A couple of years ago, I was new to the game Poker and today as a Poker fanatic I sit across the table, with half the chips I began with and facing the hardest verdict of the night. Do I call or Do I fold? There are so many things to consider, so much at stake.
The rules of playing Poker mainly is perceived as a game of luck, however; when the rules of it are understood, poker is more off a game related to mental, mathematical, and physiological skills.
The game Poker has been around for 200 odd years, but there are some poker online facts which might still blow your mind and give you a little something to think about.
FACT #1: Poker originated from the USA
If the name Texas Hold em’ poker hadn’t already given it away, we are here to tell you that the birthplace of poker was America, specifically, New Orleans. New Orleans. It is not possible to track down the exact location of where the first hand of poker was played, but historians confirm that the game was drafted and developed in the Louisiana area.
FACT #2: The early versions of Poker was played with just 20 cards
The poker we have come to know and adore today is played with a full deck of 52 cards. However, in its early days, poker could be played with just a deck of twenty cards and four players.
The game back then was a little less convoluted, the four players were each dealt five cards and the betting would begin on who had the best hand. Historians say the 52 deck card was first integrated as a whole into the game from the year 1834 onwards.
FACT #3: A game of Poker once lasted nearly eight and a half years
The Bird Cage Theatre in Arizona is said to have been a host to the longest ever poker game that ever lasted. The game supposedly began in 1881 and lasted a staggering eight years, five months and three days. According to the Bird Cage Theatre, the players were all well-known wild west kind of personalities and the minimum buy-in was $1000.
FACT #4: Poker chips and how they came into existence
In the beginning, poker was played for gold nuggets, gold coins and even gold dust. This is when gaming houses and Saloons came up with poker chips. Poker chips used to be made of ivory, bone, clay and wood. They used to have designs on it to depict its value. The coins could be exchanged for real money right at the gaming house pretty much just like how it works in casinos nowadays.
FACT #5: The first poker tournament broadcast
It is not surprising for poker tournaments to be televised all over the globe today, but it was in 1973 that a poker tournament was, for the very first time, televised. The tournament was the world series of Poker which was occurring in Las Vegas.
FACT #6: Poker is the most profitable sport in the world
We are all aware of the fact the other sports players make a lot of money out of their game. But what is less of a known factor is that the top five biggest prizes awarded in super high roller tournaments the sum of these awards sum up to $44,202,738 which makes poker the most fruitful game in the world by a good margin.
FACT #7: UK poker in the Guinness Book
The largest game of poker to have taken place was in Onchan, Isle of Man. There were 225,000 grinders vying for the top $25,000 in June 2013. The tournament hosted by PokerStars had a $1 buy-in.
FACT #8: The evolution of poker
Poker is believed to have evolved from Dominoes and ranked card combinations. It was back in 969 A.D. that Emperor Mu-Tsung is said to have played domino cards with his wife. What’s more interesting is that bluffing was integral to that game and so it is today.
FACT #9: Food for thought
Over 300 million 7 card poker hand combinations exist. The best poker player will not have more than a 5% edge against another good player. Leaning forward or backward is an indication of a strong hand. Bluffers use the ‘eye to eye’ alias staring technique to get you down. Superstitious poker players gamble in dirty clothes. A good way to success, say some of the legends.
Poker is a game where “Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead”.
Anurag Choudhari is the co-founder of Geekenized Technologies LLP, a web development & digital marketing agency that helps various SMBs & SMEs in developing & maintaining their online presence.
