The game of poker was developed some time during the early 19th century in the United States. Since those early beginnings, poker has grown to become an extremely popular pastime throughout the world.

1. First Time Machine Invented
2. Who Invented The First Poker Machines Game

The first gambling machine which resembled the slots we know today was one developed by Messrs Sittman and Pitt in New York, which used the 52 cards on drum reels to make a sort of poker game. Around the same time the Liberty Bell machine was invented by a Charles Fey in San Francisco. In 1970, Dale Electronics introduced the first video poker machine, known as 'Poker-Matic'. A few years later, the first video slot machine (the first to use a television screen) was introduced in 1975 in Las Vegas by Walt Fraley and the Fortune Coin Company. But neither machine gained much popularity.

• 119th century

19th century[edit]

In the 1837 edition of Foster's Complete Hoyle, R. F. Foster wrote: 'the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas.' By the 1990s some gaming historians including David Parlett started to challenge the notion that poker is a direct derivative of As-Nas.^{[citation needed]} There is evidence that a game called poque, a French game similar to poker, was played around the region where poker is said to have originated. The name of the game likely descended from the Irish Poca (Pron. Pokah) ('Pocket') or even the Frenchpoque, which descended from the Germanpochen ('to brag as a bluff' lit. 'to knock'). Yet it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time). It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.

A modern school of thought rejects these ancestries,^[1] as they focus on the card play in poker, which is trivial and could have been derived from any number of games or made up on general cardplay principles.^[2] The unique features of poker have to do with the betting, and do not appear in any known older game.^[1] In this view poker originated much later, in the early or mid-18th century, and spread throughout the Mississippi River region by 1800. It was played in a variety of forms, with 52 cards, and included both straight poker and stud. 20 card poker was a variant for two players (it is a common English practice to reduce the deck in card games when there are fewer players).^[3] The development of poker is linked to the historical movement that also saw the invention of commercial gambling.^[4][5]

English actor Joseph Cowell^[6] reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, and four players betting on which player's hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippiriverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime. As it spread north along the Mississippi River and to the West during the gold rush, it is thought to have become a part of the frontier pioneer ethos.

Soon after this spread, the full 52-card French deck was used and the flush was introduced. The draw was added prior to 1850 (when it was first mentioned in print in a handbook of games).^[7] During the American Civil War, many additions were made including stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925).

Early books discussing poker[edit]

• Hildreth, J. (1836) Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains, Wiley & Long, New York: mentions poker
• Green, Jonathan H. (1843). Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling, Philadelphia: Zieber
• Cowell, Joe (1844). Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America
• Anners, Henry F. (1845) Hoyle’s Games: refers to Poker or Bluff, 20-deck Poker, and 20-deck Poke
• Bohn, Henry George (1850) New Handbook of Games: stated the rules of poker in print for the first time
• Dick, Willium B. (1866) The American card player
• Trumps (1868) The Modern Pocket Hoyle New York: Dick & Fitzgerald
• Schenck, Robert C. (1872)Rules for Playing Poker, private circulation
• Winterblossom, Henry T (1875) The Game of Draw Poker Mathematically Illustrated
• Blackbridge (1875) The Complete Card Player

First Time Machine Invented

20th century[edit]

Developments in the 1970s led to poker becoming far more popular than it was before. Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began, in 1970.^[8] Notable champions from these early WSOP tournaments include Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim, Bobby Baldwin, Doyle Brunson, and Puggy Pearson. Later in the 1970s, the first serious poker strategy books appeared, notably Super/System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN1-58042-081-8) and Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro (ISBN0-89746-100-2), followed later by The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky (ISBN1-880685-00-0).

By the 1980s, poker was being depicted in popular culture as a commonplace recreational activity. For example, it was featured in at least 10 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation as a weekly event of the senior staff of the fictional ship's crew.^[9]

Two significant events in the late 1980s led to the first poker 'boom'. In 1987, California legalized the flop games of hold'em and Omaha, as well as stud. Previously only draw games were allowed. While there were more poker games in California than anywhere else before this, the number of games and the action hold'em brought both increased dramatically. Cavernous poker rooms like the Commerce Casino and the Bicycle Club began operating in the LA area.^[10] In 1988 Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA),^[11] which legalized casino games on Indian lands. Poker rooms began rapidly opening within a few short years. Limit Texas hold'em was the most widely played game by far in the west, and seven card stud was the most widely played game in the east from the late 1980s until 2003.^[12]

