1. Tombstone Doc Holliday Card Game
2. Doc Holiday Card Game In Tombstone
3. Info On Doc Holliday
4. Doc Holliday Family Tree
5. Doc Holliday The Real Story
6. Doc Holliday Marshall

1. Tombstone (1993) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
2. Magpie Games is releasing a new tabletop game based on the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, both of which are aimed for a February 2022 release. For the first time, players will be able to fulfill their fantasies in the various eras of the Avatar Universe.
3. 'I'm Dying How Are You?' Even at his lowest point, Doc Holliday was capable of.

(and probably doesn't)

by Susan Ballard

Directed by John Ford. With Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo. The Cheyenne, tired of broken U.S. Government promises, head for their ancestral lands but a sympathetic cavalry officer is tasked to bring them back to their reservation. He then directed Wyatt to Doc Holliday who had played cards with Rudabaugh. Wyatt was skeptical about talking to Holliday, as it was well known that Doc hated lawmen. However, when Wyatt found him that evening at Shanssey’s, he was surprised at Holliday’s willingness to talk. Doc told Wyatt that he thought that Rudabaugh had back-trailed to.

From the March 2006 issue of Tombstone Times

Facts any good Doc Holliday aficionado should know

(and probably doesn't)
by Susan Ballard

From the March 2006 issue of Tombstone Times

'A shiftless, bagged-legged character - a killer and professional cut-throat and not a wit too refined to rob stages or even steal sheep.' The Las Vegas Optic.

'Without question a stone killer, an alcoholic and a whoremonger. He was known to cheat at cards.' Doc O'Meara, Guns of the Gunfighters, Krause Publications, 2003.

'Few men of his character had more friends or stronger champions.' Denver Republican, November 10th, 1887.

'He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit...' Wyatt Earp as told to Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931.

'Doc had but three redeeming traits. One was his courage; he was afraid of nothing on Earth. The second was the one commendable principal in his code of life, sterling loyalty to friends. The third was his affection for Wyatt Earp.' Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931, Stuart N. Lake.

What hasn't been said about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday? Depending on your point of view, whether you see the man as unjustly maligned or just getting his comeuppance, either too much or not enough. Was he good, bad or perhaps something in between, something more human? Let's take a look and hopefully along the way set the record just a bit straighter.

John Henry Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. Even Doc's best friend, Wyatt Earp, got Holliday's state of birth wrong. In a eulogy written in 1896 Wyatt states, 'He was a Virginian, but preferred to be a frontiersman and a vagabond.'

Holliday was born August 14th, 1851, not 1852 as was credited on an erroneous tombstone which rested in the Linwood Cemetery, Glenwood Springs, Colorado for many years. That stone was replaced on October 17th, 2004 by a monument more suited to the era in which Doc lived and died and which, thankfully, corrects the error of his birth date.

John Henry was born with a serious birth defect, a cleft palate. His mother, Alice, using a spoon, an eye-dropper and a small cup fed her newly born child who could not nurse due to the nature of his defect.

Doc's uncle, Doctor John Stiles Holliday, operated on the infant and repaired the cleft palate. In his honor the baby was named John with his father's name, Henry, secondary.

In all probability, John Henry retained a slight speech impediment due to the cleft palate.

Doc was the second child born to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. His only sibling, a sister named Martha Eleanora Holliday, was born December 3rd, 1849 and died a scant six months later.

As mentioned, Doc's sister died as an infant. Therefore any mention of Holliday leaving his pistols to a nephew upon his death, a story repeated many times in print, is totally erroneous.

Doc's mother, Alice McKey Holliday, died of consumption when John Henry was 15 years old. Sadly, in all likelihood he contracted the fatal disease from her.

Doc's father, Henry Burroughs Holliday, served in the George Volunteer Infantry as assistant quartermaster of the Twenty-seventh Regiment during the War Between the States, attaining the rank of major.

Reports that a youthful John Henry killed anywhere from one to six black children he caught frolicking in the family swimming hole in Georgia is without merit. He did, however, shoot over the boys' heads. Through the years this relatively minor incident has been blown way out of proportion.

Sophie Walton, a young mulatto woman, a retainer in the household of John Stiles Holliday, taught Doc how to play cards. Among the games Sophie taught to John Henry and his cousins was 'Skinning,' the original rules of which were adapted from faro! It seems young John Henry was quite adept at this - a portent of things to come?

