- Some say it derived from the Chinese dominoes. And it is said that around 900 A.D. on the eve of New Year, the Chinese emperor Mu-Tsung played domino cards with his wife.
- Some claim that it came from as nas. This seventeenth century Persian game is played using special decks of twenty-five cards with five suits.
- Some swear it is based on the French poque. Poque was played by the French in 1480 who settled in New Orleans. This was a card game that involved betting and having to bluff to win. Some say that it was the first time four colours were used: spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts. But then again there are hundreds of games that use bluffing and betting.
- Historians date card fragments to the 12th or 13th century in Egypt.
- There are others who retort that cards evolved from Ganjifa, an Indian card game.
Numerous other myths and stories make it difficult to pinpoint exactly where poker originated from but we can pinpoint much more accurately the history of poker in the United States.
Poker in America:
In 1834 Jonathan Green was among the first to refer to poker by naming it the cheating game that people played on the riverboats and drudges of Mississippi. He named it poker. According to Jonathan, only the tens, jacks, queens, kings and aces were used. In all only twenty cards were used and each player was dealt 5 cards. In addition, it involved two to four gamblers. Soon poker became the most popular game around the docks and the Mississippi riverboats even surpassing the 3-card Monte.
It spread like dynamite via New Orleans up stream to Ohio and Mississippi. From there wagon and train carried it further on all over the states. Popular modifications such as the straight, the draw and stud poker became well known. In 1875, the introduction of the joker as the wild card ended the European influence.
