Tracing the Origin and History of Poker

The origin of poker can be traced back to the first or second decade of the 19^th century.  It was born in the gambling saloons in New Orleans and in the floating saloons of the Mississippi steamers.  As early as 1836 it appears in the books of an American named Jonathan Green and an Englishman, Joe Cowell.

 
When the game of poker came into existence it was played with a 20-card pack, which was evenly dealt amongst four players.  A draw did not exist then and the bets were made on a narrow range of combinations.

 By the middle of the 19^th century the 20-card game evolved gradually into a 52-card game.  This change took place partly in order to accommodate more players, and partly to give scope to the recently introduced game of flush.  But it was chiefly introduced in order to ensure that there were enough cards for a draw.  This was the turning point for the game of poker, which then became more a game of skill than just a gamble.

 
In 1845 Hoyle's Games by Henry F. Anners refers to poker as Bluff, and was dangerously popular in New York.  Since flush was also an attractive combination with it, the draw was introduced in poker.  The second betting interval was introduced and poor hands could be significantly improved, and this increased the excitement of the game.

 
The American Ambassador to Britain General Schenck introduced poker into English society. He even drew up a written guide and the rules of the game were printed in a booklet form by some of his pupils.

 Many quick changes and innovations took place in poker after the middle of the 19^th century.  The introduction of Jack Pots came into existence around this time.  This meant that a player could not open unless he held a pair of Jacks.  This was introduced to discipline the game, so that wild players who would bet on anything would be driven out and players played cautiously. Hence the two great steps in the history and progress of poker have been the introduction of the draw in order to improve the hand and introduction of the jack-pot to make the players play cautiously.

 Around 1864 the 'straight' was introduced.  Traditionalists opted for the unbeatable four Aces of Old Poker, but the innovationists found poker much more interesting with straights. In this light it was introduced and by 1892 it was highly acclaimed. Only in 1904 a book was published drawing up a set of definitive rules. Draw and Stud were structural divisions of the Poker game and after that came Poker with communal cards and also High-Low Poker.  The modern tournament from the World Series of Poker started only in 1970.