Online
Poker History
There seem to be differences of
opinion on the origin of Poker.
Moreover, there seems to be no
clear or direct early ancestor
of the game. It is more likely
that Poker derived its present
day form from elements of many
different games. The consensus
is that because of it's basic
principal, its birth is a very
old one.
Jonathan H. Green makes one
of the earliest written references
to Poker in 1834. In his writing,
Green mentions rules to what
he called the "cheating
game," which was then being
played on Mississippi riverboats.
He soon realized that his was
the first such reference to
the game, and since it was not
mentioned in the current American
Hoyle, he chose to call the
game Poker.
The origin of the word Poker
is also well debated. Most of
the dictionaries and game historians
say that it comes from an eighteenth-century
French game, poque. However,
there are other references to
pochspiel, which is a German
game. In pochspiel, there is
an element of bluffing, where
players would indicate whether
they wanted to pass or open
by rapping on the table and
saying, "Ich Poche!"
Some say it may even have derived
come the Hindu word, pukka.
Yet another possible explanation
for the word poker, is that
it came from a version of an
underworld slang word, "poke,"
a term used by pickpockets.
Cardsharps who used the 20-card
cheating game to relieve a sucker
from his poke may have used
that word among themselves,
adding an r to make it "poker."
The thought was that if the
sharps used the word "poker"
in front of their victims, those
wise to the underworld slang
would not surmise the change.
There are those who also believe
that "poke" probably
came from "hocus-pocus",
a term widely used by magicians.
The game of Poker later evolved
to include 32 cards, and eventually
the modern day deck of 52, not
counting the two Jokers.
The game of Poker has evolved
through the years, through many
backroom games to the present
day casinos around the world.
Its history is rich with famous
places and characters. For example,
during the Wild West period
of United States history, a
saloon with a Poker table could
be found in just about every
town from coast to coast.
Today, Poker is carefully regulated
by gambling laws, and saloons
have given way to casinos and
cardrooms, but Poker is played
more than any other card game
in the world. It has grown into
a sporting event, with competitions
and tournaments all around the
world. Tournaments take place
almost every week of the year
somewhere in the world.
If you compare the prizes of
major sporting events around
the world, you will find that
the monetary outcome of any
given event in Poker would (pardon
the pun) stack up. Poker today
is one of the fastest growing,
but hardly recognized sporting
events. The pinnacle of the
poker world, The World Series
of Poker, attracts players from
all over the world every year
to compete for money and titles
as the world's top Poker players.
Poker will always be around
and will continue to grow and
flourish like so many other
past times. There will always
be a game to play, money to
be won, and crowns to be worn.
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