Rough Guide to History of Gambling: From Ancient Origins to Online Casinos

Gambling games are usually associated with violent crimes such as roulette and baccarat because of the betting frenzy and often associated with unsavoury characters as gamblers. Many societies, in ancient times to the present day have relied on gambling for their livelihood, such as Native Americans and ancestors of the British and Irish who used to engage in traditional horse racing. Gambling is illegal in many countries today but the society that possesses an insatiable thirst for gambling can still be seen all around the world. For example, in the present day in the town of Ottawa in Canada, the lucky winner at the Atlantic Casino has a name that sounds very familiar to anybody who is familiar with Atlantic City’s famous casino: Donald Trump. On the other hand, in the West African State of Benin, the only local alcoholic drink known as Ayamtyem is commonly consumed by gamblers.

History Review from Ancient Origins to Online Casino

During the very beginning of human civilization, most activities were far from glamorous, such as obtaining food and providing shelter. Most of the work was made on a community level by the women. Therefore, gambling games were usually associated with the men. In the world of ancient Egypt , gambling was already a big business, with players entering the games in the hopes of winning valuable gifts such as weapons and jewelry. However, the game played was not simply a game of chance, but one of skill as well.

Other civilizations played their part in adding gambling games to the list of enjoyable past times. These include the Greeks, who were one of the first known societies to let gamblers participate for prize money. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Sumerians all contributed to the development of the world of gambling in the modern era.

1600 – 1700 ERA

The 1800s was a period of expansion and reformation. The formation of the first national gambling societies took place in France. In Paris, one such society was established by Louis Trencavel in 1784. While this society is often credited with the birth of French blackjack and the introduction of poker to Europe, it was actually founded three years before this. Although some sources claim that Trencavel invented both blackjack and poker, the more likely explanation is that both games were actually invented by Frenchman Auguste Escoffier, who appears to have been the first to popularize the concept of poker in Europe.

In England, James Craddock was involved in the construction of the world’s first legal gaming house, or ‘horseracing bookmaker’ in 1760. It is during this time period that several new gambling games were invented by Craddock, including blackjack, tarot, Irish rummy and jacks or better known as Jacks or Better. He also created a game called naughts, a type of game which later became known as heads up.

Today’s Era of Poker

The United States did not have a legal national casino in place until the 1840s, but during this time, the American Indians managed to create casinos. Today, the phrase ‘poker’ is a part of the popular American language. The popularity of the game of poker grew tremendously during the 1800s, and poker games were regularly played in saloons. The game was particularly popular among Irish-Americans and was quite different from what it is today. The game was played with an old deck of cards, giving it an element of simplicity and familiarity. However, there were many notable and revolutionary changes to the game.

The first rules to the game were published by Benjamin Pollak in a series of articles in 1846. The author was a woman, and she invented a ‘tie’ game which was played over nine hands. By 1851, this game had been incorporated into the rules of the game, making it completely different from the modern version. It was another fifty years before the game really caught on in the United States. In 1906, the first official tournament was held at the California Hotel in Chicago. The winner received a purse of $5,000, and included such names as John Von Neumann, Israel Regardie, John Gaynes, and was sponsored by Milton Bradley.

It was while attending this tournament that Bill Ritchie decided to organize a national tournament, and the first World Series of Poker was held in 1970. The first World Series of Poker was attended by two thousand players from over seventy different countries. It was then that the game of poker began its internationalization, and was visited by players from Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Greece, Japan, Mexico, and South Africa.

The 1970s ERA

During the 1970s, the game of poker changed. This is in no small part due to the historical fact that this was also the era of televised poker. The historical record of televised poker has been criticized and has gone under scrutiny, however, some of the historical records have been documented. Hugh Montgomery wrote a book entitled ‘The Texas Holdem Revolution’, and during this era, Hugh Montgomery organized the World Series of Poker. While the book is no longer available, the tournaments it documented have been made available through the Players Club World Poker.

