The Poker Club
Scottish society
The Poker Club was one of several clubs at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment where associated with that movement met and exchanged views in a convivial atmosphere.
History
The Poker Club was created in 1762 out of the ashes of The Select Society.
The Poker was the name given to the Militia Club at its third or fourth meeting. The Militia was formed in Edinburgh to promote the cause of establishing a militia in Scotland. It was thought that the formation of a democratic national force was essential to grace the dignity of the nation and the aim was to make up for the omission of that provision in the Militia Act 1757 which applied only to England and the Scottish Militia Bill which was rejected in April 1760. The aim of the club provoked some unwelcome opposition and, it was said that at the suggestion of Adam Ferguson the name was changed so as to be enigmatic to the general public. Much as a fireplace poker stirs a fire to flame up, The Poker was to "stir up" the militia question.
David Hume could well find the company of The Poker a relief from a skeptical depression – "Most fortunately it happens that since reason is incapable of dispelling these clouds, nature herself suffices to that purpose ... I dine, I play a game of backgammon, I converse, and am merry with my friends; and when after three or four hours amusement, I return to these speculations, they appear so cold, and strain'd, and ridiculous, that I cannot find it in my heart to enter into them any farther."
As to why the club collapsed, Adam Smith's biographer John Rae wrote, "Divided counsels and diminished zeal supply, no doubt, the main reason for the decay of the Poker Club," but he also mentioned the rising costs to members.
Membership
The club was said by Dr.
“The Poker Club” enters the record as scottish society. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Poker, Club and Scottish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The Poker Club” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Poker, Club and Scottish provides the most credible route into that argument.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7757623. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1762, 1757 and 1760.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “The Poker Club” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.