Tombstone Doc Holliday Card Game

Doc was a dentist, not a physician as portrayed in more than one Hollywood film. Even John Ford, whose advisor on the director's celluloid version of the Tombstone gunfight, 'My Darling Clementine' was none other than Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp's biographer, chose to ignore the facts. Ford's Doc Holliday is a surgeon, from Boston no less, who dies at the end of the gunfight.

Doc graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery on March 1st, 1872, not the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, an error mistakenly repeated by many authors. John H. Holliday's thesis was titled 'Diseases of the Teeth.'

Doc's cousin, Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, who in later life joined the Order of the Sisters of Mercy to become Sister Mary Melanie, was said to be the model for the saintly Miss Melanie in 'Gone With the Wind.' This is certainly not as far-fetched as it sounds. Philip Fitzgerald, the uncle-in-law of Robert Kennedy Holliday (one of Doc's uncles) was the great-grandfather of 'Gone With the Wind' author Margaret Mitchell, but wait - it gets better. Of the eight children born to Robert Kennedy Holliday and his wife was one Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, Sister Mary Melanie.

Doc, like most of his male Holliday cousins, stood nearly 6 feet tall.

Doc was fair-haired, a platinum blond so said Virgil's wife, Allie, upon meeting him for the first time, not dark-haired as most surviving and probably doctored photos show. Wyatt described him as 'long, lean and ash blond.'

Doc's weapon of choice early in his western career was an 1851 Colt Navy revolver given him by his uncle, one of four. The remaining three pistols were given by Uncle John to his own sons. Later Doc carried a nickel-plated .41 caliber Colt Thunderer or the .38 caliber Colt Lightening, both double action pistols. Never was Holliday's weapon of choice a shotgun, let alone the .10 gauge Meteor 'whipit' (a double-barreled shotgun cut down to a mere 20') with which he was often credited. He used a shotgun at the Tombstone gunfight because Virgil handed it to him. Being slightly built and not in robust health, the idea of Holliday's weapon of choice being a shotgun with its wicked kick is ludicrous. In Stuart Lake's Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, Wyatt states, 'Doc Holliday never carried a sawed-off shotgun into a fight but once in his life and upon this one occasion (the Tombstone gunfight) he threw the gun down in disgust after firing one shot and jerked the nickel-plated Colt's which was for years his favorite weapon.'

Doc was an award-winning dentist. Exhibits John Henry prepared for dental school were entered at the Annual Fair of the North Texas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Blood Stock Association at the Dallas County Fair by Holliday and his dental partner Doctor John A. Seegar. Holliday took all three awards - 'best set of teeth in gold,' 'the best in Vulcanized rubber' and 'the best set of artificial teeth and dental ware.' The prizes, a plate and five dollars for each display, were quite a tidy stipend for 1873.

While on the trail of outlaw Dave Rudabaugh, Wyatt Earp crossed Doc's path for the first time in Fort Griffin, Texas in 1877. Upon visiting an old acquaintance of his, saloon owner John Shanssey, Wyatt is introduced to Doc Holliday. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is also in Fort Griffin that Doc meets the only woman who will feature prominently in his life from that point on, Mary Katherine Harony (or Haroney), aka Big Nose Kate, aka Kate Fisher, aka Kate Elder, aka Kate Holliday. The couple remains together, off and on, until Doc's death ten year later.

Doc did not engage in violent behavior against his live-in love, Kate. This supposed truth was promulgated by an author, he who shall not be named, whose works were published under the guise of being non-fiction; it turns out this was a hoax. However, much of this fiction lives on, unfortunately for Doc's reputation.

Big Nose Kate was well-educated and came from a fine Hungarian family; her father was a physician. Doc must have found her to be as pleasant a surprise in the often crude surroundings he was forced to endure as she did him.

Although Kate stated on more than one occasion that she and Doc were legally married, no license exists.

A photograph showing a heavy set, coarse-featured woman with wavy hair is often ascribed to as being the likeness of Big Nose Kate. It is not Kate Elder, but a prostitute known as Nosey Kate.

