Where did the term Broadway used for an ace high straight come from?

Answer 1

The word Broadway used to be used a lot to describe someone or something that was extremely flamboyant and over the top. You can't get much more like that than an ace-high straight.

Answer 2

First off, the Broadway straight refers to a hand of AKQJT and is the highest value straight in Poker. Similarly any of those cards are sometimes called Broadway cards. Now as to the origin of the term in poker, that like most of the slang is probably quite difficult to pinpoint, if even possible to locate at all. I have done a quick search and can find no theory of origin. In general locating the origin of terms in poker is very difficult -- it seems our early players were not the writing type.

However the term is more than appropriate. Broadway is by some seen as the pinnacle of theatre, and does have one of the highest densities of theatres in the world. In the same light the ace high straight in poker is the best possible straight. Thus an expression like "You can't beat broadway" makes perfect sense in both poker and theatre.