Poker is a family of various card games played by two or more player who bet on the value of their hands. Numerous versions exist with each version differing based on the number of cards dealt, specific nuances and rules, betting limitations and hand rankings.
The history of poker is the subject of debate. Around 969 AD, the Chinese emperor Mu-Tsung is reported to have played ‘domino cards’ with his wife. Egyptians in the 12th and 13th centuries had a version of playing cards. The Persians in the 16th century had a 96-card game “Ganjifa” and a 25-card version “As Nas”. An early known card game incorporating betting, hand rankings and bluffing was a German game entitled ‘Pochspiel’ popular in the 15th century. The French played a game called ‘Poque’. Both games derived from the German ‘pochen’ (‘to brag as a bluff’, ‘to knock’). Other early versions include the Renaissance game of ‘Primero’, the French game ‘Brelan’ and the English game ‘Brag’.
Irrespective of the early origins of poker, the modern day game differs significantly with focus upon unique features such as betting that do not appear in any older version. The modern origin of Poker is believe to have occurred in the mid 1700s spreading through the paddle steamers of the Mississippi River by 1800. Most likely introduced by French colonials arriving in Canada.
Initially poker was played with a reduced deck of only 20 cards including the aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. The hand rankings were as follows: one pair, two pair, triplets, full and four of a kind. There was no concept of flushes or straights. Around the middle of the 1830s, the 52-card version of poker became gradually introduced to accommodate more than four players and to increase the potential of the newly introduced concept of the ‘flush’. In the late 1840s, ‘drawing’ a card became a popular variation as it allowed greater scope for gambling with a second round of betting. It also allowed initially poor hands to greatly improve. After the middle of the 19th century, poker spread quickly and numerous variations on the game begin to evolve into the modern forms we know today.
The modern history of poker can be attributed to a few key events over the last decades that catapulted poker into the mainstream. The first event to publicise poker is the release of the 1998 film ‘Rounders’ starring John Malkovich, Edward Norton and Matt Damon. The next key step in the history of poker is the modernisation of poker including easily accessible televised tournaments with hole card cameras including the likes of the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour. The final event that changed the history of poker forever is the victory of Chris Moneymaker, an unknown amateur player, in the 2003 World Series of Poker.
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