Doc actively practiced dentistry in Dodge City taking out this ad in the local newspaper. 'J.H. Holliday, Dentist, very respectfully offers his professional services to the citizens of Dodge City and surrounding country during the summer. Office at room No. 24, Dodge House. Where satisfaction is not given money will be refunded.'

Doc was not the prolific killer myth has alleged. Proof points to the fact he killed only one man for sure, Tom McLaury at the Tombstone gunfight near the O.K. Corral. However, by his own admission to Ike Clanton, whether the truth or just a ploy to goad Ike to action, Doc also killed Newman Haynes 'Old Man' Clanton while a member of Wyatt Earp's federal posse in Guadalupe Canyon in August of 1881 while in pursuit of cattle rustlers.

When confronted by Frank McLaury at the gunfight Doc's reply to McLaury's challenge, 'I've got you now,' really was 'Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have!'

Doc was wounded by Frank McLaury. Years later Wyatt gave this account of the matter. 'Morgan wheeled around and in doing so fell on his side. While in that position he caught sight of Doc Holliday and Frank McLaury aiming at each other. With a quick drop he shot McLaury in the head. At the same instant McLaury's gun flashed and Doc Holliday was shot in the hip.' Fortunately for Doc, the wound is a superficial graze.

Doc spent two plus weeks in a Tombstone jail in the company of Wyatt while both awaited a hearing pertaining to the October 26th, 1881 gunfight. They, as well as Virgil and Morgan Earp, were acquitted. According to the statement of presiding Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer,' I cannot resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in committing these homicides, that it is a necessary act done in the discharge of official duty.'

Doc Holliday's last shootout occurred in Leadville, Colorado on August 19th, 1884 when Doc shoots Billy Allen in Manny Hyman's saloon, wounding Allen. Doc, having fallen on hard times, had borrowed five dollars from Allen. Allen then threatened the physically frail Holliday with a severe beating, at the very least, if the fiver wasn't paid back by the 19th. Due to corroborating witnesses and Doc's own impassioned plea, 'I knew that I would be as a child in his hands if he got hold of me; I weight 122 pounds; I think Allen weights 170. I have had pneumonia three or four times; I don't think I was able to protect myself against him,' the final verdict was 'not guilty.'

Doc arrived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado via stagecoach in May of 1887, not by train as is often alleged. The Denver and Rio Grande pulled into Glenwood Springs for the first time on October 5th, 1887.

On November 8th, 1887, John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, D.D.S. died in The Hotel Glenwood, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He did not die in a sanitarium. Doc was just barely into his 36th year, but lived an amazing 14 years after being diagnosed with consumption. For a man who many claimed had a 'death wish,' Doc's ability to cling to life with a tenacity second to none puts those claimants to shame.

Among the many books available to those interested in reading more about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, these are three of the best.

The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday by Bob Boze Bell is a witty, slightly irreverent chronology of John Henry Holliday's life from birth to death and beyond. Illustrated beautifully throughout with BBB's original artwork, this book also boasts excellent photographs, maps and sketches. Sprinkled among the pages are a host of highly entertaining topics such as 'There's Nothing New Under the Sun,' 'How to Play Doc's Favorite Game' and 'Was Doc Holliday a Lousy Shot?' Although, at first glance, The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday might appear as eye candy, (which it most assuredly is with its wonderfully colorful Bell illustrations) it also contains a wealth of well-researched, accurate information in an easy to follow format. For the Doc Holliday buff or just the casual reader of history, this book is definitely a 'daisy!' Pick one up today!

Doc Holliday, A Family Portrait by Karen Holliday Tanner is an in depth look at John Henry Holliday as seen through the eyes of his family, past and present. Packed with information and rare photographs, A Family Portrait manages to entertain as well as inform. Especially interesting is the section on Holliday genealogy. A Family Portrait is a must have addition to any 'Doc' library.

John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) by Tombstone historian, Ben T. Traywick is chockfull of facts all backed up by extensive research and illustrated with copies of rare original letters, documents and photographs. Traywick smashes through the lies and misconceptions to present an honest straightforward look into John Henry Holliday, the man behind the legend. Do yourself a favor - make John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) the cornerstone of your history collection.

'A shiftless, bagged-legged character - a killer and professional cut-throat and not a wit too refined to rob stages or even steal sheep.' The Las Vegas Optic.

