Bullshit (and variations such as Liar’s Poker and I Doubt It) is a simple, suspenseful game played with a deck of cards or a stack of dollar bills. Or in the case of the federal government, with trillions of dollar bills, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The strategy relies on the ability to bluff or spot a bluffer, in which case the player calls “bullshit” and the declarer must show his or her hand.
In the variant played at Herenton’s House of Games, proprietor Willie Herenton has opened a game of Liar’s Poker by boldly declaring that he is holding three aces in his new budget — a three-percent raise for city employees, no layoffs, and no property tax increase. After he formally presents the hand later this month, it will pass to the Memphis City Council, which can either accept it or call “bullshit” if enough members think the mayor is really holding a busted hand.
