One of the most popular casino games of recent times, poker has a long storied history. It is believed to have ancient roots that go back nearly 1,000 years, crossing several continents and cultures. Some of poker's earliest origins can be traced back to China in the late 900s. The members of the royalty were fond of a game that utilized tiles (similar to Mahjong tiles). In those days, leaves were used as playing cards. That's how it got the nickname the “leaf game.”
In the 19th century, evidence suggested that a French game known as "poque" which is similar to poker is played in the region where poker is said to be originated. French colonists brought Poque to their settlements in North America, including New Orleans and the surrounding area, which later became a part of the United States. The English-speaking settlers in the region improvised some of the features of the game including five cards for each player and (by 1834) a 52-card deck and that's how Poque was converted to poker.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), both the rebel and the federal soldiers used to play poker during large stretches of downtime. After the war came to an end, the surviving soldiers took the game back home with them. This was the beginning of the rising popularity of the game which was then spread throughout the United States and its heavily populated areas in the Northeast and the Mideast.
In a nutshell- The exact origins of poker are still a mystery. The first evidence of card games as entertainment appeared in China in the late 900s. Games flourished in Persia and India during the 16th Century. Some historians even believe poker came into existence from a Persian game called "As Nas".Over the next couple of centuries, derivatives of a three-card game based on As Nas migrated to Europe when Middle Eastern merchants began trading with Italian and French merchants. Several European games were imported to America in the 1700s including Poque, Faro, and Brag. By the early 1800s, poker emerged as a hybrid of Poque and Brag
Poker Today
Over the last 100 years, the popularity of this game has only increased. Rules and decks have become standardized. The popularity of individual games has changed over the years. But in the end, the goal remains the same- make the best possible five-card poker hand, and if you don't have one, then bluff your way to winning the pot. You know, bluff it till you make it! Originally poker was a five-card draw game. Split pot games and low ball were introduced, along with Texas Hold'em, which revolutionized the game and allowed up to 10 people to play in a single hand with five community cards and two low cards. Hold'em evolved further and morphed into Omaha (four hole cards) and Pineapple (three-hole cards). In the last few years, poker has evolved further with the introduction of Open-Face Chinese Poker and Badugi (which has so-called origins from Korea).
Poker has a world series of its own, known as the " world series of poker" which is held annually in Las Vegas. As of 2020, the world series consists of 101 events though half of the events are variants of Texas hold' em
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