First what is Texas Hold’em: Texas hold ’em (or simply hold ’em or holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. It is the most popular poker variant played in casinos in the western United States, and its no-limit form is used in the main event of the World Series of Poker (abbreviated WSOP), widely recognized as the world championship of the game.
The history of Texas Hold’em poker is something that has been disputed over. Most people believe that the history of Texas Hold’em and the game of poker began in 900 A.D. China. It was the Chinese people who invented the rudiments of the game.
Based on this version of poker history, Texas Hold’em is most probably derived from the Chinese game of dominoes. Emperor Mu-tsung of China was said to be a fan of the “domino cards” as once, according to history, he was reported to have played the game (that supposedly spawned Texas Hold’em) with his wife on New Year’s Eve, 969 A.D.
Archeological digs led to the discovery of fragments of cards that are a lot similar to the cards used in Texas Hold’em in Egypt. Their findings made a great impact on the history of Texas Hold’em. The fragments that the scientists found reportedly dated back to the 12th or 13th century. But as hazy as the history of Texas Hold’em is, the history of cards are even more unspecific. A few people believe that the modern cards used in Texas Hold’em originated from Ganjifa, an Indian card game.
Some people believe that the history of Texas Hold’em originates from the game “as nas.” This 5-player game that supposedly gave birth to Texas Hold’em is Persian in origin. Unlike the modern cards used in Texas Hold’em, as nas requires a special deck comprised of 25 cards with 5 suits. But some people dispute this claim on the history of Texas Hold’em since the only recorded account of the Persian as nas dates back to the 17th century.
The French version of the history of Texas Hold’em by far holds the greatest authentic aspects. The French “poque” (the word is incidentally closely related to “poker”) was brought to New Orleans in 1480. Poque, like Texas Hold’em, involves skills on bluffing and betting. The deck of cards used in poque consisted of spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs – similar to that used in the modern Texas Hold’em poker game.
The history of Texas Hold’em poker in the United States maintains a lot more consistency. The rudiments of Texas Hold’em (the game “poque”) were brought to New Orleans by the French settlers. From New Orleans, the history of Texas Hold’em follows the steamboat trail up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The early Texas Hold’em game then spread all over the different states by wagon at first, and then later on, by train.
The history of Texas Hold’em played a minor role during the Civil War. The game underwent several modifications during this time – stud poker, draw poker (the true origin of Texas Hold’em), and straight poker. In 1875, European input on the history of Texas Hold’em ended with the introduction of the wild card, called “the joker.”
David Mclauchlan has a great variety of Gambling related articles for you at his Gambling Directory. Visit it now at www.Gambling-Article-Directory.com.
