Is there a card game called "P.G."?

I am transcribing travel diaries of my grandfather, who sold railroad equipment around the world. He was a skilled bridge and poker player, born 1881 - died 1953.

He sometimes refers to playing a card game with other passengers on board ship in the 1920s and 1930s. He abbreviates the name of this game as "P.G." I am a non-player of cards. Can any of the members identify the game for me?

Thanks very much!

Jaziya

Welcome to the forums. I'm gonna move your thread to the relevant board - this place is really just for saying hi.

I'll take a total shot in the dark re. your question... Pai Gow?

Pai Gow was my first thought also. However, isn`t Pai Gow traditionally played with tiles rather than cards, as in some other Chinese and East European card-game equivalents ?

I`m dredging my memory for dimly remembered stuff I`ve read in books. I`m certainly no expert on this, but I suspect the card variant is modern. Would it have existed at the time that Jaziya`s grandsire played, nearly a century ago ?

Can`t think of another card game with initials P.G., though.

Edit: I should have read your link first, Chris. It pretty much confirms that the modern version (with cards) of Pai Gow was invented after the period Jaziya mentions. Dunno, then.

jaziya said:

I am transcribing travel diaries of my grandfather, who sold railroad equipment around the world. He was a skilled bridge and poker player, born 1881 - died 1953.

He sometimes refers to playing a card game with other passengers on board ship in the 1920s and 1930s. He abbreviates the name of this game as "P.G." I am a non-player of cards. Can any of the members identify the game for me?

Thanks very much!

Jaziya

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Hi Jaziya, welcome to the forums!

I have to agree with the DM and Egon, only one I know would be PaiGow, and wilst in traditional form it is meant to be played with tiles, and I dont know if it would have been popular with cards at the dates you mention, I do know that it was being played in the west of the USA (california, nevada) at that time - having been popularised in the decades previously by Asian/eastern immigrants (settlers, workers, dont mean to offend anyone if they are offended by the use of the word immigrant, so please dont take it that way ppl)

It may be a variant of poker as well though - anyone know anything called Poker Gxxxxx?

best regards

martin