Poker History
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The history of poker is not like the history of the computers when you
can exactly say who, how and when. You’ll rack your brain before you understand
how it all began. At first it seems very easy: Jonathan H. Green and his
“cheating game” which he described in “An Exposure of the Arts and
Miseries of Gambling” (1843). Attention: Green wrote about the game in 1843… but
there was also Joseph Crowell who described the same game played in 1829. It is
known that this game was popular on Mississippi riverboats and involved a deck
of 20 cards (aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens). Players bet on which hand was
the most valuable. There was another game called Three-Card Monte, which was
also very popular among Mississippi gamblers.
Maybe Crowell was the first to
reference to this game, but Green was the first to call it poker.
Yes, it
is rather easy to consider that it all began with Green. But when you try to get
to the point you see so many versions that it becomes impossible to discover the
direct ancestor of poker. We can only suppose. Let’s look into the most popular
theories:
1. The Chinese Theory. Once upon a time… Emperor Mu-tsung
and his wife were playing “domino cards” and one day it became poker. If
you like the idea of the Chinese ancestor of poker then accept this theory and
stop reading this article.
2. The Persian Theory. It says that
the game was brought to New Orleans by Persian sailors. The name of the game was
“As nas”. Doesn’t sound like poker? In addition to it the deck consisted
of 25 cards with 5 suits.
3. The Indian Theory. Even Indians were gamblers! Their poker was called Ganjifa.
4. The English Theory. The Bragg (or brag) game also could be the
ancestor of Poker. One of proofs is that English Bragg incorporated
bluffing.
5. The French Theory. Those who settled in New Orleans in 1480 played a card game called Poque.
And it was the first time when a deck with four suits (spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts) was
used.
6. The German Theory. “Ich Poche!” – he cried and rapped
on the table. This what distinguishes the pochspiel. The player has two
ways: either pass or open by saying “Ich Poche!” and rapping on the
table.
It’s clear that all these games brought something to Poker.
Poker is a pochspiel, bragg, ganjifa and poque all rolled in one. There are also
many disputes about the name of the game, but they are not so serious as
disputes about the origins. As for the name. You know two theories: French
(Poque) and German (Pochspiel). The other words-ancestors could be: pukka
(funny Hindu word), poke (word used by pickpockets), hocus-pocus
(magic term… and somebody believes it… maybe magicians themselves?).
Anyway,
it doesn’t matter where poker came from. The fact is that it is the number one
card game in the world. And the types of poker we know today are not the last
ones! Be prepared!
Before 1970
American poker, as it was said, began in New
Orleans and spread like a virus all over the country by the Mississippi
riverboats, on which gambling was very popular (But it was still 20-card game
until 1834 (or 1837), when 52-card game replaced it). During the Wild West
period in the United States history you could find poker tables in every saloon.
It’s better to beat your opponent than to shoot him, isn’t it?
In 1875
the joker appeared in the deck and the epoch of the European influence came to
an end. Poker became totally American. The game continued to develop and there
appeared those who wanted to control this development.
In 1909 Coran
and Lyles (the Missouri assemblymen) tried to license poker players, who in
their opinion were fooling incompetent people. These assemblymen even composed a
bill and introduced it to the state legislature. By this time among the most
popular poker games had been stud poker and draw poker. But in
1911 Harold Sigel Webb (California’s attorney general) decided to prohibit stud
poker because it was the game of luck, but not of skill. This caused the growth
of draw poker, which was based upon skill (and that’s why beyond the
antigambling laws).
Let’s go further: running a betting game was a
felony in Nevada, in 1910; casino gambling was legalized also in Nevada, in
1931. The fact speaks for itself... 1970 is considered to be the first year of
the WSOP (the World Series of Poker), but the idea appeared much earlier.
In 1949 Benny Binion was asked to stage a high-stake poker marathon.
He agreed This marathon lasted 5 months in public view. Johnny Moss had won
$2 Million in this marathon. And the only thing that his opponent Nick the Greek
had said was: “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go”. After
that he went upstairs and fell asleep.
Maybe Binion had thought then that it was a very good idea, a very, very good idea. He remembered the public
excitement, which he could see during all these 5 months. And after 20 years he
decided to recreate it.
After 1970
He did it. And Johnny Moss won again. But this time he was not only the winner - he was the
World Champion!
Due to Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston the World Series
of Poker began to attract more and more people: after he had won in 1972, he
went on the talk-show circuit. This year Binion was asked if it was possible to
get up to 50 entrants. “It will eventually,” – he said and smiled. But even
Binion couldn’t imagine such enormous growth of number of participants. Just
compare: 7 in 1972 and 7 595 in 2002.
And it is only the WSOP. Add to
it the entrants of the Shooting Star, the Star Classic, the Legends of Poker,
the World Poker Finals, the L.A. Poker Classic and so on.
Now
think about those who don’t take part in them, but watch televised tournaments
and play poker at home or in online-casinos.
Now many laws regulate
poker. It’s not a “cheating game”; it is a sporting event, which involves Big
money, Big people and Big crowds.
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