Poker History
Poker is sometimes referred to as the national card game of the United States of America, but it is also a popular game internationally and is played pretty much everywhere that cards are played. Poker in it’s present form is relatively new as games go, and its history has been highly debated.
The Persian game As Nas is perhaps one of it’s ancestors, but there’s not really any specific descriptions written down about As Nas before 1890, so this may not be the case at all, and may have come to though mostly because of being noted as similar in ‘The Complete Hoyle’ by R F Foster. There is evidence that a French game called Poque may have been played in the region where Poker is said to have originated, and it may be from here that it derived.
The name is likely to come from one of two places – either Poque (French) which itself is derived from the Germen Pochen meaning to brag as a bluff or to knock, or possibly from the Irish Poca meaning Pocket, although the games bearing these names are not as close in style to Poker as is the English game Brag - earlier known as Bragg which was decended from the game Brelan and involved a lot of bluffing. It is indeed entirely possible that Poker came about from an amalgamation of two or more of these different games and that all influenced it as it grew into the game we know now.
No matter where it originated from, for a time it was very much a rough game where people asked no quarter and gave no quarter, played by gamblers of tough origin and desire, a slow game full of thought and seriousness. In the twentieth century though, it became more acceptable socially and something that could be played by both sexes in the parlour for nominal stakes or even none at all. The laws and customs surrounding poker have kept up with the times, and today in the 21st century many people enjoy a game of poker either at home with friends, on the internet or in casinos, playing for stakes large or small, and seeing it as something to enjoy and have fun with.
It’s fascinating to remember that many phrases that we use in regular English and American today had their beginnings at the poker tables. Phrases such as ‘beats me’, ‘ace in the hole’, ‘call ones bluff’, and ‘pass the buck’ are all in use in modern every day life and conversation even by many people who have never played poker and are unaware of their origins.
Today various poker tournaments are broadcast on the internet and television including the World Series of Poker, and the World Poker Tour. Since 2003 major poker tournament fields have grown dramatically this is partly because of the increase in popularity of online satellite qualifier tournaments where the prize is an entry into a major world tournament and where players get the chance to play against world champions. Two noted World Series of Poker Champions who won their seats to the main event in this way are Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer.
January 31st, 2009 at 06:31 am
We cant deny it that Poker is the most famous gambling game in the world. Even Russia made it as a sport game and hopefully US and other countries will follow. And I Believe it’s a game of skill and not by chance.