The
exact origins of Poker are ambiguous.
The name ‘poker’ seems to
have been derived from the German game
pochen which means ‘to knock’
but it’s unclear whether the game
itself was derived from them. As Poker
and the 16th century Persian card game
As Nas are so similar, there is a possibility
that the Persians sailors might have taught
the game to the French settlers in New
Orleans. It is believed that Poker, Renaissance
game of primero and the French brelan.
It would not be unbelievable that modern
poker had evolved from these as well as
some other games..
Poker was said to have been first observed
in 1829 in New Orleans by an English actor,
Joseph Crowell. In those times the game
was played with 20-cards deck between
four players. It was from here that Poker
spread to rest of the country by Mississippi
riverboats on which gambling was a favorite
pastime. This spread of poker has also
been described by Jonathan H. Green in
his book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries
of Poker.
As Poker spread to the West during the
gold rush through travelers who enjoyed
gambling, it slowly became part of the
culture. It was around this time that
a 52-card deck was introduced and flush
was launched. Many Poker variations evolved
during the American Civil War like stud
poker, draw poker and the straight. Later
in the late 1800s and early 1900s some
other Poker variations like wild card,
Lowball, split-pot poker and community
card games were created.
The World Series of Poker Tournament
began only in 1970 and it was only then
that tournament play became popular in
American Casinos. Poker reached new heights
at the beginning of 21st century with
the introduction of Online Poker and invention
of hole-card camera because of which the
viewers could become part of the action.
And broadcasts of the tournaments on TV
increased the viewer ship of the game.
All these new developments turned the
game into a spectator sport and poker
pros became celebrities.
Sometimes the mind really boggles to
think that Poker, a game which was initially
a sport of cheats and criminals has come
such a long way to have become craze in
America. |
