The Moment Jack “Treetop” Straus Coined the Phrase “A Chip and a Chair”

You’ve probably heard the aphorism “a chip and a chair” referring to all it takes to win a poker tournament is a single chip to play with and a chair to sit on. 

However, you probably don’t know where this popular saying comes from, as it’s been many years since it first entered the poker folklore. 

The popular belief has it that the phrase was coined after Jack Strauss, also known as Treetop, won the 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event after being down to just one $500 chip during Day 2. 

We took a look at the poker history books and discovered just how Treetop turned a single chip into the biggest win of his poker career, and a few other anecdotes that got him inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. 

Jack Straus “Accidentally” Wins the Main Event

Back in 1982, the WSOP Main Event was already a highly prestigious event, with more than 100 of the world’s best players, and a few amateurs, entering the field for $10,000 a piece, a huge chunk of money for that time. 

Among the entrants was Jack “Treetop” Straus, a poker player best known for being 6’6”, which easily made him the tallest man in almost any poker game he would enter. 

Treetop was in contention during Day 2 of the Main Event, when he pushed his chips into the pot and lost the hand. He thought he was out, but accidentally discovered that he had one $500 chip left, which had inadvertently ended up under a napkin. 

Since Straus never announced he was all-in, the tournament staff allowed him to keep playing with his single ante chip, which would end up being fateful. 

Straus doubled up the very next hand, and then doubled up a few more times after that. By the end of day 2, he was sitting on 90,000 chips, and by the end of Day 3, he was the absolute chip leader. 

Straus made the final table that included poker legends like Sailor Roberts and Doyle Brunson, and got all the way to heads-up play with Duane Tomko. 

An overwhelming chip lead allowed him to quickly finish out the match and turn his single $500 chip into $520,000 in tournament prize money and a WSOP Main Event bracelet. 

The phrase “a chip and a chair” was coined after this incredible victory, and repeated thousands of times since by poker players, fans, and commentators around the world. 

Who Was Jack Straus?

For most poker players of the newer generations, the name Jack Straus doesn’t ring any bells, nor does his nickname “Treetop”. 

Yet, back in the 1980s, Treetop was one of the most popular poker players in Las Vegas, known for his prowess in both tournament and cash game poker. 

Tournament results of that era were not documented as meticulously as they are these days, but we know for sure that Straus won two WSOP bracelets and came second in another event in 1981. 

Beyond those wins, Straus also final tabled and won a number of other events across different casinos and poker tours, mostly in the Las Vegas area. 

One of the tallest people to ever play poker, Jack was known as a witty person with a great sense of humor and a major part of Sin City’s high-stakes gambling circles. 

Straus passed away in 1988, just six years after winning the Main Event, and was promptly inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame by his peers the following year. 

His legacy lives to this day through the phrase “a chip and a chair,” which remains one of the most commonly used sayings in all of poker. 

How Treetop Pulled Off One of the Most Famous Poker Bluffs Ever

Besides his Main Event victory, Jack Straus also became famous in the poker world for pulling off one of the most daring bluffs ever recorded. 

The lore says that Straus was winning big in a high-stakes poker game, and he was playing any two cards, chasing the “rush.”

When he looked down at 72, the worst hand in poker, he still raised anyway, and got a call from a tight player who was known for playing only good cards. 

The flop brought 7-3-3, and Jack had flopped two pair, so he bet once again. His opponent called him, and he immediately realized he was likely up against an overpair. 

The turn brought a 2, and Straus still had just two pair of sevens and threes, but he also had an idea on how he could win the pot. 

He made a huge bet, and his opponent went into the tank. After a while, Jack gave his opponent an offer he could not refuse. He offered to show him one card, of his own choice, for just $25. 

The other player immediately agreed, paid $25, and chose a card. Straus turned over the 2, but it really didn’t matter which card the man would choose. 

Whether the 7 or the 2 was turned over, there was a good chance that Straus had a pair of them, especially because he offered to show a card. This led his opponent to believe he had a pair of deuces in the hole, which would mean his hand was now good for a full house. 

After some deliberation, the man folded an overpair, and Straus was accredited with one of the most imaginative bluffs of all time, which transcended the cards and played on pure poker psychology. 

A Chip and a Chair Is All It Takes

Jack’s victory in the 1982 Main Event was the first time a player came back from such a huge chip deficit to win a major poker event, but it would definitely not be the last. 

Over the years, as poker continued to explode, we have seen players come back from very few chips time and time again, proving that a chip and a chair are truly all it takes. 

Treetop accidentally missed a single chip and ended up winning the Main Event, but players these days often leave a chip behind in their stack on purpose, just in case of an extreme scenario where they can survive and still have a chance to win the event despite the odds.