In the 1990s, poker and casino gambling spread across the United States, most notably to Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[13] In 1998, Planet Poker dealt the first real money online poker game. In 1999, Late Night Poker debuted on British television.^[14]

21st century[edit]

Poker's popularity experienced an unprecedented spike at the beginning of the 21st century, largely because of the introduction of online poker and hole-card cameras, which turned the game into a spectator sport. Not only could viewers now follow the action and drama of the game on television, they could also play the game in the comfort of their own home. Broadcasts of poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour brought in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors. Because of the increased coverage of poker events, poker pros became celebrities, with poker fans all over the world entering into tournaments for the chance to compete with them. Television coverage also added an important new dimension to the poker professional's game, as any given hand could now be aired later, revealing information not only to the other players at the table, but to anyone who cared to view the broadcast.

Following the surge in popularity, new poker tours soon emerged, including the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour, both televised, and the latter sponsored by online poker company PokerStars. Subsequent tours have since been created by PokerStars, such as Latin American Poker Tour and Asia Pacific Poker Tour, as well as other national tours. Beginning in 2003, major poker tournament fields grew dramatically, in part because of the growing popularity of online satellite-qualifier tournaments where the prize is an entry into a major tournament. The 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker champions, Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, respectively, won their seats to the main event by winning online satellites.^[15] In 2009 the International Federation of Poker was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, becoming the official governing body for poker and promoting the game as a mind sport. In 2011 it announced plans for two new events: The Nations Cup, a duplicate poker team event, to be staged on the London Eye on the banks of the River Thames and 'The Table', the invitation-only IFP World Championship, featuring roughly 130 of the world's best poker players, in an event to find the 2011 official 'World Champion'.

After the passage of the UIGEA in October 2006, attendance at live tournaments as well as participation in live and online cash games initially slowed; however, they are still growing and far more popular today than they were before 2003. The growth and popularity of poker can be seen in the WSOP which had a record 7,319 entrants to the 2010 main event.^[16] The only nations in Europe that prohibit live poker are Norway, Poland and Albania, according to Dagbladet in 2011.^[17]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abReuven and Gabrielle Brenner, and Aaron Brown, A World of Chance: Betting on Religion, Games, Wall Street, Cambridge University Press (2008), ISBN978-0-521-88466-2
2. ^Stephen Longstreet, Win or Lose: A Social History of Gambling in America, Bobbs-Merrill (1977), ISBN978-0-672-52253-6
3. ^Aaron Brown, The Poker Face of Wall Street, John Wiley & Sons (2006), ISBN978-0-470-12731-5
4. ^David G. Schwartz, Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling, Gotham (2007), ISBN978-1-59240-316-5
5. ^Timothy O'Brien, Bad Bet : The Inside Story of the Glamour, Glitz, and Danger of America's Gambling Industry, Crown Business (1998), ISBN978-0-8129-2807-5
6. ^Williamson, G. R. (15 May 2012). 'Frontier Gambling'. G.R. Williamson. Retrieved 16 December 2018 – via Google Books.
7. ^Henry G. Bond (ed.), Bohn's New Handbook of Games, Henry F. Anners (1850)
8. ^'World Series of Poker: A Retrospective'. Gaming.unlv.edu. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
9. ^'Poker & Pop Culture: 'Star Trek: The Next Generation''. www.pokernews.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
10. ^Badger, Steve. 'California Hold'em Poker - Texas Holdem Comes to California Poker'. www.stevebadger.com.
11. ^'Industry Overview'. Indian Gaming: The National Information Site of the American Indian Gaming Industry. Liberty Lake, Washington: ArrowPoint Media, Inc. 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
12. ^'WSOP NEWS: A WILDER RIDE'. www.wsop.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
13. ^'United States of Poker: New Jersey'. Pokerplayernewspaper.com. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
14. ^'Late Night Poker: About the Show'. Channel4.com. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
15. ^'Chris Moneymaker on'. Answers.com. 1975-11-21. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
16. ^'WSOP 2010 Results - World Series of Poker Champion Jonathan Duhamel'. PokerStars.com. 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
17. ^LøvikSivilingeniør, DEBATTINNLEGGPål Skønberg (15 September 2011). 'Legaliser poker'. Dagbladet.no. Retrieved 16 December 2018.

