Poker is a popular
card game which has become increasingly known for its
high-stakes betting and has been popularized through
extensive television and media coverage of the World
Series of Poker, held each year in Las Vegas
It is believed that the
modern version of poker originated by the early or
mid-1700's, and spread throughout the Mississippi River
region by 1800. The game is played in a variety of forms,
with 52 cards, and includes both straight poker and stud
poker. The development and growing popularity of poker is
linked to the the invention of commercial gambling. As
casinos and legalized gambling grew in acceptance and
popularity in the United States, so to did the game of
poker, with its attendant betting and wagering, gain
increased acceptance. Nowadays, playing games such as
poker or bingo
online has become
wildly popular since the invention of the
internet.
An English actor, Joseph
Crowell, reported in his memoirs of a game played in New
Orleans in 1829, involving a deck of 20 cards, with four
players betting on which player's hand was most valuable,
described the spread of the game from there to the rest
of the country by Mississippi riverboats, on which
gambling was a common pastime. As it spread north along
the Mississippi River and to the West during the gold
rush, it is thought to have become a part of the frontier
pioneer ethos.
Soon after this spread,
the full 52-card English deck was used and the flush was
introduced. The draw was added prior to 1850 (when it was
first mentioned in print in a handbook of games). During
the American Civil War, many additions were made
including stud poker (the five-card variant), and the
straight. Further American developments followed, such as
the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker
(around 1900), and community card poker games (around
1925).
The game and jargon of
poker have become important parts of American culture and
English culture. Such phrases and clichés as ace
in the hole, ace up one's sleeve, beats me, blue chip,
call one's bluff, cash in, high roller, pass the buck,
poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the poker chips
are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday
conversation, even by those unaware of their origins at
the poker table.
Poker
Website Reviews:
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Download is a great place to start this search for
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PokerStars
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registration instructions and the ability to play
poker in a safe and reliable online environment.
Poker Player
Biographies:
Peter Eastgate
Scotty Nguyen
Peter Helmuth
Chris Ferguson
Poker News and
Updates:
Bubble
trouble for amateurs at World Series of Poker--USA
Today, July 13, 2009
2009
WSOP Special Update: ‘All In and a Call!’ Rules
as Main Event Bubble Bursts--Pokernews.com, July 11,
2009
Poker Links and
Resources:
ESPN
Poker Blog
