four Score and Seven Years ago"", beginning the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln is a man of legend and history, who wore a stove pipe hat and was as tall as his accomplishments, who had a face that was considered ugly yet commanding, and a man whose assassination shocked the world. What many may not know, however, is that he used to refereeing cockfights. Imagine, if you will, the legendary, stoic figure overseeing a crowd of cheering and roughhousing men laying bets on two birds trying to kill each other.  That job as a referee of cockfights was not an aberration - in fact, it was simply a product of the times. Abraham grew up in a log cabin on the early frontier, learning his numbers and letters by marking them out in coal on the back of a shovel. Even the gentlemen of the time were participants in cockfights, as well as horse racing and every other form of gambling and competition. The fact that Abraham was so well respected that he would be trusted to accurately call the winner and loser in a cockfight actually speaks volumes about his respectability while performing a role that, today, would earn him nothing but derision. He earned a little money at the role, likely helping him survive as he pursued an education that would eventually have him running for office.  During his youth and young adulthood, while working as a riverboat pilot, Lincoln was often involved in penny ante poker, which showcased his love of competition and challenge. Playing poker gave Abraham a chance to pit his skills against his contemporaries, but keeping the cost down appealed to his more parsimonious side.