Poker has a long and indistinct history. Some hold that it originated in Persia as it closely resembles a game called As Nas and may have been brought to the United States via Persian sailors in New Orleans. This game was played with 25 cards with 5 different suits. This game was played similarly to modern Five Card Stud with many of the hand combinations such as three of a kind. It seems likely that the name Poker descended from the French poque, which originally came from the German pochen, to knock.
The game was reportedly played in New Orleans around the late 1820s, with a deck of 20 cards and players betting on the value of their hands. The earliest known form of Poker was played with a 20-card pack (A-K-Q-J-10) evenly dealt amongst four players. There was no draw, and bets are made on a narrow range of combinations: one pair, two pair, triplets, and full – so called because it is the only combination in which all five cards are active – and four of a kind. Unlike classic Poker, in which the top hand (royal flush) can be tied in another suit, the original top hand consisting of four Aces, or four Kings and an Ace, was absolutely unbeatable. The spread of...