Crossword Genius

Something to stir up a game (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

poker

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'game' is the definition.
(I know that poker is a type of card game)

'something to stir up a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'something' could be 'er' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'er' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for poker that I've seen before include "Rod liable to become heated" , "Fire rod; game" , "Rod; betting game" , "One of many irons in the fire" , "Fire prod; game" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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