Game Rules, Ranking of Hands, Game Glossary and more - all about the poker game

History of Poker

Birthplace
Earliest reference to the poker game
Name of the game
Evolution of the game

There are different opinions on its origin. Moreover, it has no clear or direct early ancestor. It seems that it derived its present day form and name from elements of many different games. The consensus is that because of its basic principle, its birth is a very old one.

Most popular belief is that the Chinese invented it around 900 A.D., possibly derived from Chinese dominoes. Others state that it originates from the Persian game "as nas". This is a 5-player game, which requires a special deck of 25 cards with 5 suits. However, this is only recorded back to the 17th century.

Another theory calls on French "poque". The French who settled New Orleans around 1480 played Poque, a card game involving bluffing and betting. This was stated to be the first using a deck consisting of spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts.

Fragments of cards have been tentatively dated to 12th/13th century in Egypt. Some propose that modern cards originated from the Indian card game of Ganjifa.

Jonathan H. Green makes one of the earliest written references in 1834. In it, Green mentions rules to what he called the "cheating game", which was being played on Mississippi riverboats. He soon realized that his was the first reference to the game, and since it was not mentioned in the current American Hoyle, chose to call it Poker.

The game described was played with 20 cards, using only aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. Two to four people could play, and each was dealt five cards. By that, it had become the number one cheating game on the Mississippi boats, receiving more action than Three-Card Monte. Most people taken by Three-Card Monte thought the 20-card game seemed more legitimate, and they returned again and again. It would certainly appear that Poker was developed by cardsharps.

Most of the dictionaries and game historians say that it comes from an eighteenth-century French game, poque. However, there are references to pochspiel, a German game. In pochspiel, there is an element of bluffing, where players would indicate whether they wanted to pass or open by rapping on the table and saying, "Ich Poche!" Some say it could have been derived from the Hindu word, pukka.

Yet another possible explanation is that it came from a version of an underworld slang word, "poke," a term used by pickpockets. Cardsharps who used the 20-card cheating game to relieve a sucker from his poke may have used that word among themselves, adding an r to make it "poker." The thought was that if the sharps used that word in front of their victims, those wise to the underworld slang would not surmise the change.

There are those who also believe that "poke" probably came from "hocus-pocus", term used by magicians. It later evolved to include 32 cards, and eventually the modern day deck of 52, without the two Jokers.

It has evolved through the years, through many backroom games to present day casinos around the world. Its history is rich with famous places and characters.

Today, it is carefully regulated by gambling laws, but it is played more than any other card game. It has grown into a sporting event, with worldwide competitions and tournaments.

In less than two centuries time, poker has changed drastically. Once a game mainly played by cheats, outlaws, and knife-makers aboard riverboats, it has developed into a celebrated 'sport' played worldwide.

If you compare the prizes of major worldwide sporting events, you will find that the monetary outcome of any given event in it would (pardon the pun) stack up. Today is one of the fastest growing, but hardly recognized sporting events. The World Poker Tour could change that. The WPT is a series of televised worldwide championship events and the mission of the WPT is to turn tournaments into a televised sport.

The pinnacle of the poker game is WSOP. This annual event attracts players worldwide every year to compete for money and titles as the world's top players. Every May, the only place players want to be is at the WSOP at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas, NV.

Back to top