Poker and Its Humble Origin
by:
harold blue
Poker has gained the title of being one of the most popular games in any casino, be that online, offline, or mobile. One must have wondered where poker originated or what it was before it reached stardom. To know its history gives a player a sense of freedom in doing whatever is inherent in the game from the time it started and all throughout its phases of development.
There is no specific information about when poker started. It is believed that poker has evolved from various games, such as ranked card or domino blocks combinations, and also “bluffing,” or “pretending.” It is also a popular belief that the game has its origin during 969 AD when the Emperor Mu-Tsung and his wife played domino cards on a New Year's Eve.
Other influences on the game came from Egyptians during the 12th to 13th century who were using a form of playing cards. Later on, in the 16th century, Persia used Ganjifa or treasure cards for a variety of betting games. Persians also played “As Nas,” using 25 cards, rounds of betting and hand rankings. As for the 18th and 19th century, it's the French people who played “poque,” German with the game “pochen,” and the 16th century game called “primero.”
Primero is often considered “the mother of poker.” It was imported to the new world through Canada. Poque was a national card game in France from the beginning of the 18th century. It was spread by a group of French-Canadian settlers from Louisiana up the Mississippi River throughout the whole country.
Finally, during 1834, Jonathan H. Greene mentioned in his writing “the cheating game.” This game surpassed the cardsharp game 3-card monte in the gambling circle. Green then took interest in this new challenge of an “honest gambling” game and wrote it in his book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling. This is the official birth of poker.
Throughout the Wild West period until the American Civil War, a poker table could be found in every town from coast to coast. It is said that European influence on the game ended when the joker was introduced in 1875.
In over two centuries, poker has evolved into so many variations and subvariations. Nowadays, poker has gone mainstream and is very popular. This is particularly true when it has gone online and even downloadable in mobile phones. Indeed, it has woven itself into the daily grind of life.
About the Author:
Harold Blue has been a leading online poker player for years and collects books and other reference materials for online gaming. He has been a copy contributor to a
gaming software development site and is currently planning on
licensing poker software.
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389
Date Published :
Nov 4 2009