The History of Poker:

According to dictionary.com poker is a card game played by two or more persons, in which the players bet on the value of their hands, the winner taking the pool. The exact origin of poker is unknown but many have speculated that it originated from a 16th century Persian card game called As Nas. Played with a 25 card deck containing five suits, the rules were similar to today’s Five Card Stud. Others are of the opinion that it was invented by the Chinese in 900 A.D. In the 1820s in New Orleans, Louisiana, sailors invented a game similar to poker in which a player places a bet on weather or not the value of his or her hand is higher than the value of the hands held by other players. The first poker games used three cards per person from a deck of thirty-two cards. Valuable combination’s included pairs and three of a kind. As the years passed players began to use a deck of fifty-two cards,with that each player was dealt five cards, and drew more cards from the deck. Stud poker, in which each player is dealt a first card face down and the next four cards face up, was not invented until about 1864. As poker was played, more changes gradually came about.

As the popularity of cards grew it managed to reach the western front where it became the saloon favorite, as sharp players discovered how quickly wealth could be won from it. Today poker is played in more variations than probably any other game. These Variations include: -Texas Hold’em -Omaha High-low -Stud Poker -Draw poker -Razz These are by no means the only forms of poker, they are just a few of many. Poker is carefully regulated by gambling laws, and saloons have given way to casinos and card rooms, but poker is played more than any other card game in the world. It has grown into a sporting event, with competitions and tournaments all around the world. Tournaments take place almost every week of the year somewhere in the world. Many poker players feel that this betting system distinguishes poker from gambling games. With the minor exception of initial forced bets, money is only placed into the pot voluntarily by a player who, at least in theory, rationally believes the bet has positive expected value. Therefore, although no one really knows where poker actually originated it has become one of the worlds most popular card games, in which some people stand to gain their fortunes and many loose them.