The History of Poker
There is a major schism in relation to the origins of poker and there are a number of different theories on offer. The true origins of the game are obfuscated by virtue of the fact that there is little to no evidence to provide any insight as to the precise origins of the game. What is clear however, is that poker as we know it today is the hybrid offspring of several games combined.
Jonathan H. Green provided one of the earliest written records to the game of Poker, dating back to 1834 and in his memoirs it was he who dubbed the game Poker purely because it had no name at that time. What inspired this particular choice of moniker remains unknown.
Relying on his well written and thorough notes, which were meticulous in their level of detail, Green makes a reference to no less than 20 playing cards, and this included the 3 royalty cards, the Aces, and the tens. Green also mentioned that typically four players would be present and each player would be dealt a grand total of five cards each. Green referred to poker as that "cheating game" and it seems that whilst it was quickly growing in popularity it was solely relied upon by the cardsharps in an attempt to fleece their victims.
The precise origins of the actual word "Poker" has also been a topic of much academic discussion and hypothesising and whilst the common belief seems to be that it stems from the old French game of poque, there are others who are not entirely convinced by this. Other people have argued that the game draws its roots from a German game referred to as pochspiel. The reason for this is because pochspiel was renowned for the players having to be very cunning and required to bluff in order to get a result.
Another explanation that has been offered for the origins of poker is that it is derived from a slang term "poke" which was an expression used typically among pickpockets. The belief then is that cardsharps, who were widely regarded as pickpockets who used cards rather than brute force adopted the poke word and then added on an r to the end in order to warn their fellow tricksters of a potential victim.
One theory which has raised eyebrows has been that the term poke itself was derived from the expression "hocus-pocus" which was used by magicians. The game of poker later on then went on to include no less than 32 cards, eventually growing from there to include the now 52.
Poker has developed and changed dramatically throughout the years, and it has came a long way from a dirty little game that was only ever played in the seediest bars to becoming a popular and common game that has enjoyed fans from the world over.
Poker is strictly controlled and carefully controlled by numerous gambling laws and it has became the most commonly played card game across the world. It has also managed to become a major sporting event which has attracted competitors and competitions from across the globe, with major tournaments such as the World Poker Tour and World Series Of Poker attracting huge television audiences. To be totally honest, a tournament is held nearly every week at least somewhere in the whole world, and that is a true measure of the popularity of the game, so whether you're playing small limit home games, online sit and gos or fancy a shot at a WPT title, why not put your skills to the test and have a game!
There is a major schism in relation to the origins of poker and there are a number of different theories on offer. The true origins of the game are obfuscated by virtue of the fact that there is little to no evidence to provide any insight as to the precise origins of the game. What is clear however, is that poker as we know it today is the hybrid offspring of several games combined.
Jonathan H. Green provided one of the earliest written records to the game of Poker, dating back to 1834 and in his memoirs it was he who dubbed the game Poker purely because it had no name at that time. What inspired this particular choice of moniker remains unknown.
Relying on his well written and thorough notes, which were meticulous in their level of detail, Green makes a reference to no less than 20 playing cards, and this included the 3 royalty cards, the Aces, and the tens. Green also mentioned that typically four players would be present and each player would be dealt a grand total of five cards each. Green referred to poker as that "cheating game" and it seems that whilst it was quickly growing in popularity it was solely relied upon by the cardsharps in an attempt to fleece their victims.
The precise origins of the actual word "Poker" has also been a topic of much academic discussion and hypothesising and whilst the common belief seems to be that it stems from the old French game of poque, there are others who are not entirely convinced by this. Other people have argued that the game draws its roots from a German game referred to as pochspiel. The reason for this is because pochspiel was renowned for the players having to be very cunning and required to bluff in order to get a result.
Another explanation that has been offered for the origins of poker is that it is derived from a slang term "poke" which was an expression used typically among pickpockets. The belief then is that cardsharps, who were widely regarded as pickpockets who used cards rather than brute force adopted the poke word and then added on an r to the end in order to warn their fellow tricksters of a potential victim.
One theory which has raised eyebrows has been that the term poke itself was derived from the expression "hocus-pocus" which was used by magicians. The game of poker later on then went on to include no less than 32 cards, eventually growing from there to include the now 52.
Poker has developed and changed dramatically throughout the years, and it has came a long way from a dirty little game that was only ever played in the seediest bars to becoming a popular and common game that has enjoyed fans from the world over.
Poker is strictly controlled and carefully controlled by numerous gambling laws and it has became the most commonly played card game across the world. It has also managed to become a major sporting event which has attracted competitors and competitions from across the globe, with major tournaments such as the World Poker Tour and World Series Of Poker attracting huge television audiences. To be totally honest, a tournament is held nearly every week at least somewhere in the whole world, and that is a true measure of the popularity of the game, so whether you're playing small limit home games, online sit and gos or fancy a shot at a WPT title, why not put your skills to the test and have a game!
