The History of Poker

The precise origins of poker are disputed; its first written reference is most likely that of Joseph Crowell, English actor based in New Orleans who described in 1829 a game played with a 20 card deck and 4 players who bluff over the highest hand. 14 years later in 1843 a definite reference is made to poker by J. H. Green in his book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling who refers to poker as the cheating game and claims that its American foundation was laid in New Orleans. However, the history of poker is much longer than 200 years.

The Chinese in the late first millennia played some kind of poker known as “Domino Cards”, whilst in the 12th and 13th centuries the Egyptians are known to have played games using a form of playing cards. The 16th century saw Persians playing Ganjita or treasure cards which consisted of a 96 card deck used in betting games. Whilst these instances suggest the ancient history of poker, its more recent genealogy is easier to fathom and finds its origins in renaissance Europe. The 17th and 18th centuries marked the flourishing of a card game known as poque in French, and pochen in German, literally meaning “to knock”. This game was based on a 16th century Spanish game called primero in which 3 cards were dealt to each player who would subsequently bet on their hand, often bluffing in the event of a low hand. “Primero” is often considered to be the mother of modern poker.

The spread of poker came with the French colonization of parts of North America and the founding of New Orleans in 1718. Poque quickly grew in popularity and soon became the game of choice on the Mississippi riverboats. As a result of the riverboats, poque, or poker found its way out to the west coast where the poker table became a common fixture in salons, and poker became a staple in the entertainment of the pioneering community, a spread that was only enhanced with the immigration of the gold rush.

The development of poker did not stop there. Many poker innovations have taken place over the last two centuries making poker the game we know today. The American Civil war in the mid-19th century saw the introduction of draw poker. By this time the English 52 card deck had been introduced as the standard poker deck, as well as the flush. Five card draw remained the most popular form of the poker game until a little before the Second World War. The success of 5 card draw poker was due to American gaming laws which only legalized gambling in 1931; draw poker was always legal because it was based on skill and not luck. From the Second World War until the 1960s the Nevada casinos flourished, and with them 7 card stud, which became the poker game of choice. This all changed with the introduction of Texas Hold’em, the ‘Cadillac of poker’ in the 1970s which remained the most popular form of poker right up until today.