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The History Of Poker Page 2

There is a well known story about a young man from Natchez who sat down for a game of poker with a group of cheats on a Mississippi steam boat.  Unbeknownst to the young man, the group was actively colluding against him.  Soon he was relieved of a very large sum of money.  Miserable and oblivious to the fact that he’d just been swindled, the young man left the card room with the intention of throwing himself from the boat to drown in the river.  Luckily, a stranger intervened and convinced the young man to accompany him back to the card room.  The stranger joined the group of con artists in their game and quickly ascertained that they were in fact cheating.  In the middle of a hand, he pulled out a very large and very wicked looking knife while grabbing one of the men’s hands shouting “Show your hand!  If it contains more than five cards I shall kill you!”  He roughly jerked the cheater’s wrist and six cards fell onto the table.  The stranger then returned to the young man the money he had lost.  Amazed, the young man asked of the stranger “Who the devil are you, anyway?”  The stranger responded “I’m James Bowie.”  The commander of the Alamo, famous for the very knife he displayed during the card game.        

During the late 1800’s a game of poker could be found in every saloon and tavern across the Wild West as pioneers rushed west in search of gold.  It was at this time that Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and many others became famous.  During this period a poker player not only needed to play well, but had to be quick with a six-shooter well.  Many a game of poker turned into an outright brawl, often times with several players ending up shot to death on the card room’s floor.  The towns of Tombstone and Deadwood were renowned for their gunfights over card games.

It was around this time that the deck evolved into the 52 card deck that we know today. It was also during this time that the “flush” was added to the game.  During the American Civil War many additions to the game were made including the “straight,” as well as stud and draw poker.  The years 1875-1900 brought the addition of the wild card, split-pot, and low ball poker.  It wasn’t until 1925 that community card games such as Texas Hold’em arose.  Texas Hold’em didn’t become popular until 1970 when the World Series Of Poker spotlighted the game as their centerpiece, calling it “The Cadillac Of Poker.”

Only recently has internet poker hit the scene.  The early 1990’s saw the rise of online casinos, but it wasn’t until 1998 that online poker became viable.  Planet Poker appeared in 1998 and was the first online card room where you could play for real money against live players.  Paradise Poker soon entered the market in 1999 where it dominated the field for several years.  In 2001 both Party Poker and Poker Stars entered the fray, making a big impact upon the online poker scene.  In 2003 Party Poker began its television advertising blitz, spending millions of dollars which skyrocketed it to the head of the pack where it remains today.  It was during this time in 2004 when Chris Moneymaker entered the World Series Of Poker after winning his seat at a $40 online tournament at Poker Stars.  Amazingly, not only did Chris Moneymaker knock Johnny Chan out of the tournament, he won the entire thing beating out 839 entrants and taking home $2.5 million.  This act single handedly propelled internet poker into the mainstream media.  Poker enthusiasts world wide began to think that if an amateur like Chris Moneymaker could win the World Series Of Poker, then perhaps they had a chance as well.  Larger coverage of poker on ESPN and other networks followed and the industry’s revenue more than tripled. 

As it stands today, Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular card games played throughout the world.  It is the most popular poker game played in casinos and online.  From its humble roots in China, France, and Germany, poker has come a long way both literally and figuratively.  It will be interesting to see if poker retains its current popularity and to watch how the game evolves in the future.

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