Poker History

Poker is a game with a deep history. So deep in fact that there is actually no clear or written proof of when the game was first played. The most well known hostorical info of where the gaem came from is from the riverboats of the Mississippi river. Back then there are accounts and writings from a Mr Jonathan H Green calling it the "Cheaters Game". Soon after, the name of the game was changed to "Poker". It is thought that this changed occured way back in 1840.

Back then, the game was very different then what it is today. Players used to play poker with 20 card. Only Aces, Queens, Jacks, and tens were used to play the game. In addition, there were only between 2-4 players at any one time playing. Finally, each player was then dealt 5 cards. In this form, poker was known as the best or biggest cheating game, even more popular then another game called 3 card Monte.

Poker in its original form spread quickly throughout the world. Many different cultures and communities started playing the game and naturally over time the rules and variations of the game changed. Different variations include Omaha, Stud and many other forms that were created and adapted over the years. It's important remember, the most common place the game was played was still in the United States. Walk into any Saloon bar in the west and you were likely to find a number of games taking place. I guess this is the reason why poker is so popular in the US today and has a deep historical past witin American culture.

Fast forward a couple hundered years and today, poker is a popular form of gambling throughout the world and is heavily regulated by the various governments and jurisdictions. Today, poker is most popular in the United States of America as history shows that the game was born in the states many years ago. We sugges that this is the reason that so much energy and money is spent on legitimising the game in the US, especially online poker where today in the US is still considered illegal. That being said, online poker in the US and many other countries is slowly being regulated and controlled and ultimately will become legal.

Over the years there have been a number of key players that have contributed to the growth of poker. Players such as the incredible Doyle Brunson, T.J Cloutier ,Amarillo Slim Preston and many others all contributed immensely to the growth and popularity of the game. Today, poker can be considered one of the fastest growing sports and one of the biggest money spinners with the winner of the WSOP main event taking home betweent he region of 6-9million dollars. Compare this to any other major sporting event and poker is up there with the biggest. Poker is slowly becoming a serious profession for a number of professional gamblers. There are online and offline poker tournaments and events that take place all around the world and attract thousands of players from all walks of life. Poker today is growing quickly and will continue to grow as technology and access to players improves and advances.