'Without question a stone killer, an alcoholic and a whoremonger. He was known to cheat at cards.' Doc O'Meara, Guns of the Gunfighters, Krause Publications, 2003.

'Few men of his character had more friends or stronger champions.' Denver Republican, November 10th, 1887.

'He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit...' Wyatt Earp as told to Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931.

'Doc had but three redeeming traits. One was his courage; he was afraid of nothing on Earth. The second was the one commendable principal in his code of life, sterling loyalty to friends. The third was his affection for Wyatt Earp.' Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, copyright 1931, Stuart N. Lake.

What hasn't been said about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday? Depending on your point of view, whether you see the man as unjustly maligned or just getting his comeuppance, either too much or not enough. Was he good, bad or perhaps something in between, something more human? Let's take a look and hopefully along the way set the record just a bit straighter.

John Henry Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. Even Doc's best friend, Wyatt Earp, got Holliday's state of birth wrong. In a eulogy written in 1896 Wyatt states, 'He was a Virginian, but preferred to be a frontiersman and a vagabond.'

Holliday was born August 14th, 1851, not 1852 as was credited on an erroneous tombstone which rested in the Linwood Cemetery, Glenwood Springs, Colorado for many years. That stone was replaced on October 17th, 2004 by a monument more suited to the era in which Doc lived and died and which, thankfully, corrects the error of his birth date.

John Henry was born with a serious birth defect, a cleft palate. His mother, Alice, using a spoon, an eye-dropper and a small cup fed her newly born child who could not nurse due to the nature of his defect.

Doc's uncle, Doctor John Stiles Holliday, operated on the infant and repaired the cleft palate. In his honor the baby was named John with his father's name, Henry, secondary.

In all probability, John Henry retained a slight speech impediment due to the cleft palate.

Doc was the second child born to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice McKey Holliday. His only sibling, a sister named Martha Eleanora Holliday, was born December 3rd, 1849 and died a scant six months later.

As mentioned, Doc's sister died as an infant. Therefore any mention of Holliday leaving his pistols to a nephew upon his death, a story repeated many times in print, is totally erroneous.

Doc's mother, Alice McKey Holliday, died of consumption when John Henry was 15 years old. Sadly, in all likelihood he contracted the fatal disease from her.

Doc's father, Henry Burroughs Holliday, served in the George Volunteer Infantry as assistant quartermaster of the Twenty-seventh Regiment during the War Between the States, attaining the rank of major.

Reports that a youthful John Henry killed anywhere from one to six black children he caught frolicking in the family swimming hole in Georgia is without merit. He did, however, shoot over the boys' heads. Through the years this relatively minor incident has been blown way out of proportion.

Sophie Walton, a young mulatto woman, a retainer in the household of John Stiles Holliday, taught Doc how to play cards. Among the games Sophie taught to John Henry and his cousins was 'Skinning,' the original rules of which were adapted from faro! It seems young John Henry was quite adept at this - a portent of things to come?

Doc was a dentist, not a physician as portrayed in more than one Hollywood film. Even John Ford, whose advisor on the director's celluloid version of the Tombstone gunfight, 'My Darling Clementine' was none other than Stuart N. Lake, Wyatt Earp's biographer, chose to ignore the facts. Ford's Doc Holliday is a surgeon, from Boston no less, who dies at the end of the gunfight.

Doc graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery on March 1st, 1872, not the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, an error mistakenly repeated by many authors. John H. Holliday's thesis was titled 'Diseases of the Teeth.'

Doc's cousin, Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, who in later life joined the Order of the Sisters of Mercy to become Sister Mary Melanie, was said to be the model for the saintly Miss Melanie in 'Gone With the Wind.' This is certainly not as far-fetched as it sounds. Philip Fitzgerald, the uncle-in-law of Robert Kennedy Holliday (one of Doc's uncles) was the great-grandfather of 'Gone With the Wind' author Margaret Mitchell, but wait - it gets better. Of the eight children born to Robert Kennedy Holliday and his wife was one Martha Anne 'Mattie' Holliday, Sister Mary Melanie.

Doc, like most of his male Holliday cousins, stood nearly 6 feet tall.

