History of Texas Holdem Poker - Part 1

Never in the history of poker has it been as popular as it is right now. The most played poker game is definitely Texas Holdem. All over the world people are playing Texas Holdem games and there seems to be no end to the popularity of the game. Especially playing Texas Holdem for free on the internet has became extremely popular in the last couple of years.

Who actually invented this great poker game? Where did it originally come from? And how did free Texas Holdem games end up on the internet?

To answer these questions it is important to trace back the history of poker, to find out where it all began…

History of Poker Theories

There are many different theories about how poker came into this world and their seems to be no real proof of a forerunner of the game. Most theories agree that the game must have been created from several other games.

One of the best known explanations for the origin of Poker is the one that beliefs that Poker came from China around 900 A.D. The Chinese played this variant of poker not with cards (they weren't invented yet), but with dominoes. The Chinese Emperor Mu Tsung introduced a game called 'domino cards' in 969 A.D. which is believed to be the oldest form of poker. Another theory believes that poker was born in India, were the game supposedly comes from the Indian card game of Ganjifa. Ganjifa had 96 painted playing cards and they were used for several different betting games. A game from Germany called 'Pochspiel' is also believed to be a forerunner of the poker game of today. The rules and the name have some similarities with the game.

Still most people believe that Poker originates from France, from the French name 'Pogue'. This was a game, played in the 15th century, that was played with the card deck as we know it today. It was a card game that included bluffing and betting. The French colonials brought this game to Canada and then to the United States in the early 17th century, but the game didn't became a hit until the beginning of the 18th century in New Orleans. During the American Civil War, soldiers played the game 'Pogue' often to pass the time all, over the country.