The origins of poker strategy are obscure.

While

some historians trace it back to the ancient China and Egypt, others

claim that Indian Ganjifa cards are the precursor to the game. Still

others trace it back to Spain, France and Germany.

But in the United States, poker is said

to have originated in the East, with Washington DC being the capital

back in the 18th century. It was then referred to as the

“cheating game” and was referred to as such by Jonathan Green, who

was among the first historians of the game.

The card game, which essentially depends

on hand rankings and betting, then spread West during the gold rush

and American Civil War on the river boats of the Mississippi. The game

then travelled in horse carriages and in wagon trains, coast to coast,

and as it did, it evolved. There were changes in the number and composition

of the deck but the rules remained essentially the same.

It is from this era that the game was

imprinted with classic images of smoky saloons, being played by gamblers

and loggers and gunslingers.

But little is known about the export

of the game to England. And it was thanks to an inadvertent comment

made by the American ambassador to an English duchess that the game

gained popularity and then notoriety in the United Kingdom.

Robert Schenck, a lawyer and general,

is credited with taking the game across the Atlantic, from America to

England. In fact, the English were the first Europeans to play the game.

Schenck was a trusted aide of President

Abraham Lincoln and played a part in helping him get elected as President

in 1860. In return for the favour, Lincoln sent Schenck as ambassador

to England.

He arrived in England in 1871 during

boom time there and when gambling was at its height. It was at a grand

ball that Schenck was asked about the game by an English duchess, who

eventually asked him to write down the rules of poker so she could play!

Poker hasn’t changed much since the

mid-19th century but the medium has. It’s still played

with a deck of cards, and fortunes are still made and lost. But the

game has since moved out of smoky saloons to glitzy and garish casinos

and card rooms. And from there, thanks to the proliferation of the Internet,

to the online version of the game.

The first poker site was launched as

recently as 1998. It was called Planet Poker, a site that was to be

eaten up by the bigger players in about a year. But the site will always

go down in history for evolving the rake structure that is still used

today.

The game got a shot in the arm in 2000

with the launch of Poker Spot, which was promoted by champion Dutch

Boyd. Poker Spot was the first online poker room to conduct tournaments.

Shortly thereafter, television jumped

onto the poker bandwagon and began covering the main tournaments. This

went a long way towards making poker the game it is today.