Sure enough, in a 'spasm of virtuous reaction,' a secret committee has been formed 'to rid the town of all improper persons,' Oakhurst included. John Oakhurst, a professional gambler, correctly senses a sudden alteration in the town's 'moral atmosphere' thanks to the strange behavior of others in his presence. The story opens in late November 1850 in the interestingly named California town of Poker Flat. Getting Rid of Poker Players and Other 'Improper Persons' Ultimately the story presents a thoughtful sketch of the Old West that conveys the complicated status of poker in American culture at the time it was written (and that resonates still today).
Rather than depict a poker game or exploit the inherent drama produced by the conflict of a poker hand, Harte's story instead uses poker in a thematic way, presenting the game as one of several activities deemed morally objectionable and deserving of punishment by those with authority in a mid-century California town. First appearing in the California-based magazine Overland Monthly in January 1869, the story helped make Harte famous and was later the basis for several films and an even an opera.
One of the more enduring cultural reflections on 19th-century poker is the short story 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' by the American poet and fiction writer Bret Harte.
