{"id":160121,"date":"2025-02-21T10:52:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinpoker.com\/?p=160121"},"modified":"2025-02-21T10:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:58:20","slug":"who-invented-poker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinpoker.com\/who-invented-poker\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Invented Poker? The Game\u2019s Origins and Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever wondered who invented poker and where it comes from? Many poker fans before you have asked the same questions and found no clear answer. While poker is a simple game to learn, its origins are deeply complex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of people around the world play poker, but that doesn\u2019t mean they know where it came from. For that reason, we\u2019re embarking on a journey into the past to find out who invented poker, when it was first played, and how it became the beloved game we all know today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Poker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the word \u201cpoker\u201d comes up in conversation, most people think of Texas Hold\u2019em. While that type of poker is the most popular variation, many other games fall under the umbrella term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poker is a name used to describe dozens of different card games, all of which share a number of similarities. Any card game with multiple betting rounds, the ability to bluff, and played with a standard deck of playing cards falls into the category of poker games. While poker rules<\/a> differ from one game to another, the general goal is mostly the same, and the ways of accomplishing it are fairly similar. A few popular ones include Texas Hold\u2019em, Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud, 2-7 Triple Draw, Five Card Draw, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practically all poker variants, players take turns making bets on sets of cards, some or all of which are hidden from others. Players typically bet big when they have strong poker hands, but can also do so when they are bluffing to force opponents out of the game<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented Poker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, who invented poker, and where did the game come from? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians differ on their answers. Some connect poker with games played by the ancient Chinese, well before the new era. Others believe the 16th-century Persian game of As Nas to be the true predecessor to poker. However, most agree that Poque, a 17th-century French game created among nobles, is the most modern relative to modern poker. In Germany, the game was also adopted in the 1500s and called Pochen, with both originally deriving from a Spanish game known as Primero. This was the first known game that clearly included the concept of bluffing, a key element of poker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From France, the game traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in the early 19th century, where it became popular in the colony of New Orleans. Its popularity increased during the Civil War, and it eventually made its way back to Europe in a form more similar to modern poker games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Invented Texas Hold\u2019em Poker?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But who invented the most popular variant of poker? The game of Texas Hold\u2019em Poker<\/a> is by far the most beloved poker version, and you might be able to guess where it came from. As the name suggests, Texas Hold\u2019em Poker was invented in the state of Texas. The Texas Legislature recognizes the town of Robstown as the official birthplace of Texas Hold\u2019em, although the exact inventor remains anonymous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we will probably never know who invented Texas Hold\u2019em Poker, we do know it was Felton \u201cCorky\u201d McCorquodale who first brought it to Las Vegas. After becoming popular in Las Vegas casinos in the 1960s, Texas Hold\u2019em spread like wildfire, and became known as \u201cthe Cadillac of poker\u201d in the decades to come. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented Omaha Poker?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Texas Hold\u2019em, it is much more clear who invented Omaha poker<\/a>. The game was invented by poker player and marketing expert Robert Turner, who decided Texas Hold\u2019em simply wasn\u2019t exciting enough. He added two more cards to drive action and introduced the game to his friends in the casino circles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He first brought Omaha poker to Las Vegas in 1982 and introduced it to the owners of the Golden Nugget Casino. They loved the game and offered it as Nugget Poker. A few years later, Turner introduced the game to the California casinos as well, and it quickly became one of the most popular poker variations in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented Poker Cards?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The history of playing cards used to deal poker<\/a> today spans far into the ancient past. Since ancient playing cards used to be made out of materials like wood, ivory, and paper, historians struggle to find intact examples after hundreds of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most scholars agree that modern cards have their roots in ancient China, although the cards used by the Tang Dynasty members were significantly different than the ones we use today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first written record that clearly speaks about playing cards comes from a German monk Johannes, who wrote about them in 1377.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exact origin of playing cards is a highly debated topic, but it is clear that the \u201cLatin suits\u201d we use today were invented in the 14th century by European nobles. In the early days, all playing cards were hand-crafted, which made them works of art.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented Poker Chips?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Modern casino chips were invented relatively recently, but people have been gambling with items representing value for centuries. Archeological findings indicate that even prehistoric people gambled with stones of different colors, and more recent history shows a variety of items known as \u201ccounters,\u201d which were used in various gambling games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counters were introduced to allow players to settle up their bets in items of actual value after the game, which eventually lead to the creation of first real poker chips. Such chips were invented in the 1800s by the early casinos in the USA and Europe, and were made of wood and metal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dimensions and shapes of chips have changed over the years. It was eventually decided that round chips work best. Modern poker chips maintain a round shape, with materials like plastic and clay usually used in their manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented Online Poker?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We have talked about who invented poker, but what about online poker? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online poker games<\/a> are massively popular today, but they didn\u2019t exist a few decades ago. However, it wasn\u2019t long after the advent of the internet that the first online poker sites also launched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1997, a site called Planet Poker was founded by Randy Blumer and endorsed by Mike Caro, a known figure in the poker community. Shortly after Planet Poker, Paradise Poker also opened its doors, and quickly amassed two million users to play poker games over the internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early internet was not the safest place for real money games, but millions of players signed up from around the world regardless. It did not take too long for other poker sites like PartyPoker, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker to join the fray, and online poker as we know it today was born. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Who Invented GTO Poker?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Game theory optimal (GTO) poker strategy<\/a> is all the rage these days, but GTO is not limited to poker. It\u2019s based on mathematical principles that date back to the 1950s and applied in plenty of other places. Game theory was invented by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern. It was an attempt to use mathematics to solve competitive games, and it was a massive success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2006 book by Bill Chen popularized a game theory optimal approach to poker called \u201cThe Mathematics of Poker,\u201d which dug deep into the ideas of GTO. Over the next decade, poker players looked for ways to apply GTO to poker and eventually created poker solvers to create optimal solutions for poker hands and create a poker strategy that other players could not exploit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, GTO is not a magic bullet for all poker situations, but it has become a sort of road map to unexploitable play (especially for high-stakes games).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Poker\u2019s Timeline: From Its Origins to Present Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The game of poker has evolved through different stages over the centuries. From early games like Poque and Pochen, over the first poker variations in American colonies, to modern poker, it\u2019s been an epic journey filled with tales and legends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a dive into the history of poker and find out how it changed over the centuries, who impacted it the most, and how it became the global phenomenon it is today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Does the Word Poker Come From?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The word \u201cpoker” is used to describe a number of card games today, but where did it originally come from? Two main theories indicate the game got its name either from French Poque or German Pochen, two games that are similar to poker and are considered its predecessors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German name Pochen came from a word that roughly translated into \u201cto brag about bluffing,\u201d which is what original poker was all about. The word was adapted in different nations that adopted the game, but the idea of bluffing your opponent and revealing the trick to onlookers remains universal\u2014even today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poker From the 19th to the 21st Century<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The game of poker rose to prominence in the 19th century when French colonists brought it with them to the New World. There, the French game Poque became popular and soon spread across America and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a look at the historical progression of poker\u2019s worldwide spread:<\/p>\n\n\n\n