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Poker History
The history of poker is widely disputed and there are many theories as to where and how the game of poker has originated. Given the many myths it is likely that the poker history developed from various games based on the basic principles of card and domino combination ranking and evolved over more than ten centuries.
Some believe that poker history goes back as far as 900 A, D and the early stages of poker were played with the use of dominos around this time in China. Chinese Emperor Mu-tsung reportedly played “domino cards” with his wife on New Years Eve 969 A, D.
Another belief is that the origins of poker lie with the 16th century Persian game named As Nas. As Nas was played with the use of special deck of 25 cards with 5 suits and required 5 players. The hand ranking of this game closely resembles the ranking used in poker, like Three of a Kind for example, and was played in similar fashion to 5 Card Stud.
The origin of the name poker is also a subject of many theories.
Some say that the name may have diverted from the Hindu word pukka.
Another belief is that it may have originated from "hocus-pocus”, a popular expression used by magicians.
Yet another theory states that it came from a term “poke”, which was an underworld slang word used by pickpockets. Cardsharps who played 20-card cheating game allegedly used this term among themselves as well. It was meant to signal that they had picked up their next victim and an “r” was added to make it “poker” so those familiar to an underworld terminology would not suspect their cheating ways.
It is also thought that the name poker came from the French poque, which descended from the German word pochen meaning “to knock”. It is not clear however if the origin of poker is directly connected to the two games bearing those names or simply played a contributing role in its development. The French game of Poque and the German game of Pochen gained popularity in 17th and 18th century. Both games evolved from the Spanish game Primero, which dates back to 1526. Three cards were dealt to each Primero player and the game involved bluffing and betting high stakes while holding poor cards in order to deceive opponents. Poque became a national card game of France and was imported to Canada by the French colonials. The game later traveled to New Orleans when the French-Canadian settlers founded the city and began to spread by steamboat from the state of Louisiana up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers eventually making it's way throughout the entire country.
Jonathan H. Green made one of the first known written references to poker in 1834. In his book titled “An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling”, Green who was a professional gambler describes rules of a “cheating game” played upon Mississippi riverboats. The game was played with 20 cards, which included Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10. Maximum number of 4 participants was required and each of them was dealt 5 cards. The game mentioned by Green was quickly embraced within the gambling circuit and began to replace the popular 3-Card Monte.
It was thought that the new game was more challenging and legitimate than the notoriously rigged 3-card game.
Gambling was a popular pass time on the Mississippi riverboats and it is believed that the frequent play contributed to the evolution of vocabulary used in today's Poker.
It is thought that the river card term as we know it today was named on those very rivers.
The story behind the name states that some individuals wanting to enhance their hand and increase the chances of winning would cheat while dealing the last community card. Those who were caught in this act were apparently thrown into the river as a punishment.
The deck of 20 cards used in the game would eventually grow to include 32 cards and the modern 52-card deck was reintroduced at a royal party in Europe around 1872.
The European influence on Poker ended with that revelation and from then on any developments of the game took on distinctly American influence.
Flush was included into the game after the new 52-deck of cards surfaced and further additions such as the inclusion of Draw Poker, Stud Poker and the Straight were made during the American Civil War. Poker gained extreme popularity during this time. Poker table saloons could be found in just about every town from coast to coast and soldiers from both armies played the game. 5 Card Stud became the favorite variation and remained the favorite for nearly a century.
More American developments took place in the late 1800's and early 1900's with the introduction of a Joker as a wild card in 1875, the lowball and split-pot poker variations of the game around 1900 and the Community Card Poker around 1925. Poker continued to spread to other countries, which is credited to the U.S. Military, particularly the spread of the game to Asia.
In 1910, running a betting game was declared a felony by Nevada. The Attorney General of California later overturned part of that decision stating that Draw Poker was based upon skill and anti-gambling laws could not be applied in this case. Stud Poker however was based solely on chance and therefore remained illegal until 1931 when the growing popularity of poker along with the support from California prompted Nevada to reverse its decision.
Las Vegas casino industry was blooming by the time World War II began and 7 Card Stud took over the #1 spot shortly before the war remaining the game of choice for nearly 40 years.
Texas Hold'em gained immediate popularity when it was introduced as a title game of the World Series of Poker in the 1970's.
Christened as the “Cadillac of Poker”, Texas Hold'em is now without a doubt the most popular and most frequently played poker game around the world. The star game of the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour, No Limit Texas Hold'em has been widely televised, attracting large numbers of American audiences. More prime time television events like National Heads Up Poker Championship and the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions were created as a result of growing amounts of viewers.
Other variations of poker such as Omaha, Stud Poker Games, Razz, Manila and Draw Poker are also popular but nothing compares to the fascination with No Limit Texas Hold'em.
Today, poker is played more than any other card game in the world and is carefully regulated by gambling laws. With the creation of the World Series of Poker in 1970 and other Poker tournaments on the rise, the game is increasingly growing into a sport attracting more and more players from all over the world each year.
Thank you for taking interest in our poker history section.
If you want to further explore our website we recommend visiting our online poker section.
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