Doc was fair-haired, a platinum blond so said Virgil's wife, Allie, upon meeting him for the first time, not dark-haired as most surviving and probably doctored photos show. Wyatt described him as 'long, lean and ash blond.'

Doc's weapon of choice early in his western career was an 1851 Colt Navy revolver given him by his uncle, one of four. The remaining three pistols were given by Uncle John to his own sons. Later Doc carried a nickel-plated .41 caliber Colt Thunderer or the .38 caliber Colt Lightening, both double action pistols. Never was Holliday's weapon of choice a shotgun, let alone the .10 gauge Meteor 'whipit' (a double-barreled shotgun cut down to a mere 20') with which he was often credited. He used a shotgun at the Tombstone gunfight because Virgil handed it to him. Being slightly built and not in robust health, the idea of Holliday's weapon of choice being a shotgun with its wicked kick is ludicrous. In Stuart Lake's Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, Wyatt states, 'Doc Holliday never carried a sawed-off shotgun into a fight but once in his life and upon this one occasion (the Tombstone gunfight) he threw the gun down in disgust after firing one shot and jerked the nickel-plated Colt's which was for years his favorite weapon.'

Doc was an award-winning dentist. Exhibits John Henry prepared for dental school were entered at the Annual Fair of the North Texas Agricultural, Mechanical, and Blood Stock Association at the Dallas County Fair by Holliday and his dental partner Doctor John A. Seegar. Holliday took all three awards - 'best set of teeth in gold,' 'the best in Vulcanized rubber' and 'the best set of artificial teeth and dental ware.' The prizes, a plate and five dollars for each display, were quite a tidy stipend for 1873.

While on the trail of outlaw Dave Rudabaugh, Wyatt Earp crossed Doc's path for the first time in Fort Griffin, Texas in 1877. Upon visiting an old acquaintance of his, saloon owner John Shanssey, Wyatt is introduced to Doc Holliday. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is also in Fort Griffin that Doc meets the only woman who will feature prominently in his life from that point on, Mary Katherine Harony (or Haroney), aka Big Nose Kate, aka Kate Fisher, aka Kate Elder, aka Kate Holliday. The couple remains together, off and on, until Doc's death ten year later.

Doc did not engage in violent behavior against his live-in love, Kate. This supposed truth was promulgated by an author, he who shall not be named, whose works were published under the guise of being non-fiction; it turns out this was a hoax. However, much of this fiction lives on, unfortunately for Doc's reputation.

Big Nose Kate was well-educated and came from a fine Hungarian family; her father was a physician. Doc must have found her to be as pleasant a surprise in the often crude surroundings he was forced to endure as she did him.

Although Kate stated on more than one occasion that she and Doc were legally married, no license exists.

A photograph showing a heavy set, coarse-featured woman with wavy hair is often ascribed to as being the likeness of Big Nose Kate. It is not Kate Elder, but a prostitute known as Nosey Kate.

Doc actively practiced dentistry in Dodge City taking out this ad in the local newspaper. 'J.H. Holliday, Dentist, very respectfully offers his professional services to the citizens of Dodge City and surrounding country during the summer. Office at room No. 24, Dodge House. Where satisfaction is not given money will be refunded.'

Doc was not the prolific killer myth has alleged. Proof points to the fact he killed only one man for sure, Tom McLaury at the Tombstone gunfight near the O.K. Corral. However, by his own admission to Ike Clanton, whether the truth or just a ploy to goad Ike to action, Doc also killed Newman Haynes 'Old Man' Clanton while a member of Wyatt Earp's federal posse in Guadalupe Canyon in August of 1881 while in pursuit of cattle rustlers.

When confronted by Frank McLaury at the gunfight Doc's reply to McLaury's challenge, 'I've got you now,' really was 'Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have!'

Doc was wounded by Frank McLaury. Years later Wyatt gave this account of the matter. 'Morgan wheeled around and in doing so fell on his side. While in that position he caught sight of Doc Holliday and Frank McLaury aiming at each other. With a quick drop he shot McLaury in the head. At the same instant McLaury's gun flashed and Doc Holliday was shot in the hip.' Fortunately for Doc, the wound is a superficial graze.

