Online Poker Guide

The game of poker is one of the most engaging games in the world, with international appeal and a constantly growing following of loyal players who enjoy this game that is based on luck of the cards but requires a great deal amount of skill in order to win with the hand that was dealt.

The game of poker can be played as a gambling game or simply enjoyed as a challenging game that is both fun and engaging, and is offered in many different variants. In fact the game of poker is no longer considered the single game of poker, but rather is referred to as poker; a family of card games.

The exact origin of the game is unsubstantiated with some claiming it is a direct descendent of the Persian game As Nas, while others claim it is derived from the French game of Poque.

More modern gaming historians claim that is inconsequential from which exact game Poker originated and that it could have been inspired by a number of different card games.

The reason modern gaming historians find the source of the card game irrelevant as they stress that poker is a unique game with a special structure of betting that cannot be found in any other game. According to their view the modern gambling game of poker has its roots at the Mississippi River gambling boats and owes its rise in popularity to the development of commercial gambling.

Throughout the 19th and 20th century the game developed and had many different variants invented, all following the same principal of a player aiming to obtain the best ranking poker hand or at least obtain a better ranked poker hand than the opponents, or being able to create a pretense of having a high ranking hand in order to scare other players from betting further.

In 1970's the rise in land casinos has propelled the game's popularity and the introduction of poker tournaments in casinos started drawing great crowds of new players and spectators.

The new millennium ushered in a new era in poker popularity thanks to the growing interest in online poker and how accessible it makes the game to everyday people, and together with the invention of the hole-card cameras that enabled television viewer to see the cards players are holding; poker became one of the most popular gambling games and it is constantly referenced in films, books and television shows as a cool gambling game that is for serious strategic players.