A Study Guide for Bret Harte's "Outcasts of Poker Flat," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students.This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

"Tennessee's Partner" by Bret Harte is set in Sandy Bar, an Old West town, and focuses on two men, nicknamed "Tennessee" and "Tennessee's Partner." While Tennessee is a reckless gambler, his partner is humorless and practical. Despite their disparate personalities, they share a strong friendship that did not fail even when Tennessee was responsible for his partner's bride estranging him. When Tennessee blatantly tries to steal from a stranger, he is arrested and put on trial. Tennessee's Partner tries to stick up for his friend, saying that he might not agree with everything Tennessee does, but he still supports him.

Introduced shortly after the United States declared its independence, poker’s growth and development has paralleled that of America itself. As a gambling game with mass appeal, poker has been played by presidents and peasants, at kitchen tables and final tables, for matchsticks and millions. First came the hands, then came the stories – some true, some pure bluffs, and many in between. In Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game, Martin Harris shares these stories while chronicling poker’s progress from 19th-century steamboats and saloons to 21st-century virtual tables online, including: Poker on the Mississippi Poker in the Movies Poker in the Old West Poker on the Newsstand Poker in the Civil War Poker in Literature Poker on the Bookshelf Poker in Music Poker in the White House Poker on Television Poker During Wartime Poker on the Computer From Mark Twain to “Dogs Playing Poker” to W.C. Fields to John Wayne to A Streetcar Named Desire to the Cold War to Kenny Rogers to ESPN to Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond, Poker & Pop Culture provides a comprehensive survey of cultural productions in which poker is of thematic importance, showing how the game’s portrayal in the mainstream has increased poker’s relevance to American history and shaped the way we think about the game and its significance.

When the gambler, John Oakhurst, senses that he may have outstayed his welcome in the mining camp of Poker Flat, he sets off to find pastures new. Accompanied by the local drunk, Uncle Billy, and two prostitutes, he makes his way towards Sandy Bar. However, when things do not go according to plan, and the weather turns, Oakhurst must look deep inside himself to work out what to do. A gritty tale, riddled with tragedy and romance, ‘The Outcasts of Poker Flat’ does not spare the horses when it comes to depicting the difficulties faced by ordinary folk in the Old West. Born in New York, Bret Harte (1836 – 1902) was a prolific poet, author, and journalist. The son of one of the founders of the New York Stock Exchange, Harte’s education was erratic, and he left school at the age of 13. Four years later, he moved to California, trying out a number of jobs, including working as a miner and a journalist. After an unsuccessful stint as a stagecoach guard, he became a schoolteacher. Later, he was hired as an editor for ‘The Golden Era’ magazine. His piece on the Wiyot Massacre resulted in death threats, and Harte was forced to flee to San Francisco. There, he became a journalist for ‘The Atlantic Monthly’ and was instrumental in founding ‘The Californian’, and ‘The Overland Monthly’. The latter was to publish one of his most well-known stories, ‘The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Sketches’. During his lifetime, Harte published more than 30 books.