Poker History Part 3
Despite many wild claims regarding the ancient times of poker game and its origin, poker game is undeniably an ultimate classical relic of the American history.
The history of poker was said to have originated from a former French territory based in New Orleans some time between 1810 and 1825. This game of gambling was often played in gambling saloons and famous floating saloons know as the Mississippi steamers.
During those times, poker was known to be a game with four players having five cards each from a deck of 20 cards. Because of its name, early players of the poker game thought they were playing a similar game known as Poque, a French card game. However, most historians claimed that poker’s origin is the German game called Poch or Pochen, which started during the 15th century.
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Unlike poker, poque was played by a maximum of 6 players with 32 or 36 cards in the game. The transition that took place, changing from 32 cards to 20 cards played with four players, might have been influenced by the French game of Bouillotte or by the Persian game of As-nas.
It was during the 1830s that poker adopted its anglicized name in the United States. With a growing number of players, the poker game adopted the idea of having 52 cards so as to accommodate a larger number of players.
In the earliest form of poker, there was no draw, and bets were usually made on a limited series of combinations. These varieties of combinations can be one pair, two pair, triplets, four of a kind, and full, which is the only combination that has five active cards.
During those times, the adaptation of a 52-card poker gave way to the introduction of another kind of combination known as flush, though straight was yet unknown.
Between 1830 and 1845, Poker was played by an increasing number of gamblers. It was during this time when the draw was then introduced. However, the term draw was already known in poker’s English counter-part, Brag. The addition of the draw and the flush combination boost the pleasure of the game. Thus, a second betting round was introduced.
During the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), a large influx of men arrived with view to strike it rich. Gambling houses sprouted in Northern California, offering an array of gambling and entertainment activities for these young men. Casinos employed musicians and pretty women to entertain gamblers as they played games such as roulette, faro, and blackjack. These women are not necessarily prostitutes.
Poker game was initially not popular at all in California. This is because gamblers preferred games with more fast paced action. Poker game, especially the traditional five card stud or draw, is fairly slow. Gamblers cannot constantly double or lose all of their money in a single bet like they can in roulette.
However, poker would eventually become a popular Californian pastime. As people became more settled in California and the gold rush ended, their desire for fast action games like faro diminished, and they had a renewed interest in slower games like poker.
Another great development of poker game was the introduction of “Jack Pots.” Jack pots refer to the condition that a player plays only when he has a pair of jacks or better. The purpose of introducing jack pots on poker game was meant to eliminate the idea of bluffing or bluff from which poker was originally known.
It was during the American Civil War in 1864 that the combination of straight sequence or rotation was introduced into poker rules. With the addition of straight, an additional rule was introduced whereby a straight combined with a flush will outrank a full set, four of a kind. The addition of straight in poker was an exhilarating development because, as experts say, without straights and straight flushes, the only highest possible hand is four aces or four kings and an ace kicker. In the poker world, this type of combination at hand is not just unbeatable but cannot even be matched or tied.
After the Civil War, further American developments followed. These developments involve poker variants such as the wild card around 1875, lowball and split-pot poker around 1900, and community card poker games around 1925.
Because of these developments, poker game continue to progress and evolve. In less than two centuries, poker has changed drastically. Once a game mainly played by cheats, outlaws, and hustlers aboard steamers, it has developed into a celebrated ‘sport’ played worldwide. The cheat and hustler has been replaced by the professional poker player, whose celebrity status is much more akin to a professional athlete or movie star than an infamous outlaw. Poker hands are no longer dealt by professional cheats who manipulate the cards. Instead, they are often dealt by software programs connecting players from around the globe.
This, in turn, made poker an ideal game for American pastime. Poker game evolved from gambling to become a great game of skills.
It is now generally acknowleged that poker is the greatest game ever invented.
If you would like to learn more about poker history, this great book
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