A small Introduction to Poker

There are many different opinions on the origin of Poker. There seems to be no clear or direct ancestor of the game. It is more likely that Poker derived its present day form, from elements of various different games. But everyone agrees that because of it's basic principal, its birth is a very old one.

The earliest reference to Poker, is from Jonathan H. Green in 1834. In his writing, Green mentions rules of the "cheating game" which was then being played on riverboats in the Mississippi river. He soon found out that this was the first reference to the game, and he chose to call the game Poker.

The game he described was played with only 20 cards (just aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens). Two to four people could play, and each player was dealt 5 cards. By the time Green wrote about it, poker had become the number one cheating game on the Mississippi boats, receiving even more action than the game of 3-Card Monte. Most people playing the 3-Card Monte, thought that the 20-card poker seemed more legitimate, and they came back again and again.

The origin of the word Poker is also well debated. Most dictionaries and historians say that it comes from an 18th-century French game, called poque. However, there are references to pochspiel, which is a German game. In pochspiel, there is an element of bluffing, where players would indicate whether they wanted to pass or open by hitting the table and saying, "Ich Poche!" Others say it may even have derived come a Hindu word, pukka.

Yet another possible explanation for the word poker, is that it came from a version of an underworld slang word, "poke," a term used by pickpockets. Cardsharps who used the 20-card cheating game to relieve a sucker from his poke may have used that word among themselves, adding an r to make it "poker." The thought was that if the sharps used the word "poker" in front of their victims, those wise to the underworld slang would not surmise the change.

There are those who also believe that "poke" probably came from "hocus-pocus", a term widely used by magicians. The game of Poker later evolved to include 32 cards, and eventually the modern day deck of 52, not counting the two Jokers.

The game of Poker has evolved through the years, through many backroom games to the present day casinos around the world. Its history is rich with famous places and characters. For example, during the Wild West period of United States history, a saloon with a Poker table could be found in just about every town from coast to coast.

Today, Poker is carefully regulated by gambling laws, and saloons have given way to casinos and cardrooms, 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.