History Of Poker | ||
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Play Poker UK | Game | History Of PokerThe History of the Game of Poker There are various theories about the origins of the game of Poker. The form we know it today using a 52 card pack was developed from a game using a 20 card pack that is recorded as being played in 1829 in New Orleans. Poker draws elements from other games and is said to resemble a Persian game known as as nas and to also have its roots in the game of primero played in Europe in the 16th century. There seems to be a common agreement that that the 20 card game was spread by the gamblers on the Mississippi riverboats to what was commonly known as the “wild west” during the gold rush of 1848-1855 and it was during that time the game was extended to include 52 cards and the concept of the flush was introduced. The American Civil War from 1861-1865 saw further refinements with Draw Poker and Stud poker being introduced. The wild card first appeared around 1875. As the game was played in saloons and on riverboats with men winning and losing fortunes it was not surprising that Poker had a “bad” reputation and was not regarded as being as acceptable to society as, for example, Cribbage or Bridge .This reputation is only slowly being replaced by the appreciation of the skill required to play the game and Poker is still regarded by a few as a game that “nice” people don’t play. There are many stories of people losing not only their money but their life when playing Poker and the Western of the film world used the saloon poker scene freely to perpetuate the myth that showed Poker as a game with the element of “risk” attached to it. The most notorious but true story must be that of James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickok who was shot in the back of the head and killed by Jack McCall in Deadwood on August 2nd 1876. The hand he was holding when he was killed was a pair of Aces and a pair of Eights ever since known as a “Dead mans hand”. The skill of the game became appreciated over the years by many diverse groups of people and the idea of a group of friends and colleagues’ meeting to play poker has helped to give the game more respectability. The game is now universal having been spread from America by the same method that brought about its development in America - Soldiers playing cards to fill in those inactive periods of time when in foreign countries. Governments have tried in the past to outlaw the game and it is still played. The US government has tried to discourage online gaming and poker got caught up in that Government fiasco and it is still being played on the Net. TV coverage of the game has helped to increase the popularity of poker among all manner of people all over the world. Big tournaments like the WSOP have a huge attendance every year and the players come from all over the world. The weekly WPT has also helped to capture more people and the fact that any one can play online has made it convenient for people to play. The huge increase in player count in both of these TV carried tournaments has been a live example of the growth of the game. With the advent of the internet and online poker the rise in the popularity of poker has been truly amazing and its growth would seem to be unstoppable. WSOP and WPT being shown on TV have captured viewer’s attention and there are now TV channels dedicated to showing poker sessions every day. There are millions of players playing on the internet and the trend for growth seems to be unstoppable. |
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