Poker is enjoying remarkable success today with many people picking up this wonderful game and playing both in casinos and online. But poker is definitely not new nor does it describe any one game. Although up for great debate many trace the beginning of a poker-like games to Germany in the 15th century. Although such games involve betting, ranking, and bluffing though it was still far from the modern day forms of the game.
The first modern day form known as As Nas started in Persia with the first documented proof of this game being played in 1890. Several other games also lay claim to being the ancestors to poker. The closest form of modern poker though started in the mid-1700’s in the Mississippi area and had very close ties to today’s game including the card and betting structure. These beginnings also led to gambling becoming a business with the first gambling businesses being based on poker like games.
Today several different forms of poker have been developed including straight, stud, draw, and community among many others. Two forms of community poker known as Texas hold-em and Omaha have become particularly popular. Online poker has allowed for the explosion of alternate forms of poker and now as many people are able to practice online and the roster of skilled players at any one variation is beginning to explode. Online rankings allow players to know where they stand and they can easily find playing partners of a similar calibre so as to push themselves and learn even more advanced techniques. There are several things that all variations share in common including the use of standard card decks, betting which can either be based on money or for reputation, and the participation of multiple players.
Variations on the rules include how cards are dealt to players, whether they are dealt face up or face down, the role of the dealer, and other variations. Some fun variations such as strip poker have developed where players remove clothes if they lose their bet. Single player variants have also developed for people to play when they don’t have a group. One such variant is video poker in which a player plays against a computer.
By stickystebee
Poker is enjoying remarkable success today with many people picking up this wonderful game and playing both in casinos and online. But poker is definitely not new nor does it describe any one game. Although up for great debate many trace the beginning of a poker-like games to Germany in the 15th century. Although such games involve betting, ranking, and bluffing though it was still far from the modern day forms of the game.