Let us go back in time, before there was a game called Texas Hold'em, or even before there was a game called poker.

While it is commonly believed that poker was created about the same time that Adam and Eve left the garden of Eden, or even that playing poker in the Garden of Eden was the actual reason for them leaving, despite what other sources may say about apples or snakes, the actual appearance of playing cards occurred around 1377.

The actual beginning of card games, as we know them today, was first recorded by a Swiss Monk named John of Rheinfelden. John recorded a card game played in 1377 with a deck of 52 cards. The cards ranged from 1 to 10 in value. This seems to be the best evidence that 1377 is the first year that history documented a card game being played with a 52 deck of cards.

The Chinese were recorded as participating in the actual playing of card games around 950. However, even though it seems clear that the Chinese were probably the first to play a game with cards, the card deck did not contain 52 cards as a modern deck does and the game the Chinese played was more akin to dominos than poker.

So, as far as the origin of a 52 card deck, and games played with it goes, it seems the John from Rheinfelden tale holds the most water, as he took the time to write about the game he observed in 1377.

Having established written records of card games played with 52 card decks in 1377, next is the task of searching the origin of modern poker.

Since 1377 a number of cards games have been played with 52 card decks, most of which bear little or no resemblance to poker. Many were card games just for recreation, but without betting or wagering, while others were betting games but had no similarity to poker. After extensive research, I found two games that had not only similarities to poker and were betting games, but actually used many of the phrases we use for modern poker.

First, I discovered the game from India called 'Teen Patti'. The game included betting rounds like poker and was played with a 52 card deck. 'Teen Patti' also uses a number of poker phrases and hand rankings similar to poker.

Secondly is the old English game of 'Brag' which not only includes the similarities of 'Teen Patti' but is most likely the origin of modern poker phrases like: blind, blinds, flush, pot, etc. Brag also had betting rules and card ranking similar to modern poker and was played in 3 different versions using either 3, 4, or 5 or more cards dealt to each player. Most importantly, the game involved bluffing, which is what separates poker from most other card games.

Who Invented The First Poker Machines Game

However, Brag or Poker could not have been played until cards which contained the four suits of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs had been invented. Diligent research reveals that these suits were invented by the French and standardized throughout Europe by 1480 as the commonly agreed upon suits of the 52 card deck. Now that we have at least the minimum tools required to play Brag and Poker, let's see how long it took our ingenious forefathers to come up with these games.

Early versions of Poker games (called The Lying Game) were described by Joseph Crowell in writing in 1829. Brag games are considered much older and may predate poker by a few hundred years; although, no written records appear to exist to actually date when the first Brag game was played. It is documented that early settlers to America from England brought with them both Cards and their Brag type card games, which eventually became so popular that even native Indians took up the game of Brag or similar gambling card games.

Around the 1850's the Riverboat gamblers were born. These were the early pioneers of Poker, both in the old west and on the riverboats, and they were a curious combination of Professional card players, gamblers, gunfighters and cheats. We assume that the gun fighting skills were essential if you wanted to survive cheating at cards. Various forms of poker flourished, including 3 Card Monte and early versions of stud poker.

The name 'Poker' may have evolved around that time from either the French card game name 'Poque', or the German card game expression of 'Poche' or also a possibility, considering the number of cheats and pickpockets who played cards, the slang word for stealing, which was 'Poke'. Its pretty clear that one of these three names was the origin of the word 'Poker'. The 'Poke' theory is especially interesting, as it already had four of the first letters right and the first poker games were aptly described as 'The Cheating Game' or 'The Lying Game'

From these games and others, Stud Poker eventually evolved to become

the worlds most popular poker game.

As for the modern game of Texas Hold'em Poker, this apparently was invented around the 1920's after it was discovered that the game of Stud Poker could not accommodate all the Texas ranchers that wanted to play, since the cards would run out before all the players had been dealt their cards. Legend has it that it was invented in Texas, which seems reasonable, considering the name. Texas Hold'em Poker, despite its apparent appeal both to beginning poker players and seasoned veterans, did not take the world by storm. In fact, Hold'em poker did not become widely popular until it was adopted as the game of choice for tournaments such as 'The World series of Poker' and later the 'World Poker Tour'.

Join me next time, as I look into what many consider to be the world's first 'famous poker player'.

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