THE HISTORY OF POKER
The origins of poker are difficult to pinpoint. There are a number of theories
on the antecedents of the game, and these are widely debated themselves. Common
threads can be isolated, however, and what seems certain is that modern poker
is more a hybrid of a number of older games, rather than the direct descendant
of any one in particular.
The development of card playing
Card playing in itself seems to have originated in the Far East, migrating via
the Middle East to Europe. The earliest recorded occurrences of card playing
are from tenth-century China. Their "cards" would have more closely
resembled paper, another Chinese invention, and the games were likely derived
from Chinese dominoes. There is a surviving record of the Emperor Mu-tsung playing
"domino cards" with his wife in 969 AD. This is one widely held theory
of the origin of poker.
The other popular theory is that poker originated from the Persian game of
"As Nas". This is a 5-player game, using a deck of 25 cards with 5
suits. It is remarkably similar in concept to poker: two cards are dealt, followed
by a round of betting; then two more cards and another round of betting; then
a final card, a final round of betting, and the highest ranked card wins.
A third theory is that poker developed out of the Indian card game of Ganjifa.
The Mameluke Empire was purportedly responsible for introducing card playing
to Europe in the Middle Ages. Its realm stretched across the Middle East, including
Egypt, where remnants of cards have been discovered, ostensibly dating back
to the 12th or 13th century.
The earliest reliable records of card playing in Europe can be traced back
to the mid-14th century. The notion of royalty and card ranking was adopted
by the first European card makers, who were Italian and Spanish. The 52-card
pack emerged from Rouen in France in the 16th century. It became known as the
"French pack", and spread to England and America.
The emergence of poker
Research appears to show that the aforementioned Persian game of "As Nas"
is probably poker's closest ancestor. The French game of "poque" can
also claim some influence on the modern game. Poque was a card game of bluffing
and betting, and is reportedly the first use of a deck consisting of the modern
suits.
Other historic games that get a mention are the German "pochen" and
the English game of "Bragg".
Once poker crossed the Atlantic to America, its origins became easier to trace,
and there is more agreement on its development. It is generally thought to have
been brought to New Orleans by French settlers, although the first record of
an actual game called "poker" only appears in the 19th century. It
was played with only twenty cards - four suits from Ace to Ten, each person
receiving 5 cards. It soon became the most popular game on the riverboats. From
New Orleans it travelled north up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and then
further afield by wagon and train. The Civil War saw the introduction of stud
poker, the draw and the straight, and the joker made an appearance as a wild
card in the last quarter of the 19th century.
The emergence of free online poker though can be tracked back to as early as the late 1990's. If you want to start playing in some serious games, you better read up on your online poker strategy!
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