Doc spent two plus weeks in a Tombstone jail in the company of Wyatt while both awaited a hearing pertaining to the October 26th, 1881 gunfight. They, as well as Virgil and Morgan Earp, were acquitted. According to the statement of presiding Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer,' I cannot resist the conclusion that the defendants were fully justified in committing these homicides, that it is a necessary act done in the discharge of official duty.'

Doc Holliday's last shootout occurred in Leadville, Colorado on August 19th, 1884 when Doc shoots Billy Allen in Manny Hyman's saloon, wounding Allen. Doc, having fallen on hard times, had borrowed five dollars from Allen. Allen then threatened the physically frail Holliday with a severe beating, at the very least, if the fiver wasn't paid back by the 19th. Due to corroborating witnesses and Doc's own impassioned plea, 'I knew that I would be as a child in his hands if he got hold of me; I weight 122 pounds; I think Allen weights 170. I have had pneumonia three or four times; I don't think I was able to protect myself against him,' the final verdict was 'not guilty.'

Doc arrived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado via stagecoach in May of 1887, not by train as is often alleged. The Denver and Rio Grande pulled into Glenwood Springs for the first time on October 5th, 1887.

On November 8th, 1887, John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, D.D.S. died in The Hotel Glenwood, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He did not die in a sanitarium. Doc was just barely into his 36th year, but lived an amazing 14 years after being diagnosed with consumption. For a man who many claimed had a 'death wish,' Doc's ability to cling to life with a tenacity second to none puts those claimants to shame.

Among the many books available to those interested in reading more about John Henry 'Doc' Holliday, these are three of the best.

The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday by Bob Boze Bell is a witty, slightly irreverent chronology of John Henry Holliday's life from birth to death and beyond. Illustrated beautifully throughout with BBB's original artwork, this book also boasts excellent photographs, maps and sketches. Sprinkled among the pages are a host of highly entertaining topics such as 'There's Nothing New Under the Sun,' 'How to Play Doc's Favorite Game' and 'Was Doc Holliday a Lousy Shot?' Although, at first glance, The Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday might appear as eye candy, (which it most assuredly is with its wonderfully colorful Bell illustrations) it also contains a wealth of well-researched, accurate information in an easy to follow format. For the Doc Holliday buff or just the casual reader of history, this book is definitely a 'daisy!' Pick one up today!

Doc Holliday, A Family Portrait by Karen Holliday Tanner is an in depth look at John Henry Holliday as seen through the eyes of his family, past and present. Packed with information and rare photographs, A Family Portrait manages to entertain as well as inform. Especially interesting is the section on Holliday genealogy. A Family Portrait is a must have addition to any 'Doc' library.

John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) by Tombstone historian, Ben T. Traywick is chockfull of facts all backed up by extensive research and illustrated with copies of rare original letters, documents and photographs. Traywick smashes through the lies and misconceptions to present an honest straightforward look into John Henry Holliday, the man behind the legend. Do yourself a favor - make John Henry (The 'Doc' Holliday Story) the cornerstone of your history collection.

Decidedly[edit]

Sentences like 'It was, however, the most dangerous game for the destruction of families ever invented.' seem to be decidedly NPOV, hence the tag. -- AlexR 02:36, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Problems with this piece[edit]

The rules of the game are incorrectly described. A faro layout has only one suit (13 cards, usually spades as it was typically the suit used on the layout) on which gamblers place bets. The suit of the card that is dealt is irrelevant; if a bet is placed on the four of spades on the layout the bet pays if the winning card dealt is a four in any suit. Further, the bets pay even money, not 2 to 1 as this page describes.

(Rick Rutt 19:45, 7 December 2005 (UTC) I revised the article to describe the table, and clarify '2 for 1' versus '1 to 1'.)

So a match consists of matching the winning (or losing) card's denomination, regardless of suits. That's what I finally gathered after struggling through the existing rules, so I've made an attempt at fixing them. Also, I thought the casekeep descriotion could use a small clarifying addition. Peter Delmonte (talk) 05:23, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

Also, there is considerable debate regarding the origin of the name faro, though it appears unlikely that it is related to the term pharoah.

Here are a couple of links with good faro info:

(Rick Rutt 01:28, 13 December 2005 (UTC) I added a link to Mark Howard's article at www.bcvc.net )

See also, John Scarne, New Complete Guide to Gambling

How do folks feel about updating this page?

