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Poker History

A man who can play delightfully on a guitar and keep a knife in his boot, would make an excellent poker player.

W.J. Florence, Handbook on Poker (1891)

Poker’s origins are as hazy as the origin of its name. Furthermore, poker has evolved over the last decades and the rules have been modernized over the years.

Poker really emerged in the United States, in New Orleans and onboard riverboats sailing the Mississippi River. In the 1820s, French residents brought over a game from the XIVth century; this game of Persian origins was called Nas and was played with a 20 card deck: the lions, the kings, the soldiers and the dancers.

The cards were distributed to 4 players, they bet and they showed their cards, there was no draw. It was the element of bluff that excited the players. In the New Orleans version, the face values became the Aces, the Kings, the Queens, The Jacks and the Tens. Straights and suits didn’t count.

We still find in literature, many stories which fuel today’s cliché of cowboys playing in a saloon and ready to draw their guns at the slightest hitch. Back in those days, we could find a poker table in every saloon across America .

We can also argue as to the origin of the word poker. The most commonly accepted being the French game: poque. But there exists other references like the German game pochspiel, which already gave a big part to bluffing. And we still don’t count the Hindu or English references.

It was around 1837 that the traditional deck of 52 cards appeared, that allowed 4 or more players to play. In the 1830s, we estimate that around 1500 poker professionals “worked” on the boats sailing between New Orleans and Louisville, Kentucky.

Draws were introduced during the American Civil War, when the popularity of the game just kept increasing amongst soldiers. The straights were recognized around 1875 and the flush a little before that. Stud appeared around 1870 and might represent the birth of modern day poker.

Poker Variations

At the beginning of the XXth century appeared what is today’s most popular variation of the game: Texas Hold’em. Omaha was only introduced in the early 80s, it’s a really exciting game because it offers hallucinating ups and downs. This game and its descendents are very popular today.

Let’s recall that before 1980, everything was played in No Limit, and it’s only in the early 80s that Limit poker, brilliant idea emanating from the casinos, appeared. They have, along the way, created a new game quite different than No Limit, which saw ten or so technical documents published in the 80s and 90s

Limit poker never really caught on in Europe, where Pot Limit is clearly preferred.

Today, poker is governed by strict laws and saloons gave way to gaming clubs and other casinos. Poker is the card game most played worldwide, and it has even become a full-fledged discipline with the organization of competitions and tournaments everywhere on the planet.

Competitions

Tournaments bring in more and more players and make the game exciting; victory is ever sweeter because it not only leads to enrichment but mostly, to glory.

We just have to look at the starting field in the most prestigious tournament, the WSOP, to know that poker is always rising in popularity. 34 players in 1977, 104 players in 1982, 152 players in 1987, 201 players in 1992, 312 players in 1997, 839 players in 2003, more than 2500 players in 2004, 5,000 in 2005 and 8,773 players in 2006, with prizes totaling more than 87 million American dollars with 12.5 millions going to the winner.

You can always find a place to play, a place to win, the game of kings is in play! The young guns are playing, the media is attracted to the big tournaments, we are at the dawn of a poker popularization and its recognition in Quebec.

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