Art, obsession, and identity
A popular leisure pursuit in 16th- century Spain and Italy, primero was a gambling card game of which the earliest reference dates back to 1526. Primero featured three cards dealt to each player and bluffing—or betting high on poor cards—as a key part of the game.
The French called their game poque, which caught on in the 17th century.
Meanwhile, the German equivalent was known as pochen. Pictured are fragments of 16th-century playing cards.
Actually, five-card and later seven-card stud were variants largely spread by the US military. Pictured are Confederate soldiers enjoying a game of poker and a drink at their camp site.
It was French colonialists who imported the game of poque into their settlements in North America. This included New Orleans, which became part of the United States as a result of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
Twenty-odd years later, 1st Air Cavalry Division soldiers are seen playing poker during a break in operations in Vietnam, in December 1967.
Inevitably, perhaps, poker made its way into the saloons of the Old West in the 1870s and 1880s, especially those situated in newly-inhabited frontier settlements.
In 1871, poker finally crossed the Atlantic after Queen Victoria overheard a US envoy to England explaining the rules of the game to members of her court. Intrigued, she asked him for more details. The game was slow to pick up in Britain, but in this 1874 Prince Leopold (second from left), the youngest son of Queen Victoria, is seen likely playing poker at Oxford, although the group appear unaware of the social etiquette surrounding the game.
Poker's nearest British equivalent had been an 18th-century card game known as brag, the national representative of the vying or "bluffing" family of gambling games and itself a descendant of primero.
As poker flourished in the South, so too did the emergence of gambling riverboats. Commercial steamboat crews had already adopted the game as a way to pass the time during long voyages on the Mississippi, thus spreading the game out of New Orleans upstream to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile back in the United States, those too old to be sent to Europe very often ended up joining a round of poker in their local saloon, as these old timers are doing as the bar tender and others look on.
In the more civilized settings of America's big cities such as New York, poker was often played in the refined and gilded surroundings of gentlemen's clubs. The card game and its sophisticated environment inspired the 1878 composition 'That Game of Poker,' the sheet music cover image of which depicts a game being played in said style.
One year later, in 1875, a significant development refined the game in the United States—the creation of the wild card known as the joker. These cards have no suit, and they traditionally feature a character dressed as a court jester or clown. Early versions, though, featured a blank face. There are often two extra joker cards included in a deck of cards and when a player draws a wild card, they can designate it to stand for any card of their choice. Wild cards are not generally used in modern casino poker games or poker tournaments, but remain popular in home games or online games.
The American Civil War (1861–1865) witnessed poker become a staple pastime for soldiers relaxing between engagements. It's around this time, the mid-19th century, that numerous additions were made to the game. The aforementioned five-card stud variant appeared during the war, and is probably being played by this small group of soldiers of the 56th Massachusetts pictured at their camp.
In the early 1950s, poker was still a game played mostly at home or in bars and backrooms, often illegally. But by the middle of the decade the game suddenly had a permanent home: Las Vegas!
The development of poker is intrinsically linked to the historical movement that also saw the invention of commercial gambling. In Las Vegas, casinos had been operating in "Sin City" since the early 20th century (Golden Gate originally opened as the Hotel Nevada in 1901). The famous Golden Nugget was inaugurated in 1946. And in 1951 Binion's Horseshoe opened. It's this casino that is forever associated with poker in Las Vegas.
Texas-born gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer Benny Binion established several illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the late 1930s. In 1951, after relocating to Las Vegas, he purchased the Eldorado Club and the Apache Hotel, opening them as Binion's Horseshoe Casino. Binion is pictured in 1957 inside Dallas County Jail during one of his many run-ins with law enforcement.
In 1970, inspired by what he had seen take place in Reno, Binion hosted the first World Series of Poker at his Las Vegan casino.
Binion would ultimately create the most prestigious card game tournament on the planet, the World Series of Poker. However, the idea of hosting a world championship poker tournament was actually conceived by two other men, Tom Moore and Vic Vickrey. Moore was part-owner of the Holiday Casino in Reno (pictured). Vickrey was a gambling insider. In 1969, they jointly invited several poker aficionados to Reno to attend the first (and what turned out to be only) Texas Gamblers Reunion.
