Faro Card Game Layout
Everything Goes, From Soda to Hock
I went down to an auction at the Rockin’ B Ranch. It was a good auction for a buyer. It offered a little bit of everything. Tractors, saddles, antique China, fancy furniture, and big screen television sets. I ran across the owner of the ranch who told me, “I’m selling it all, everything from soda to hock.”
Only in the West would you hear such a phrase. I suppose not one in a hundred have heard it or have any idea what it means. A hundred forty years ago, you couldn’t find anyone who didn’t know what it means.
In the Old West
Faro was one of the most popular gambling games in every town out West. Although the layout can be complicated, the playing is simple. You bet whether the next face-up card in the case is going to be a winner or loser. In this game you potentially win a lot in a hurry or lose a bunch too. To keep the game fair and eliminate some of the cheating, you exempted the top and bottom cards of the deck from betting and paid nothing. The top card was called ‘the soda’ and the Hock was the bottom card.
Alpha & Omega Greek Alphabet Letters
What Soda to Hock Denotes
In the West, the expression from soda to hock became common to designate the beginning to the end or the whole thing. The Bible has a similar term, not based on Faro, but on the Greek alphabet. From Alpha to Omega meant from the beginning to the end.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God (Revelation 1:8).
That is, God is the beginning and end of all things. Later, Jesus would also say, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Jesus was there in the beginning and He will be there at the end as well. He is the beginning. He is the end.
And Jesus has control over everything in between. Jesus rules over every person, every family, every town, every country, every tongue, and every tribe. From Alpha to Omega, from soda to hock, Jesus is Lord.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1995
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“From Soda to Hock” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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