History of Poker

No one can really determine the exact origin and history of Poker. The game evolved gradually over a period of time from a number of card games. Historians believe it is a combination of different card games that led to the evolution of poker. Some historians believe that poker evolved from the French Poque and German Pochen, which means “to knock”.

Some of the scholars who have studied poker history suggest that an emperor of China by the name Mu-Tsung conceived a game very similar to poker. It was played using domino tiles. There are studies that suggest another game akin to poker was created by the Egyptians during the 12th & 13th centuries.

Poker is also very identical to a Persian game known as As Nas. The game had 25 cards with five unique suits. The hand rankings were similar to poker as we play today. As Nas has its roots in the Renaissance game called Primero coupled with the French Brelan. According to a hypothesis, the game of As Nas moved to New Orleans with the Persian sailors.

Poker emerged in American mainly during the Civil War. It started with the English 52 cards deck initially. Soon other items were added like Flush & straight. Stud Poker and Draw Poker were brought in.

The American type poker games became more popular around 1875 when Wild Card, Low Ball and Split Pot Poker were introduced. With the American Soldiers traveling to different places like Asia Pacific and parts of Europe, Poker became popular all throughout the world.

Over the years, poker became extremely popular at the casinos all over the world. With the advent of computers and internet, many more people have started playing various forms of poker at the online casinos. Poker combines both the skill and luck factors to make it extremely interesting for all the gambling aficionados.

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