In 1973, CBS Sports televised the World Series of Poker for the first time. The broadcast brought poker into the living rooms of millions of Americans. Binion's Horseshoe Casino (pictured in 1975) continued to host the tournament until 2005. Today, the annual tournament is held at the Rio Hotel and Casino, located just off the Las Vegas Strip.
Arguably the most celebrated movie to deal with poker as a central theme is 'The Cincinnati Kid.' Steve McQueen is the titular character who takes on veteran card shark Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson).
Sean Connery famously introduced himself as "Bond, James Bond" in a casino setting in 'Dr. No' (1962). But it's Daniel Craig's 007 that endured the most nail-biting poker game in movie history, sitting at the table in 'Casino Royale.'
Real-life poker aficionado Matt Damon costarred alongside Edward Norton in this drama about the underworld world of high-stakes poker. The term 'rounder,' incidentally, refers to a person traveling around from city to city seeking premium buy-in card games.
'Molly's Game' tells the true story of Molly Bloom, who ran an underground poker empire for Hollywood celebrities, athletes, and business tycoons. Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, and Kevin Costner head the cast.
Sources: (History) (Curious Mind Magazine) (Smithsonian Magazine) (Las Vegas Sun) (Gambling History) (AwardsWatch)
See also: Movie that deal with gambling
Poker has never been a game for the faint of heart, but it is for those strong of mind. It's a game of strategy where bluff plays a key role. Poker also examines how much of life is chance. It's these human factors that perhaps make it so appealing to military types. In this rare color photograph taken during Pacific Ocean operations, crewmen relax by playing a game of poker in the cramped quarters of the USS New Mexico, around 1944.
It wasn't until the outbreak of the First World War that poker enjoyed widespread popularity across the continent. This is largely thanks to the influx of American soldiers deployed to countries like France and Belgium and who would jump at the chance of gambling away a few bucks during periods of rest and relaxation.
According to some card game historians, poker as we know it has ancient roots that date as far back as the 10th century, when it was played as a domino-card game by the Chinese emperor Mu Tsung. However, this is not the only origin story for the game of poker.
Soon, English-speaking settlers in the region anglicized poque to "poker." By the 1830s, features we recognize today in the modern game were adopted, such as five cards for each player and the full 52-card deck.
In this 1850 illustration, four players are engaged in draw poker, one of the game's three main classifications. The draw was in fact added prior to 1850 (when it was first mentioned in print in a handbook of games). Stud poker, such as five-card stud, and community poker, are also included in this family.
The card game has its celebrity fans. Ben Affleck (pictured) is one of the most famous poker players in Hollywood. Actress Jennifer Tilley has also found fame at the table. And you'll often see the likes of Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire trying their hand.
The game of poker has served cinema and television well. 'Maverick' (1957–1962) saw James Garner portray an articulate poker-playing gunslinger who plied his game on riverboats and in saloons across the Old West.
Here, soldiers from the 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry are pictured engrossed in their game.
As poker became more accepted across Europe, it was increasingly common to find men (women card players were still very rare) playing poker in pubs and inns. This 1900 image depicts three German working men playing the game in a bar in Frankfurt.
Poker is one of the most popular card games on the planet. In fact, according to the World Poker Tour (WPT), there are around 60 million poker players in the United States alone and more than 100 million worldwide. A game of strategy where bluff plays a key role, poker is not for the faint of heart. But for those able to hold their nerve, the financial rewards can be astonishing. And here's the big deal: poker's origins date back centuries!
Click and shuffle through for a brief history of this complex casino game.
The big deal behind the origins of poker
Did you know that one of the most popular casino games in the world dates back centuries?
LIFESTYLE History
Poker is one of the most popular card games on the planet. In fact, according to the World Poker Tour (WPT), there are around 60 million poker players in the United States alone and more than 100 million worldwide. A game of strategy where bluff plays a key role, poker is not for the faint of heart. But for those able to hold their nerve, the financial rewards can be astonishing. And here's the big deal: poker's origins date back centuries!
Click and shuffle through for a brief history of this complex casino game.