Poker has evolved over more than ten centuries from a lot of games. The key principals of ranked card, domino combinations and bluffing are somehow used in the game.
According to the Chinese, the game of poker was invented in China in 969 AD. It was played by the royals. The Chinese emperor at that time is said to have played a game similar to poker. It was the first and a simple form of poker.
A game similar to poker was also played by the Egyptians in the 12th centuries. It was known as Ganjifa. This game consisted of 96 cards made of thin slices of wood. The Persians are also said to have played a similar game consisting of 25 cards.
The Spanish also played a game named Primero where 3 cards were passed to a player. The French and the germans developed their own versions of games similar to poker from the Spanish primero. Bluffing was an integral part of all these games.
The French took the game to Canada in the 18th century. The game spread to whole of Canada. Jonathan Green has talked about poker in his book on gambling. In the book, we find information about how the game was played at that time. The Europeans spread the game to various countries where they traveled.
Poker became so popular in the United States that a poker tables could be found in nearly every town. During the Civil war, it became even more popular. The joker card was introduced in 1875.
The popularity of poker has increased a lot in the last two centuries. Various variations of the game have been developed in this time. It has become a game in which people spend billions of dollars every year. It is played not only on tables but a large number of people play this game online too.
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