Odds are always fair, except when a pair is dealt[edit]

The original article contained this betting analysis:

'Suppose a person to put down 20s. upon a card when only eight are in hand; the last card was a cipher, so there were four places to lose, and only three to win, the odds against being as 4 to 3.

'If 10 cards only were in, then it was 5 to 4 against the player; in the former case it was the seventh part of the money, whatever it was, £1 or £100; in the latter case, a ninth. The odds from the beginning of the deal insensibly stole upon the player at every pull, till from the first supposed 4 per cent. it became about 15 per cent.'

This analysis incorrectly implies a house edge that increases as the cards in the shoe are dealt out.

For each deal, two cards are dealt, as described in the article.If the denomination is dealt to one pile, it is a winner; if to the other pile, it is a loser. The number of remaining cards of that denomination is irrelevant -- only which pile the next one lands on counts. Think this through, and you see there is no house edge (provide different denominations are dealt to each of the two piles).

The house edge comes from the situation when a pair is dealt -- the same denomination to both piles. The dealer takes half of any bet on that denomination.

Refer to the links in the prior discussion note to confirm these rules.

Rick Rutt 19:41, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

Faro Dealers[edit]

Faro Dealer's were not called 'sharps, sharpers, and blackleg.' A sharp, and sharpers, are names for confidence men. True, a faro dealer might cheat, and someone may accuse them of sharping, but 'shaper' is not synonymous with 'faro dealer.'

This page needs fixing[edit]

Someone needs to fix this page. I don't know who wrote 'the rules,' or where they got their information, but the names and rules are different from what is currently there. It seems the writer mixed European rules and names, with U.S. rules and names. They also used slang names, like 'coffin' and 'mechanical shoe' for dealing box, not standard all over the country, which only confuses readers. The whole article needs re-writing, using standard names and rules. Soapy 11:28, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

I began correcting some of the mistakes, but do not know the European rules, or at least, that is what I am guessing the writer was using. I collected artifacts and books on faro, and played the game for many years, and I have never come across the game and payoff rules in this article. Then again, I studied and played 19th century U.S. faro. Soapy 11:28, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Recent Faro[edit]

I personally played this game at Tropicana in Las vegas in early 80's. It continued in Reno for a couple more years. There have been recent musings about bringing it back. See [1]John celona 14:44, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Probably not worth mentioning here, but the otherwise forgettable PC casino game Reel Deal Gold Rush included Faro. And managed to blow half the game by eliminating the casekeeper and use of a single deck. (Having only purchased the game for its inclusion of Faro, I felt genuinely ripped off upon discovering the game so badly mangled.) There is a free online Flash game called Wichita Faro that uses a casekeeper and single deck, and, as such, is a way better electronic approximation of Faro than the one that Reel Deal marketed commercially. FWIW. 74.131.51.240 (talk) 01:31, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Doc Holliday Did Not Deal Faro[edit]

Wyatt Earp did. Doc never twisted the tiger's tail. Holliday preferred poker where skill and nerve are predominant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.6.239.53 (talk) 07:09, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps you should not limit your knowledge of Old West history to the movie Tombstone. 204.115.253.51 20:20, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

It is at least likely that Holliday ran the Faro games for Earp at times. For his own gambling, he certainly preferred poker. 76.28.103.69 (talk) 21:04, 20 September 2009 (UTC)Will in New Haven76.28.103.69 (talk) 21:04, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Word origin[edit]

'Its name is believed by some to be a corruption of pharaoh and refers to the Egyptian motif that commonly adorned French-made playing cards of the period, though no records of any Egyptian Motif on any playing cards of that era have been found.'This is a little confusing- how do we know an Egyptian motif was common if there are no records of it? I'm hoping I've misunderstood this. Does it mean that there is no record of the French cards being used to play this particular game, or in areas where it was popular? -FZ 16:22, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

I've seen an antique paper encyclopaedia (circa 1900) that stated the French-made Pharaoh-portrait cardback story emphatically as fact. I'll see if I can hunt it down and cite it if I can, although I'm worried that the emphatic phrasing could have been a careless mistake on the part of the paper encyclopaedia's editor. 74.131.51.240 (talk) 01:36, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Country of origin?[edit]

Says France in the text, Italy in the fact box. Which is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.108.138.68 (talk) 19:46, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Minor Edit to Clarify Rules[edit]

'The banker collected on all the money staked on the card laid on the right, and he paid double the sums staked on those on the card remaining on the left (of the dealing box).'

