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Today, many varieties of poker can be found in casinos and on online casinos. Where did it all start thought? The game of poker has a long history, although not as you might think of it today.

There are several schools of thought on how poker orginated. Some poker historians can trace the development of poker all the way back to some influence by several games such as the Persian As Nas, the French Poque, the German Pochen, and finally a Spanish game called Primero. These early influences included several characteristics which hold true to poker today and make it unique from other card games, such as betting, some form of bluffing, and a ranking to the hands played in the game.

Later, some version of these games, in particular the French Poque, would be brought to the Americas where poker made even further developments. The use of a 52 card deck, and three specific games within the area of poker became predominate. These games, still the most popular games in poker, are Texas Hold’em, 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Draw.

Further developments in poker include new options for hands which were introduced at various times between 1850 and 1925, which include the flush, draw, stud poker, straight, wild card, low-ball, and split-pot poker. These introductions would change the way the game played as well as the hierarchy of hands within the game.

Finally, poker would further development with the introduction of tournament play in the 1970s, and the first online poker games in online casinos in 1998.

Overall, poker has changed dramatically since those first versions of the game. One thing remains the same, the basic tenets of the game have remained the same as this game stormed America up the Mississippi River and spread West with the expanding new country.