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When anyone thinks of the game of
poker, their first image is
usually of a big party of men in a dingy room filled with cigar smoke
playing around a round table. With many famous films using this iconic
imagery with stars like Brando in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ it is no
surprise that these ideas have become central to the reputation of the
game. Poker nowadays is enjoying a real renaissance in the form of
Internet gambling. Despite a relatively late introduction to the world
of the online casino, the first poker room was established in 1998
four years after the first casino was opened, it is now making up for
that lost time. Online poker is now amongst the most downloaded
software on the net. Some of this popularity is due to the publicity
generated by the incredible winnings gambling newcomer Chris
Moneymaker walked away with when he won the first live poker
tournament, beating 834 entrants worldwide.
Taking in to account these developments it is
incredible to be able to trace back the origins of the game to a
sixteenth century Persian game called ‘As Nas’. This was a game using
five suits and twenty-five cards in a set-up quite similar to
five-card stud poker. As with most popular card games, it was when
this European invention made its way into America with the many
immigrants that it began to develop into the game we know today. The
breeding ground was nineteenth century New Orleans, which was filled
at this time with spectators and travellers, the perfect risk-taking
people to develop poker. After a period of freedom and acceptance
these frontier towns began to settle into a social structure and
gambling began to lose favour and was eventually forced onto the
steamboats that chugged up and down the Mississippi river. Card games
like poker were the most popular games onboard the boats, as they
didn’t involve heavy equipment like the roulette wheels. From this
point on the image of these steamboats carrying cheating cardsharps
has stayed with the game of poker.
The rules of the game have evolved significantly over
time with early versions only involving one round of betting. With
only five cards dealt and no draw, the opportunities to make profits
were not so apparent as modern-day poker. By introducing the ‘draw’,
‘wild cards’ and ‘bluffing’ to the strategies, there were instantly
more chances to cheat as well as more room for skill and that is where
so much of the appeal lies. The rules are not too difficult to grasp
but there is a real art to being a good player.
‘Texas Hold-em’ is considered to be the most popular
of the many forms of poker, which can differ slightly in their rules
and strategy. The dealer deals two cards face down to each player and
then three cards face up, then a fourth card down to the table and
finally a fifth card down. These last five cards dealt are called
‘community cards’ and all players have access to them. The idea of
this game is to make the best poker hand out of any five of those
seven cards. The different hands are ranked combinations of suits and
sequences of numbers and it is the highest hand that wins and takes
the pot. Players can choose to bet, check, fold, call, raise as the
game progresses around the table until the final showdown reveals the
best hand. Winner takes all but for the rake, which is a percentage
share for the house.
The Internet has hundreds of websites dedicated to
the game and all its many forms. There are opportunities to play for
free and for vast amounts of money, to play for enjoyment and to play
in tournaments and competitions. The opportunities for this game are
as limitless as the net itself since Pokers explosion onto the online
scene in the millennium.
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