The current writer confesses to not having seen the commercial, since I don't have cable (gasp!) but my learned colleague informed me that it features a group of middle-aged ladies now playing poker for real money, since their Cox bill is so low, and features the memorable punchline, "I hope you bluff better than you bake."
Said colleague did not recall the reference to "one-eyed royals," but we'll take your word for it and no, it wasn't made up by the admen.
The so-called "one-eyed royals" are the three face cards that depict their subjects in profile, thus showing only one eye (all the other "face" cards face obliquely and show both eyes). These three are the King of Diamonds, Jack of Spades, and Jack of Hearts -- the latter two being known as the "one-eyed jacks." In many home games, especially in draw poker, one-eyed royals are used as wild cards, as these are the only three cards in the entire deck that are of differing rank and suits, and yet share a common trait.
Collectively, the trio is also known as "one-eyed jacks, the man with the axe," since the King of Diamonds is the only royal who carries an axe (the others bear swords).
It’s also interesting to note that only four court cards, all of which are black, are looking to the right. The other eight cards look to the left. The King of Hearts is the only king without a mustache, and he's depicted holding a sword behind his head, which makes him appear to be stabbing himself. Because of this, he has been branded the "suicide king."
As an interesting historical aside, the face cards in the Anglo-American designs of today stem from designs produced in Rouen, France, in the early sixteenth century, and it's believed that the King of Hearts did originally have a mustache, but that it was lost by poor copying of the original design. Similarly, the one-eyed royals were originally shown from the rear, with their heads turned back over the shoulder so that they are seen in profile; however, the Rouen cards were so badly copied in England that the current designs in use are in fact gross distortions of the originals.
