Although some people believe that its roots can be traced back nearly 1,000 years, no one is certain of when the game we know as poker today was actually invented and played for the first time. Opinion is still divided, but certain similarities between poker and ancient games are quite compelling. However, the history of poker can certainly be traced back to the 17th century. In the 1600s, poker’s closest predecessor was a game of bluff played in France as Poque and in Germany as Pochen. The game was first brought to the US during the 1800s by settlers from Europe.

Today, hundreds of poker variants are popular in casinos, bars and private establishments across the world and many different cultures. Professionals might be willing to stake thousands on a tournament win, but for more casual players, smaller bets are more common. Poker is based largely on luck, as the deal and the turn of any subsequent cards produce entirely random hands for everyone at the table. However, a certain level of understanding of the game is also required, and the best players will use their experience to try to gain an advantage.

What are the origins and history of poker cards?

It’s thought that the origin of modern card games can be traced back to the 9th-century Tang Dynasty of China. Playing cards are believed to have been designed and produced during this time, as were domino and dice games. So, in many ways, pontoon, poker, and baccarat history all have arguably similar roots. By the 16th century, As Nas became one of the first documented card games to use a five-card hand and rules that were eventually seen in poker. A century after that, the first games of this sort were being played in Europe.

Pochen, also known as Poque, was played using the familiar red and black deck that consisted of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Poque arrived in North America with French colonists and soon spread across the country. In a short space of time, English settlers renamed the game poker, and the modern game was born.

A history of poker cards and games in Europe

Poker may well have originated in 17th-century Europe, but the modern game was introduced to the continent in 1871. Queen Victoria heard the US Minister to Great Britain explaining how the game was played, and she was so intrigued that she asked him for the rules so that she could play herself.

After World War I, US soldiers made it popular among the troops, and live poker became a regular fixture in bars and casinos. However, it was only when poker tournaments, such as the World Series, were televised, that it reached a much wider audience in Europe. By the 1990s, the legendary houses of Monte Carlo were finding that poker was a firm favourite among their patrons. By 2005, the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final was staged at the Casino de Monte-Carlo, and now many of the biggest poker events are hosted in this glamorous French location.

The history of poker in the US

After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, French colonists arrived in New Orleans. To trade goods, they used huge riverboats that moved up and down the Mississippi, connecting this fledgling community with other states. Soon, the crews of these boats were playing poker in their spare time. In 1834, Jonathan H. Green wrote An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling, a book that explained how the game was played and more about its origins in New Orleans. This helped to generate interest in the game, which was amplified after the US Civil War, when soldiers from both sides played poker and took it back to their hometowns.

Along with returning soldiers, new settlers also helped the game move through the US and become a popular pastime in local saloons. Poker became a mainstay in the Wild West, with reports of the game being played by legendary figures such as Wild Bill Hickock. By the 20th century, poker was a firm favourite in the casinos of Las Vegas and its popularity was cemented by the creation of the World Series of Poker in 1970.

The history of poker variants

Texas hold’em poker

Considered by many players to be the most interesting poker variant, Texas hold’em is a popular game with seasoned pros, and a good one to get to grips with as a beginner. Players are dealt two-hole cards, which have to form a winning combination with the five community cards dealt at the centre of the table (in three progressive deals). Texas hold’em is by definition a community game, so like many variations of poker, the pooled cards dealt at the centre of the table are shared among the players. Texans believe that this game originated in the early 1900s in Robstown, a town in the east of the state.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo is an interesting five-card variant (two-hole cards and three community cards), in which the pot is divided between the highest and the lowest-ranked hands at the end of each round. This means that it can be easier to bag a share of the winnings, even for players who start with a difficult selection of cards. However, players have a range of different motivations as the game unfolds, so there is less emphasis on bluffing. Although the name would suggest that in the history of poker cards, this variant began in Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo was developed in Las Vegas around 1982 by poker legend Robert Turner.

Five-card draw

As the name suggests, in five-card draw, players compete to make the best five-card hand. Moreover, each player’s hand stays hidden (hole cards). With only one drawing round, five-card draw is a good option for players who are keen to learn a new game, but it can move between hands very quickly. This variant is a notable part of the history of poker, as it was popularised during the US Civil War and soon moved to poker boats on the Mississippi River.

The history of poker cards online

Poker as a land-based game was transformed and popularised by online casinos in the early 2000s. Before this time, back in the 1970s, electronic versions of poker were available for PCs, and by the 1980s, the Apple II computer featured a variant called Limited Hold’em. As the trend towards digital gaming continued, all the biggest houses in Las Vegas began to install video poker machines, which allowed patrons to play against a computer.

Another key point in poker history was the creation of online payment systems by eBay and Amazon in the mid-1990s. This meant that the first web-based casinos could be developed for paying patrons. The very first real-money online poker game was Limit Hold’em in 1998, but the graphics, avatars and animation were relatively basic by today’s standards. By the early 2000s, the internet was becoming more sophisticated, and more people had access to online services. To entice players, major providers such as PartyPoker and Paradise Poker began to invest more in creating slick, reliable and good-looking virtual casinos.

There were more than 500 websites dedicated to online poker in 2010, and since this time the industry has grown rapidly. Now, online casinos can offer an exceptional, authentic gaming experience for poker fans who want a convenient and accessible method of playing the game.

FAQs

What are the origins of poker? The history of poker can be traced back nearly 1,000 years. Some research suggests that the first variant of the game was played in China during the 9th-century Tang dynasty, but other evidence points to poker evolving from As Nas, a game of cards that was popular in Persia during the 16th century. As Nas is still played today and is very similar to poker, though it doesn’t have sequences or flushes.

What bets can I place in poker? Poker is all about the bets, and how or what types of bets can be placed during games will depend on the variant as well as the player. There are four rounds of betting that take place at different points in the standard game of Texas hold’em. These are the pre-flop, the flop, the turn, and the river. During each of these stages, a player can choose from five types of betting action – checking, betting, calling, raising, and folding. Betting amounts also vary greatly depending on the game.

What are players trying to achieve in a game of poker? The goal in any [game of poker(/blog/livecasino/poker/how-to-play-poker) is to convince the other players that you have the best possible hand. That’s why it’s important to be selective when it comes to choosing to play a hand and knowing when to fold. A key element of the game is learning which betting action is best to pursue in any situation.