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The history of Poker

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The history of poker

Basic principle
Poker is the most famous card game in the world. There are several variations of the game, however they all operate on the same basic level: Players place wagers into a central pot, which is then awarded to them should they hold the best hand of cards at the end. This type of game is called a vying game.

In 1829, an English actor by the name of Joseph Crowell reported about a type of vying game being played in the gambling houses and saloons of New Orleans. It involved 4 players betting on a deck of 20 cards, as to which was most valuable. In this version of the game there was no "draw" and the range of combinations was limited. The ultimate unbeatable hand was 4 Aces, or 4 Aces and a King. This is different from the classic Poker of today, where the Royal Flush can be matched with another suit.


The origin of the actual poker game
The actual poker game evolved from many influences, ranging from origins that lie with the Indian game Ganjifa, the German pochen, the Renaissance game of Primero, the English game of Bragg and even the early Persian game of As Nas. However, according to many dictionaries and game historians, the most likely origins lie with the French game Poque, as that game involved making bets and bluffing and as the word Poque itself is familiar to the word Poker. One theory is that the game of poker was developed by French settlers in New Orleans and that the southern accent anglicized the word Poque in to the pronunciation of Pokuh, which then became Poker.
Although Poque was originally played with 3 players and 32 cards, the game may well have been created within small communities who had knowledge already of the 20 card game (mentioned by Joseph Crowell, check previous paragraph).

The earliest written reference to poker was written in 1834 by an American named Jonathan H. Green. In 1813, Jonathan was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and by 1829, he had ran away from his employers, been thrown in jail and picked up extensive card playing habits. He is now famously known as the "reformed gambler" and he is significant because he is the man who made one of the first references to the card game we know as poker. This happened in 1834, when he made mention of the rules of a game he called "the cheating game", a game at that time played on the river boats of the Mississippi. The “cheating game” was seen to be far more legitimate than the other popular card game of that time, which was called Three Card Monte. Players seem to came back again and again for more of the “cheating game”. Some sources claim that Jonathan also was the one who gave this “cheating game” the name Poker. Other articles do not agree with this.

By the mid 1830's, the 20 card game started losing its footing to a similar game which was being played with a full 52 card deck. This may well have been to allow for more players at the table. Eventually the 20 card game faded away. The last remnants were being noted in 1857, where the author of a New York City guidebook mentioned it as "one of the most dangerous pitfalls to be found in the city". The 20 card game did not last and only warranted the briefest of mentions in the 1845 edition of Hoyle's Games, by Henry F. Anners.

So to summarize the above so far, it thus can be stated that although the origin of the word Poker might be European, that actual game itself evolved in America. Moreover, around 1875 the European influence on poker ended anyway, because around that time “the Joker” was introduced in Europe as a wild card on the card deck. This “Joker” was not considered suitable for poker and thus a difference between American and European decks of cards appeared. The above mentioned facts however are still too little to make a proven statement about the real origins of Poker. These origins are still varied and remain very much open to debate until this day.


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