Poker History

Once thought to be exclusively the trade of crooks and swindlers, the game of poker has evolved into what is today one of North America’s most beloved pastimes. This card game of luck and strategy has always been popular in Casinos, but is only now getting mainstream recognition, with huge tournaments, million-dollar pots, and an aura of excitement the world over. While there are many variations of this centuries-old game, without a doubt the most popular today is Texas Hold’em, so let’s take a look at this challenging game that people have won and lost fortunes over.

While the widespread use of the 52 card deck and face down dealing had gone a long ways to legitimize the game of Poker, it still had a mountain to climb before attaining mainstream acceptance. Many hurdles had to be cleared before this would become a reality, including multiple legal challenges; In 1910, the state of Nevada made it a felony to run a betting game.

Without a doubt, the biggest boom in Poker’s recent history has been the explosion of Online Poker Rooms. From simple low-limit games, Online Poker has grown into a billion dollar industry over the past five years.
The first online room to go live was Planet Poker in 1998; while this pioneer site has since been pushed into near obscurity by the current big dogs, Planet Poker broke the ground for online rooms, and set up practices that are still in current use, such as rake structure.

With the popularity of Poker at an all time high, the future of the game is ripe with possibilities. We’ve already seen an incredible expansion of online sites, and live tournaments are gaining momentum everyday. In Canada, we’ve seen a rapid expansion of gaming facilities, and a number of them feature large, well populated Poker rooms. The growth will have to settle down eventually, but the masterminds of the industry will always be looking to keep their product out front.