The Origins of Poker

Poker did not just appear on the scene, it evolved.

Although poker began to develop before the introduction of cards, a closer look at the introduction will give us a better indication as to when the game began to truly evolve.

The earliest form of gambling was Knuckle-Bone, or astragalus. Instead of cards, they used a squarish bone, removed from deer, or sheep ankles. Knuckle-Bone can be dated as far back as 3,500 BC. Discovered on Egyptian tomb paintings and other important archaeological finds such as vases, showing Egyptian youths throwing bones into a circle. Closely attributed to the dice game, Knuckle-Bone can still be considered the starting point of poker. The game of Poker is merely an adaption of a variety of Knuckle-Bone variations.

Paper was first introduced in 95 BC, but was first reported by Ts'ai Lun, an Imperial Court Official to the Chinese Emperor 200 years later. It took a further 800 years before we saw the first inkling of the game we know today.

The Chinese word pái is used to describe both gaming blocks and paper playing cards. From china, we can see Knuckle-Bone took two directions, from its closest cousin, the dice games then onto card games, eventually creating the initial foundations for poker.

The heartland of China, with their strong nationalist views ensured very little information came out of the country. It wasn't until the 16th century, early versions of poker began to appear in Europe. This introduction was due to a push by Southeast Asians pursuing international trade domination, through a interspersed trading network.

The chinese migration takes us on to the first known version of poker in Europe, Primero. The game introduced the hands, pairs, three of a kind and flushes. From this point people can argue the true origins of the game.

• 900- China: The first known deck of cards printed was the Chinese Domino Deck. These cards directly evolved from the dice game. This is known due to the fact that all 21 dice combinations were used. These cards were printed during the T’ang dynasty.
• 1100- China: The earliest known form of the four deck playing cards was developed in China. Like today, these cards, known as money cards had four suits. These cards were also numbered, represented as Greek symbols, or ideograms. Many argue that these cards were introduced as a form of currency but were the foundations for the four decked set of playing cards.
• 1550 - Italy & France: Poker can be traced back to the old Italian game Primero, also the French game of Gilet. These games saw the development of our modern hands, the pairs, three of a kind and flushes.The game, Gilet, later became known as Brelin during Charles IX reign from 1500-1574. Brelin gradually evolved into Bouillotte. It became increasingly popular during the French revolution.
  
• 1700 - 1800: France, Germany, UK & India: In the UK the game 5 card brag developed, introducing the element of bluffing. At the same time Pochen (German), and Poque (French) were also in their development stages. Many historians believe the name Poker came from the French game Poque but there are other references of the german game Pochspiel. Some consider the word to be taken from the Hindi term, pukka.
• 1790 - North America: Persian sailors introduced the game to French settlers in the New Orleans. This version was Âs, a direct descendent of the ancient Persian game, Âs Nas. The French used the term "poque" for betting, calling and raising. Previously the French had used this term in their game of Poque. By combining the words "Âs" and "Poque," the game soon became known as "Poqas." With the aid of the Southern dialect, the term "Poqas" was pronounced as "Pokah". It was later pronounced "Poker" in the Northern states. Many believe the name poker derived from pickpocket slang for dipping a persons pockets, "to poker ones pockets." Card cheats used the 20 card game to "poke one from his money."
• 1829 - New Orleans: One of the earliest references to the term Poker can be found in the diary of the English actor/comedian Joseph Crowell. Although attributing the name "Poker", to Henry Clay, it is unlikely to be the case, simply that Clay was such an impressive player and the game was new to Crowell. He summarized that the game was based on the English game, Brag. Henry Clay played on the notorious high-stakes poker game on the New Orleans bound steamboat, Helen M'Gregor in 1829. The game consisted of 4 players with 5 cards each. Each player took it in turns to bet on who had the most valuable hand. Poker moved up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and eventually moved inwards due to the development of the newly built railroads.
• 1834 - The "Cheating Game": One of the earliest written references to poker was by Jonathan H. Green. He knew the game as the "cheating game," played on the Mississippi riverboats. It then dawned on him that the game he was describing, was infact the game of poker. His description of the game suggests that only the aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens were in play. The game was later developed by the cardsharps and the standard 52 card deck was introduced, along with the flush. During the Civil War, further developments to our modern game became visible in the form of stud poker, card draws and straights.
• 1872 - The Queen on Poker: Robert C. Schenck, the U.S. minister to Great Britain, took the game back to Queen Victoria's members of the court. At a royal party in Somerset, he introduced a set of written rules on Poker. The book was the first of its kind.
• 1875 - Jackpot Poker: The joker was introduced in 1875. This is where Europe's contribution to the game ended. Further development of the game returned to America. Jackpot Poker was a draw game with the minimum requirement of Jacks or Better to open play. A buck handled knife was used to indicate the dealer. This is where the term "passing the buck" originates.
• 1903 - Split-Pot / Low Ball: The poker version Split-pot/low ball was introduced in 1903.
• 1909 - Bill against Fools: Two assemblymen, Lyles and Coran, from Missouri brought in a bill in 1909, to the state legislature, to monitor and license poker players, to stop millions of hard earned dollars being wiped out annually by incompetent idiots, who did not understand poker hand values.
• 1911 - Boom of Draw Games: Harold Sigel Webb, California's attorney general made a ruling in 1911 that Closed poker, now referred to as draw poker was a skill game, as a result, was outwith anti gambling laws. Webb also concludes that open poker, now known as stud poker was illegal due to it being a game of chance. This new ruling enhanced the development of new draw games and more use of the wild card. These styles of games grew steadily during the first and second world wars.
• 1938 - Britain's Prohibition: In the 16th century Britain introduce a set of rigid gaming laws, many of which are still in operation today. In 1938, the Lord Chief Justice declared that poker was a game of chance. It was not fully legalized in clubs until the 1960's.
• 1950's +: Variations: In the 1960s, poker variations further developed with innovations such as twists (extra draws) and qualifiers (minimum hands to win).
  and qualifying hands.

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