Jan 10, 2008

Poker History

• Poker Variations
• The Game's Play
• Poker- History Untill Today
• Poker Room Reviews

There are many debates regarding the history of poker. The 15th century German game Pochspiel is considered as the earliest game of hand ranking, betting and bluffing. The game of poker is quite similar to the Persian game of As Nas. However, there is no mention of this Persian game prior to 1890. Some gaming historian believes that, poker is a direct derivative of the Persian game of As Nas, while many others opposes this belief. It is said that in the region where poker has originated a French game called poque was played and it was very similar to poker. The name of the game is probably originated from Irish word Poca or pocket. Some other theories say that, poque has got its name from German pochen that means to brag a bluff. However, there is no clear evidence that poker descended from these games. It is often considered to share its ancestry with games like Primero and brelan. There are chances that all these games have influenced the game of poker.

There is a modern school of thought according to which poker can be originated from any number of card game or can be a game based on general card principles. The school stresses on the unique feature of the game of poker, the betting. According to this school of thought poker was originated in 1700s and spread in the Mississippi river region a century later.

Poker is played in many varieties over the centuries. There was a 52 card game and 20 cards played in poker in both straight and stud variants. According to English actor Joseph Crowell poker was played in New Orleans in 1829. It was a 20 card game with four players. According to the book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling, poker was originated and spread at the time of gold rush from Mississippi riverboat as a common pastime of gambling and it was a full 52 card game. Draw poker stud poker and other varieties were introduced during the time of American civil war. Wild card, low ball, split pot and community pokers are other varieties that were introduced from time to time in America.

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In the 1970s a number of developments made poker more popular.

• With the world series of poker beginning in 1970, the modern tournament of poker became popular in American casinos.


• Later in the same decade a number of serious strategy books of poker were published. The books include Super/System, Book of Tells by Mike Caro and The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky.


• In the year 1987 community card poker games were introduced to California that is home to most famous casinos of the world.


• In the 1990s poker and other gambling games spread over many casinos in the US. The Atlantic City, New Jersey is one of the notable names in this regards.


• In late 1990s poker became the theme for many films and TV shows. Rounder (1998) and Late Night Poker (1999) were worth mentioning in this regards.

In the beginning of 21srt century poker became one of the most popular games. The main cause of this popularity was the introduction of online poker. The invention of hole card camera also made the game enjoyable as a spectators sport. Many of the satellite channels began to broadcast the tournaments like world poker tournament.

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