A Short History in Poker

Learn where poker originated from.

Eliza Ferree, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 14, 2005 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

The game Poker is known worldwide and no one person can tell you where it actually originated from, but what they can tell you is Jonathan H. Green was first to write about Poker, which he wrote as "the cheating game."

"The Cheating Game," as he described was played with 20 cards, using only the aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. Two to four people could play, and each was dealt five cards. To other card players this seemed more legitimate than the Three-Card Monte that was so well known back then and came back time and time again to play.

The game poker is mostly thought of from the Mississippi riverboats where it became a huge hit in the 1800s. Folks would travel from New Orleans up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers just to play the games. The game was such a hit it began making it's way through wagon and train rides. There were many versions of poker at this point, stud poker, draw poker and the straight, later adding a wild card to the game in 1875.

Poker isn't just in American history, it has been known to be played in Egypt, France and China. In the 12th or 13th Century it was played in Egypt, no one is exactly sure how it started there. The French played a game called "Poque" in 1480; this is where they used bluffing and betting while playing cards. Bluffing means to lie but if you do not bluff in poker you will not be a successful gambler. Of course if you get called down on your bluff at least you tried. Bluffing is no simple task, it's a skill that you learn as you play. Poque is what started using the decks with spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. It is even believed that Poker was started in 900 A.D. in China by playing dominoes. Emperor Mu-tsung played domino cards with his wife on New Year's Eve.

In 1910 Nevada had made it a felony to run the betting game. California had decided that it was okay to play "draw poker" due to the fact that it was a game of skill, however "Stud Poker" was a game of chance and would be illegal. With the growing popularity of poker Nevada quickly changed its mind in 1931 and reversed their decision.

Today, there are many regulations to the laws of poker for every state in America. This won't stop any true card player though; there are tournaments every year for the true at heart. The World Series of Poker is just one of the many where people from all around come to win. If you were thinking of a hobby of skill this would definitely be one of them, not to mention the prizes in this one far out number all those other little hobbies we do. What would you do with 5 million dollars?

Not only is it easy to find a casino that plays poker or a neighbor that has poker nights you can easily find them online. That's right we've come from playing them on boats, trains, tables to sitting at home on our computers playing them online. Whether the past or the present one thing is definite, poker has been and always will be in the future.

Published by Eliza Ferree

Eliza Ferree is a stay-at-home-homeschooling mother of three, wife to a marine and freelance writer. Growing up in the military and now as a wife, she says there isn't much difference. She loves spending tim... View profile

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A Short History in Poker

Learn where poker originated from.

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