I removed this sentence from description of the rules, because the previous sentence already describes how the bets on the two cards are paid, and because the phrase 'paid double the sums staked' could be interpreted to mean that the payoff on the player's card is 2 to 1. OldTimeNESter (talk) 19:26, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

French terms used in Faro[edit]

This is a mix of Basset and Faro terms, not just Faro. For instance, you can't cock the corner of a card in Faro to Paroli. That's Basset. It's even taken from the Wikipedia article for Basset: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basset_%28card_game%29. Thus I'm removing it. 74.10.226.163 (talk) 17:51, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

• @74.10.226.163: Actually, that section on the French terms is taken from Pantologia. A new cabinet cyclopædia published in 1819. You can see the content here: [2], so I don't think it is appropriate to remove this. I've been pondering that section though for a while, and I do think it needs to be split between the classical European play and the American West play, as many terms used in one locale did not migrate to the other, and as you say, things like cocking the card may have originally been part of gameplay when the game forked from Basset, only to later fall out of common practice. Crow^Caw 22:14, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
  • Hrrm, what's really needed then is knowledge of at which point the 'modern' (or American?) game came into being. While hardly conclusive, Bicycle's car game glossary only lists 8 words (http://www.bicyclecards.com/card-games/glossary). Most folks playing or reading about Faro now would be looking for the one played in saloons rather than the Venetian derivative of Basset. Also, the rules listed are for the American style game, not an older European version. Also, while completely speculative on my part, it's hard to imagine a drunken, semi-literate miner in a saloon in Alaska using French words. I wish Pantagolia listed the Italian terminology, that would make it easier to trace. Perhaps the terminology should be left in but with a disclaimer? 74.10.226.163 (talk) 16:03, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Another Alternate Spelling: 'Farrow?'[edit]

I've seen the spelling of 'farrow' used along with 'pharaoh' amd 'faro.' Should it be included in the opening paragraph as a another alternate spelling?

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Doc Holliday Family Tree

Dont follow at all.[edit]

As someone who doesn't know how to play, the procedure makes little sense to me. I would not be able to deal a game of faro based on what this article tells me.

So, what, the players place bets on a particular card in the suite pasted to the table, say '5'. The dealer draws two cards, and if your card is a 5, you win, if HIS card is a 5, you loose...and if neither is a 5, nothing happens? I had to re-read this like 7 times to finally notice the line that says 'all bets placed on the layout's card', which was crucial to understanding the rest. Before that I was seriously thinking it was just saying that you flipped over two cards.....I'm not actually sure WHAT I thought it was saying before that. It seems to me that the cards pasted to the table are a crucial part of the game, and this should be more clearly explained.

64.223.165.28 (talk) 04:26, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Identifying bets, cheating, etc[edit]

How on earth do they keep track of which bet belongs to which person? What if 3 players all want to bet on the 3? (And while I'm at it, it doesn't say if the suite of cards on the table are drawn from a different deck from the one the dealer is using or not; I assume that the dealer uses a full deck, and so there are 4 of each card that can be drawn per deck, in addition to the cards glued to the table?) But if there is only one suite glued to the table, how do they keep track? According to the 'cheating' section, players could slide their bet to a different place when no-one was looking: if you could get away with that, what's to stop you from claiming someone else's bet was actually YOURS and that HE had been the one who bet on the 3 that lost? And how on earth could someone get away with fixing a thread to their bet while at table, and no-one sees the tread at all? No one sees the bet moving, with or without the copper on top? And the tread leads right to you, whether it's fixed to the copper or the bet, and even if you tug the copper off tge bet, you now ave a copper lying on the table for some reason...with a tread leading right back to you. Somehow a lot of these sound like fantasy or the act of fools to me, not actual, effective methods for cheating the game. And come to think of it, if the player wins money by having a winning card higher than the dealers, doesn't that create an incentive to bet on the higher cards? Equal risk for greater payout, etc.

Doc Holliday The Real Story

64.223.165.28 (talk) 04:47, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Doc Holliday Marshall