The game of Poker can't be tracked to any certain point in the history of card games. It does have alot of same rules and characteristics as a game called NAS which was played by sailors. The French Canadians who came to New Orleans to help the city settle may have also brought in versions of the game of poker with them. There are how ever traces of the game in the United States. It is said that poker was first played in New Orleans and was a gambling game for people who travelled up the Missisipi. The game that was played then was the 5-card stud. The popularity of the game grew from the saloons along the river and was carried to the heartland by soldiers and frontiersmen who loved to gamble amongst friends. The game went eventually went west in the USA during the Civil War.
It was only after the Civil War that the 7-Stud version of Poker came along. This was a widely more popular version of the game as it produced more opportunities to bet. Today we know this version of poker as Texas Hold'em. And to this very day this format is most popular among poker rooms and players.
The game of Poker broke down the social barriers. It was played by the most rich and elite of the community right down to the commoners. At a game of Poker you could play if you could gamble no matter what your social status was.
As the years progressed even casinos added poker tables to their floors. It was very different from the Texas Hold'em format that the players knew so well. In a casino playing poker was not the same as a group of players playing against each other. The element of skill and deception was completely removed and in the casino you would only be playing for the right draw of cards and not to try and out wit the other players.
And then Poker started to become a sport. Thousands of players started playing poker tournaments against each other with fabulous prizes up for grabs. Eventually the World Series of Poker emerged with the best poker players in the world playing against each other for millions of dollars in prizes.
And eventually dawned the age of the internet. With millions of poker rooms all over the internet. Today we see players of every country, race and gender playing against each other. Breaking down the same social boundries it did hundreds of years ago.
