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 origins of poker are up for debate. The earliest versions of the game are known to exist around 969 AD when a Chinese emperor played ‘domino cards’. The Egyptians and Persians had their own version in the 12th-16th centuries involving between 25 and 96 playing cards. The Europeans each hand a version with the most well known include the German game ‘Pochspiel’, the French ‘Poque’, the Spanish ‘Primero’ and the English ‘Brag’.
Unreferenced in all the different variations of card games throughout history, the modern version of poker differs greatly with a unique focus on betting. This modern version of gambling is through to have originated in around the Mississippi River in the United States of America around the mid 1700s. It is commonly believed that French colonials introduced their national game ‘Poque’ and this started the modern versions of poker that we known today.
The early versions of poker involved a 20-card game with only the cards (AKQJT). The straight, flush and royal flush were not considered hands and bets were made on hand rankings of one pair, two pair, triplets, full and four of a kind. The nut hand at the time was either four aces or four kings with an ace. At the start of the 1800s, the modern 52-card version was introduced to accommodate more players. Later on, the concept of a ‘draw’ was introduced to allow initially poor hands to dramatically improve. This also allowed an extra round of betting and excitement to be introduced into the game. From this point, all modern variations of the game begin to evolve.
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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