These five characters are a cut above the rest, mostly because they all have a great hand at what they do best. But who would win if they were hit with the right cards? And if they if they weren’t given the opportunity to whip their cards into the faces of their enemies, could they hold their own against the legions of geeks who make a living playing in the best online poker rooms? (By the way, I shuffled these into no particular order).

Bullseye
First appearance: Daredevil #131, 1976
Bullseye is popular from the Daredevil series and he’s more popular for his unusual precision of, um, throwing things. While he enjoys throwing sharp objects, he’s perhaps notable for his affinity of throwing playing cards. In fact, if he never decided to pick up a set of cards, we’d see him throwing other things that come in bulk – like sunflower seeds, paperclips and Costco toilet paper rolls.

Yugi Mutou
First appearance: Yu-Gi-Oh! #1, 1996
I know what you’re thinking. Yu-Gi-Oh is an Anime. Au contraire: the franchise began as a Manga back in 1996. And although he doesn’t use a standard set of playing cards, an absence of his deck would make Yugi nothing but – oh! – a plain kid with funky hair. Certainly his deck of cards requires fast-thinking and problem solving – perhaps the same skills can be used in a gentleman’s game of poker?

Royal Flush Gang
First appearance: Justice League of America #43, 1966
The Royal Flush Gang is suited for victory. Seeing as how these supervillains can throw down in a fight, certainly they’d have the guts to throw down in a Poker game. This gang would perhaps bend the rules while bending their cards, competing with five Poker faces instead of one. Is that an advantage or a disadvantage at hand?

Joker
First appearance: Batman #1, 1940
If you try to play a Poker match with the Joker, you’ll get freaked out by his antics, creeped out by his jokes, and thrown off by his permanently-smiling Poker face. He’d be willing to insanely contrive an idea to fool you into losing not only your money, but also your appetite. Careful with the Joker – he most likely has a few wild cards up his sleeve.

Gambit
First appearance: Uncanny X-Men Annual #14, 1990
Gambit was originally a thief – if you’re not careful, he’ll steal all of your money (if he doesn’t steal your heart first). This Ragin’ Cajun has a seemingly endless stack of cards stacked somewhere away in his trench coat. Gambit hurls charged playing cards at his enemies with utmost accuracy. Granted, playing a game of Poker with him just might make your head explode.

What do you think?

Tags: Batman, comic, daredevil, gambit, joker, justice league, manga, poker, x-men, yu-gi-oh