a chip and a chair

- the idea that a poker player can still go on to win an entire poker tournament even if they are down to their last chip

- an extremely remote chance of succeeding

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PHRASE ORIGIN

In 1982, Jack “Treetop” Straus came back from a single chip to win the World Series of Poker, giving birth to the saying “a chip and a chair”.

Straus was nicknamed “Treetop” on account of being six and a half foot tall. One of the old-school “road gamblers”, he once said: “If they had wanted you to hold on to money they’d have made it with handles”.

A keen big-game hunter, Straus wore a lion’s paw inscribed with the motto: “Better a day as a lion than one hundred years as a lamb.”

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A SINGLE CHANCE

At the 1982 ‘World Series of Poker’ (WSOP) main event, Jack Straus put his creativity and aggression to good use.

During the second day, he lost a big hand and everyone thought he was out. But just as he was leaving the table, he spotted a single $500 chip hidden under a napkin! Luckily, he hadn't announced he was going "all-in" with all his chips, so he was allowed to stay in the game.

With just this one chip, Straus managed to win the next hand, doubling his tiny stack. He kept playing so well that he soon had the most chips at the table! By the end of the day, he had 90,000 chips. He kept winning and became the leader with the most chips overall.

Eventually, Straus knocked out almost all the other players, leaving only him and one opponent. Their final battle was quick, and Straus won a key hand with strong cards (Ace-Ten) against his opponent's weaker hand (Ace-Four). Even though the other player got lucky at first, Straus won the tournament in the end thanks to a lucky turn of the cards! This victory earned him a record-breaking prize of $520,000,… and all from a single chip and a chair.

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HUMANITY’S SEAT AT THE TABLE

While the human population has grown massively in modern times, our ancestors survived several catastrophic periods, like the Toba volcanic eruption around 70,000 years ago. Hanging by a thread, the global Homo sapiens population dwindled to only a few thousand individuals. So far, mankind has managed to maintain a winning streak!

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SYNONYMS

A CHIP AND A CHAIR, a flicker/glimmer/shred/sliver/thin thread of hope, an outside chance, a seat at the table, clinging to a straw, fighting against the odds, hanging by a thread, hope against hope, in the balance, it's not over until it's over, keeping the faith, on thin ice, ray of hope, remote possibility, slim/small/slight chance, straw to clutch at, tenuous hope, where there’s life—there’s hope, whisper of a hope

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation, say something like:

“As long as there’s A CHIP AND A CHAIR,... we should never give up hope!”

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THANKS to Tom for suggesting today’s word.

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