The rule of poker is very ancient. One of its ancestral games-primero (Spain)
primiera (Italy)
la prime (France)-appears in literature at least as early as 1526. In this game each player had three cards
and the counting combinations were three of a kind
a pair
and a flux (flush; three cards of the same suit). In later developments certain cards had special value
equivalent to wild cards in modern poker. By about 1700 the betting and bluffing aspects had produced the games of brag in England (one of four card games about which Edmond Hoyle wrote) and pochen (its name meaning “to bluff”) in Germany. From the latter the French developed a similar game called poque
first played in French America in 1803
when the Louisiana Purchase made New Orleans and its environs territories of the United States. During the next 20 years
English-speaking settlers in the Louisiana Territory adopted the game
Anglicized its name to poker
and established the essential features of the modern game.

The earliest known reference to poker in American literature occurs in the memoirs (1829) of Joe Cowell
a touring English actor. From his description it is clear that the original American game was played with a pack of cards that included five cards for each player; all the cards were dealt
and the players bet on who had the best five-card combination. So played
poker is virtually indistinguishable from an older Persian game called as nas
a four-hand game played with a 20-card pack
five cards dealt to each player. This coincidence led some students of games to call poker a derivative of as nas
but this theory has been discredited.

By 1834
the date of the second known reference to poker
the game had been adapted to the modern 52-card deck. No description of poker is given in any book of the rules of games before 1858
but
in such books published in the 1860s
it is not characterized as a new game. The history of the game since then consists entirely of new features introduced to encourage freer betting: the straight
introduced as an additional valuable hand; the draw
so that players might stay in even when not originally dealt good hands; stud poker
to increase the number of opportunities for betting; and the jackpots
originally applying only to a pot to which each player antes
creating an unusually large pot at the start. Most of the innovations came in the decade 1861-70 and probably were engendered in the great amount of poker played by soldiers on both sides in the Civil War. Poker was a favorite in saloons throughout the American “Wild West” during the 1870s and ’80s
and
contrary to Hollywood movies
the games rarely led to shoot-outs over accusations of cheating.

The spread of poker to other countries probably began in 1871
when Colonel Jacob Schenck
the U.S. minister to Great Britain
explained the game to a group of gentlemen that included members of the British court. Queen Victoria heard about the game and expressed interest
whereupon Schenck wrote and had privately printed (1872) a set of rules to send to her. This is the earliest known work devoted exclusively to poker
although the game had previously been treated in compendiums. Poker was already sufficiently identified with the United States so that Schenck described it as “our national game.” However
this may have been only because all other card games played in the United States were undeniably of Although poker had a brief vogue in British court circles in the 1870s
its widespread acceptance in Great Britain and on the Continent came chiefly in the decade 1911-20 and was undoubtedly much influenced by the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.

For nearly 100 years in the United States
poker was considered a gambling game of men-unsuited to polite or mixed gatherings-but after the 1920s its popularity extended to both sexes and all levels of society. Surveys conducted in the middle of t
he 20th century showed poker to be the favorite card game of American men and the third most-favored (after rummy and bridge) of American women
and in Great Britain it ranked next after contract bridge with both sexes.

Following Draw and Stud
a third major structural division of the Poker game
represented today by Texas Hold ‘em
is that of varieties involving one or more communal cards. The earliest of these appears in the 1919 edition under the name Wild Widow
whereby a card was dealt face up to the table immediately before each player received his fifth card
and the winner was the player making the best five-card combination from his own hand plus the turn-up. In the 1926 edition this is replaced by Spit in the Ocean.

An insight into its past

How and from where the world famous poker game originated is highly debated
with historians swearing on places while artifacts and evidence turns up elsewhere. Persia is credited as the land where poker playing first started. The game “As Nas” which supported 5 players and used 25 cards with 5 suits
is said to be one of the earliest forms of modern poker. Another game that carries ancestral traits of modern poker is the game “Primero”. This game is said to have been active around the 16th century
and its style of playing is similar with that of modern poker. “Brelan”
“Brag” is the French form of the game that is yet another form of the poker of today. This game made use of bluffing and betting which was commonly used in the games of that era.

Departing from the East and coming to the West
Joseph Cromwell an American actor of popular renown often made references to poker playing. Yet another eminent personality quoting poker was by Jonathan Green. The author in his book called it a “Cheating game”; the game was actively played in and around the Mississippi river regions. The game is said to have originated in New Orleans
and travelled up the Mississippi to other states where it gained popularity. In California
poker playing and gambling was legalized.

– Evolution and metamorphosis

Fast forwarding the existing scenario of early 1900′s by a few decades; tournaments hosted by casinos and other gaming venues boosted the popularity of poker. 1970 saw the beginning of the World Series; Las Vegas is the place where it was first conducted. The venue was Benny Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. As the years passed
the number of player turning up for each tournament increased manifold; the main draw was the prizes that were offered to the winners. Over 2500 players participated in the year 2004 and prizes worth 25 Million dollars were awarded to them; the winner took home a staggering 5 Million dollars.

– Online Poker playing

Players faced difficulties in turning up at the gaming venues
i.e. the casinos and this led to the growth of poker playing through the internet. The overhead expenditure such as ordering a table
and raising the stakes etc. added to the existing problems. Certain websites were created that offered poker playing on their sites; while some were free other sites charged a modest fee. An increase in number of websites offering the game has increased the number of people playing this game worldwide. Players used the facilities available at online poker playing sites to sharpen and perfect their skills. Players who were regular participants of the online poker sites were welcomed to join the World Series.

– Features of online casino Poker

Face-reading is an art
and good face-readers have always prospered in the game of poker. A look at your opponent’s face is enough to tell you about his gaming situation. But in online Casino poker this gives no one an upper hand. The faces of the players are not visible to one another because the game is played in a virtual environment.

Another advantage of playing online poker is that the player can access more multiple tables and has a faster rate of playing and card movement.

With online casino poker
each player’s card movement is noted and can be viewed. This allows the players to track the card’s movement from where it began till its current position.

Lastly the IP adress of each player is noted by the software; this allows it to identify if the players are located in the same room or are located at a distance.