Poker History

There are many theories about the game origin, it is believed to be created ten centuries ago and was based on the principals of domino combination or card rankings.

old poker According to one of the popular theories poker game was invented by the Chinese Emperor Mu Tsung who introduced the "domino cards" sometime before 900 A.D. But as the game was played with not the real cards we know them now China is not the only place from where the game evolved.

Some historical facts state that in the 12^th and 13^th centuries the Egyptians used the first playing cards, and later in the 16^th century the Persians used the “Ganjifa” or “Treasure Cards” in the number of different betting games. It is said that one of this game, called “As Nas”, resemble much the modern poker games. Thought “As Nas” was played with the 25 card deck it utilized the number of betting rounds and specific hand rankings.

In the 17^th and 18^th centuries two games which were developed from the Spanish game “Primero”, French “Poque” and German “Pochen”, were extremely popular. We speak about these games because in both of them the players were dealt three cards and had the choice to make high bets or bluff holding the poor cards. Due to such resemblance Primero which dates back to 1526 is considered to be the mother of all poker games.

Later the French colonials brought their national card game Poque to the North America. At the beginning of 18th century when the French-Canadian settlers founded New Orleans this game was brought to Louisiana and then spread all through the country.

In 1834 Jonathan H. Green wrote the first reference book to the poker game, in which he described and explained the rules of the "cheating game", which was mostly played at the Mississippi riverboats. Due to this book this new game became more popular and even replaced the common three card game. The players found it to be more challenging in somehow “honest”. It was the time when Poker was born. From that time every saloon in America featured the Poker games. The game was also very popular among the soldiers during the Civil War. In 1875 when the Joker was introduced as a wild card the European influence on the game faded away.

During two centuries of its history poker never looked back and was much improved. From the times of first banks of the Mississippi the interest in this game has been growing and ended in the unbelievable popularity of poker these days. It evolved in the number of different variations which are equally popular among poker fans all over the planet. Nowadays most online casinos offer poker and other traditional casino games like slots sites games, card counting game and roulette and offer from 2 to 50 versions of learn blackjack, poker and slots games, so the game story never stops.

Featured Books

Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide
Barry Greenstein

Ace on the River is designed fore real improvement of everyone from beginners to seasoned professionals. Its unique play-by-play section will challenge you to think beyond simple starting hands and do better decisions on other streets.
Ace on the River describes elements of the game that are not common and unfamiliar to many players. Included are chapters about the poker society, finance management, family matters and, guess what, even sex. The book is a complilation of philosophies and real-table scenarios and provides a rare chance to see the poker world through the eyes of someone who really lives it.