| |
Computers and Technology > Games > The History of Poker
0
Reviews [ add review ],
Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Rob Lancaster
The history of poker is unclear, it was first thought to have evolved from many card and betting games over the last ten centuries. There are many games from which poker has its routs all incorporating ranking systems, betting and bluffing of one form or another. The oldest mention of such a game is around 960AD when the Chinese Emperor Mu-tsung was reported to have played ‘Domino Cards’ with his wife on New Years Eve. The Egyptians are also known to have played card games in the 12th century. In the 16th century Persia “Ganjifa” or “Treasure Cards” were used for a variety of betting games. A Ganjifa deck consisted of 96 cards, made from slices of ivory or wood. The Persians also played “As Nas” which utilized 25 cards, rounds of betting and hierarchical hand rankings. Poker very closely follows the Persian game of As Nas, however this game only involved 20 to 25 cards depending on how many players were playing and always included plenty of dancing girls! This was widely excepted as the beginning Poker, however in the 1990s some historians began to question this theory. The challenge was that Pokers humble beginings were not Persian but French, following the discovery of the game poque, which was played during the Renaissance. The first confirmed game which directly links to modern poker is found in the 16th Spanish game of ‘Primero’ which was played by dealing three cards to each player. Bluffing or betting high stacks when holding week hands was a vital part of this game. The game of Primero is often referred to as ‘Pokers Mother’. Before ending up as modern poker Primero first evolved into the French game of “Poque” and the German game named “Pochen” both were very popular in the 17 & 18th centuries. When the French began to colonies the ‘New World’ they brought their national game of Poque with them. They first arrived in Canada in the beginning of the
18th century. A Group of French settlers then traveled south in to America settling in Louisiana and founding New Orleans. So it would seem that the games origins in the United States are from the French Quarters of New Orleans. The game then quickly spread to the rest of the country via the Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a way of life. As the spread continued via the river during the gold rush the pastime became part of the very essence of fornteer life. At this time in it’s evolution Poker was played with four players and a deck of twenty cards. The cards were dealt out evenly to the players then they would bet biased on what they had. There was no draw and only one round of betting. In the mid 19th century, Poker was to have a face lift, this was due to the incorporation of the English game of Bragg. Bragg is the national vying game of Britain and is still played today. Bragg is known to have landed on the America’s shores by the late colonial period, thanks to English emigrants. The game however failed to take hold and was on its way into obscurity by 1850. Bragg it seamed was destined return to England, having failed to make an impression in America. However some time roughly between 1845 and 1855. A New version of Poker had been born, this game used a full 52 card deck, which incorporated a draw. The new version of the game, which still had a five card hand, yielded a far greater, range of hands, due to the extra cards. The Draw element added a level of skill due to the bluffing opportunities now in the game. These two features made Poker the game it is today and they were added thanks to Bragg. So it seamed perhaps Bragg had not died but merely reborn, merged with Mississippi river poker to become the modern game.
Article reviews
Post your review
[ Note : no HTML/URLs - will removed automatically ]
More articles from Computers and Technology > Games
|
