Even though poker is the most played card game in the world, game experts and historians alike are still not sure about where the game actually originates from. In fact, there seem to be as many opinions on the origins of poker, as there are poker expressions.

One of the most common theories about the origin of poker is that card games such as As Nan from Persia, Poque from France, Ganjifa from India and Pochspiel from Germany are the predecessors of the modern version of poker. Nevertheless, it is probably likely that the game of poker derived from even more games than those mentioned above.

The surfacing of the game in the United States has a more straightforward history. It is said that the game of poker was born in New Orleans and on the steamboats traveling up and down the mighty Mississippi. The first real American casino opened in New Orleans in 1822. The casino soon proved to be a really lucrative business venture, and within a few years, men with loads of money and big dreams were building casinos of their own. As a result, New Orleans became the first gambling city in America.

In the beginning poker was played with a 20-card deck, but by the 1830s the modern day deck of 52 cards was introduced to the game. At this time, poker rules were also becoming standardized as actual rule books were being written. People now also started to play cards for a living. But not all of them were either professional or honest gamblers and playing at the casinos could be a dangerous undertaking. A player caught cheating was more often than not shot to death, but the same could happen to a player who the other players though had won too much. As a result of this violence, the game caught the attention of the government in Louisiana, which prohibited poker in 1911. However, the law was never enforced and casinos continued to flourish. Even today, New Orleans is a popular city among gamblers of all calibers.

But it was not only in the New Orleans region that the game was popular. By the time the gold rush had struck California in 1849, poker had become a huge hit even there. In fact, countless miners realized that they could get rich playing for gold, instead of mining for it. As a result, every small town soon had at least one saloon or gambling house where men could enjoy a drink, beautiful women and a game of - that's right - poker.

During the 1860s, the Civil War had started to take its toll on the American society. At the same time the popularity of poker skyrocketed, mainly thanks to the fact that soldiers from all over the country came together. The soldiers who knew the game thought it to the others, and then they played it in their quarters to pass the time. The war also brought about significant modifications to the game, such as stud poker, the draw, and the straight. By the end of the war, poker had become America's most popular card game.

As the gold rush in the West continued, San Francisco replaced New Orleans as the gambling capital of America. But trouble was not far behind. Poker games between drunken miners and cowboys often got out of hand and soon gambling became a political issue there as well. In 1909, Nevada became the first western state to outlaw gambling and the state of California followed Nevada's example. In the Sunshine state, however, the anti-gambling laws could not stop draw poker, since it was declared a game of skill. Nevertheless, stud poker became illegal since it was thought to be based on chance. Consequently, draw poker became "the game to play". Later, in 1931, the state of Nevada decided to legalize gambling, making Las Vegas the biggest and absolutely best place to gamble in the entire world. And it still is.

Today, fancy casinos and glitzy poker rooms have taken the old saloons´ place, but the game of poker is still heavily regulated by gambling laws. However, the game itself is basically the same, except it is now also a huge sporting event with tournaments all around the globe. It even has its own World Series.

Much thanks to the World Poker Tour, the game of poker has managed to reach a whole new level as well. It attracts people from all walks of life and offers the amazing chance to win the largest monetary winnings of any sporting event in the entire United States. And due to the increased media coverage of poker tournaments and the opportunity to play online poker, the interest for poker is higher than any other time in history. Poker players are now big-time celebrities, poker strategy books are bestsellers, and online poker rooms among the most popular sites on the Net.