Who Invented the Game?

Poker history is a matter of debate, especially the origins of the game. The name most probably descended from French game called poque, descendant of a German game called pochen, translated as to knock, but it is unclear whether these games served as a base for modern poker or only the name was transferred. There is an ancient Persian game called As Nas that closely resembles the game of poker. Some historians believe that the game was brought to France by Persian sailors. Other games, such as primero and brelan appeared in Europe in the Renaissance epoch. The English game brag descended from the French brelan and incorporated bluffing. It is quite possible that some or all of these games influenced the development of modern poker.

Modern Poker:

The earliest evidences of modern poker pertain to the 1820s. The game was then played with a deck of 20 cards and four players betted on which players hand was the most valuable. A book by Jonathan Green, titled An Exposure of the Arts and Mysteries of Gambling, written in 1843, describes the spread of poker from Philadelphia to the rest of the United States by Mississippi riverboats on which gambling was a regular pastime.

Soon after that, the game was changed and became more similar to the modern one. The full 52-card English deck was used and flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, straight was added and first draw poker and five-card stud poker were developed. The wild card was first used around 1875, Lowball and split-pot poker around 1900, and first community card games were developed around 1925.

Tournament Poker:

The format of playing in tournaments became popular in 1970 with the launching of the World Series of Poker. In the same decade there was an incensement of poker popularity and the first serious poker strategy book, such as The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, Super System by Doyle Brunson and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro were written.

Poker Today:

Nowadays pokeris undergoing an unprecedented spike. This is related to the introduction of poker on the Internet, which allowed anyone to play poker. Hole-card camera turned the game into a spectator sport and millions of spectators can now follow the largest tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour at cable and Satellite TV channels.