One of the most popular card games that have held public interest through the centuries is poker. Played live in a casino or online, poker has several variants to suit individual tastes and risk tolerance. Poker is a popular card game that requires players to place bets on the value of the “hand” that is the combination of cards that they hold. The bet has to be put into a common pool and the one with the highest value of hands is considered the winner.
Poker has originated from different places globally. Though the exact history is debatable, it is believed that the German game Pochspiel is the forerunner of poker. This is said to be similar to as nas, a Persian card game. It is said that the name originated from the German ‘Pochen’, French ‘Poque” or the Irish ‘Poca’ In 1829, the game was played with a deck of 20 cards with four players betting, which later spread to using a 52 card English deck. Flush was also introduced then.
Many variants were introduced over the years with different rules, the number of cards dealt and varying stakes. Draw poker, stud poker, community card etc are some of the most popular poker variants. Each of these has several sub variants like anaconda, draft, Chicago, five card draw and many more. The most popular online poker variant are draw poker, triple draw, Texas Hold’em, Omaha, five and seven card stud, razz and crazy pineapple among others. Hands may be formed and bets may be placed depending on the variant being played. While each game of poker follows a similar pattern of play, each game has its own set of rules.
Poker speaks its own language which an ardent poker player needs to be familiar with. Familiar phrases and clichés like an ace up one’s sleeve, poker face, pass the buck, wild card, blue chip, stack up, when the chips are down, ace in the hole etc are all part of the poker lingo that have found their way into regular English usage.
At the onset of the 21st century, the game’s popularity shot up thanks to the introduction of online poker that one can play on the internet as well as on the mobile phone. The hole-card camera turned the game into a spectator sport, allowing viewers to follow the action and drama of the game. Cable and satellite TV has brought Poker tournaments like World Poker Tour and World series of Poker right into the living room, thereby garnering a lot of audience participation and advertisements.
Buy on Dealtime:
