Ricky Jay is a well-known sleight of hand artist. In the liner notes, he claims to “have had a deck of cards in my hands for nearly half a century.” Cards and trickery cross paths both in the art of magic and the game of poker, so it’s no surprise that Ricky has an affinity for both: “I love the history, the language and literature, the art and the music of poker. I revel in the history of deception, cheating, and underworld slang.”

Poker is a universal game, so it’s no surprise that the songs collected on Ricky Jay Plays Poker cross almost all musical genres with a legendary roster of talent from the twentieth century. Ricky provides in-depth commentary in the liner notes regarding the songs and the history of the game.

The set opens with Phil Harris and his Orchestra covering Bert Williams’ “Darktown Poker Club.” It’s an interesting choice because while it is entertaining as it tells its tale about poker hustling, the title is a reminder of the racism present in early literature about the game where Jews and Asians were cheats and African-Americans were feckless. Williams’ original version from 1914 is also included. The music on that track is restrained compared to the big band orchestra and the audio quality is poor, but there’s something charming about a recording that is almost 100 years old.

County music is well represented through its sub-genres. Merle Travis sings about a traveling gambler in “Gambler’s Guitar.” Tex Williams provides a slice of Western Swing with “Wild Card.” The Country Gentlemen offer up some bluegrass on “Roving Gambler.” Credited as an influence on alt-country, Townes Van Zandt tells the story of “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold.” There is also an appearance by country legend Patsy Cline although her song, “Turn The Cards Slowly,” about cheating has nothing to do with cards.