Origin of poker playing is very debated, however recent excavations lend a helping hand to the doubt about its beginnings. Cards in Egypt have been found belonging to the late 12th century, while another school of thought credits India to the land where poker originated. You will discover other pieces of evidence that suggest that poker might not have originated in Egypt or India but within the western world.
Documents maintained since early days within the American civilization show that poker was a lot favoured game with the upper class citizens. Legend has it that the game began in the know New Orleans and spread all the way to Ohio and Mississippi. It was further popularised when extensive rail networks began to develop throughout the land. The game underwent several modifications to be called by nicknames like stud, straight and draw poker which gained fame during the time of the Civil War.
In Europe, the demise of poker was marked as the year the wild card concept was introduced. An example of the wild card was the Joker card and it led to further modification of the poker game. Court ruling in Nevada declared games involving betting as illegal and gamblers may be arrested for getting involved in such acts. California however favoured this game, and gave it legitimate grounds to play the game. Draw poker was favoured because, the player’s skill mattered most and the laws that prevented gambling anywhere in the state were powerless against it. Stud poker was not that favoured as a result of its dependence on luck of the player over his skill. Due to this, draw poker became the nation’s favourite game and Nevada went together with the tide, cancelling the laws that banned the game. It went so far as to legalise gambling in casinos.
From these bits of evidence it can be inferred that the poker game has stood the test of time and is still the people’s favourite. Even though it is a highly modified form which is being played in essence, it is historically rich, with its own set of stories and puzzles.
Along came online poker
During its formative years, only the upper-class men played poker mainly because of the affordibility and placing the high stakes. The commoner was a mere witness to it and also the situation was worse for those who had just begun playing. A person who wished to play poker had to possess a bundle of cash on his person, and a technical information about the game. Even when their probability of winning are nil, they have to keep a straight face in order that they might not give themselves out to the opponent.
Online poker changed the scenario, and is now a force to be reckoned with, seeing the range of participants turning up for the Poker series. The how is behind the expansion of the internet poker game may be conveniently defined. Online poker has the benefit from having a smaller over-head cost, a player can decrease or increase the number of opponents according to his skill. Online poker is also credited as being more user friendly and requires less skills to play. A player’s current status in the game is flashed to him at regular intervals.
Probably the most significant feature in playing poker online, is that there’s absolutely no need to wear a mask and play the game. There isn’t any need to fear about face-reading when your draw is bad or when you are going to win. Since its all done over the software, the potential risks are minimal as the stakes soar high.