The first televised match was the television program ‘High Stakes Poker’. The series began in 1980, and ended in 1981. It was a huge hit, and included amongst its competitors John Lauber, Raymond Beadle, Bill George, and Lon McEachern. In 1979, the World Series of Poker was also televised. Television has not been as influential as television in introducing poker to the American public, however, the World Series of Poker is the most televised tournament in American History.

By the early 2000s, the game of poker had reached the point where it had been introduced in two states. California and Nevada were the only states where it was legal to play. In addition, at this time, the United States National Bureau of Standards tested cards for casinos, and found a major flaw with the playing cards of the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds. The ace of hearts was only equivalent to the 2 of clubs, the jack of diamonds was only equivalent to the 2 of hearts. The weaknesses of the cards were a major reason that the game was prohibited for use in casinos.

Modern day reality

The game of poker is played today by millions of people around the world. While most people in the United States play with decks of cards, most people around the world play with decks of poker chips. Despite its acceptance by the international poker community, the game has not been accepted by all poker players, as there are some ‘illegal’ poker clubs who play using so-called ‘bot’ software that does not allow players to see what cards other players are holding. This may make for a more Interesting game for the players who use the software, but for those who prefer to bluff, or are unable to read the cards, it can be a frustrating and difficult game.

The origin of the game

The history of the game of poker can be traced back to around 1482, to China, and could be classified as a farcical game of gambling. A book titled ‘The Chinese Games’, gives the history of the Chinese game of poker, and states that the game began as a fun game between relatives. According to the book, a woman told her husband that she was not interested in his game, and thus, he got his son to play with a rabbit skin, and set a bet of three hundred pounds (approximately 40 pounds) per player.

The husband agreed that he could win a reward, and the son won the bet. The father took the son’s money and kept the rabbit skin, however, he played for another three hundred pounds, and finally he won the bet and kept all of the money. The children then agreed that the game should become a private affair between the two of them, and so the game continued. However, the family then became aware of the profits the son was making from the game, and so they asked him to bring them the money. The father kept the money for himself and told the children to go away, and then the children agreed to continue the game on their own.

The children played the game for a number of years, and eventually they became rich. Then, a famine broke out in China, and many people starved to death. Finally, the surviving members of the family realized that they would be left without any money once the famine had ended. So, they devised a plan. First, they stopped sharing the rabbit skin with one another, and they played for an ever increasing amount of money. Finally, they became so rich that they could no longer be bothered with the game. The rabbit skin was then stolen, and then they died.

Further developments

Around 1525, in Europe, a similar version of the game developed. This version of the game could be played between women, and was called Rook Hylotl. The game involved the two women betting on the outcome of a 3 card game. According to legend, a group of young women playing this game were so impressed by the skills of the women in this game, that they taught the skill to other young women. Eventually, the game took hold across Europe, where it was known as Haḳtoḱtl.

In the 17^th century, the game developed to the form that we know it today. The game was originally called Haḳtoḱtl, as it involved two players betting on a 3 card poker game. The first round was played with 1 x 3 of a card (known as three-card poker), and the players were allowed to remove a card as they wanted to play their card. The winner of the hand received three of their cards back, and the loser received three of the highest cards.

The second round was played with 2 x 3 of a card, and the players were allowed to remove two cards as they wanted to play their cards. The winner of the hand received two cards back, and the loser received two of the lowest cards. The winner of the second round received three cards, and the loser received three of the highest cards.

This basic game evolved in a number of ways, however, one of the most significant changes to the rules was the introduction of the Hi-Lo Shot. The Hi-Lo shot was named so, because the players played with the 4 of a card (an ace, king and two jacks). Both players would win an ace each, and then the next player would take one card each. Thus, if the ace was the highest card played, then all players would have 4 cards each, but if the ace was the lowest card, then all players would have 4 cards each, and so on.

The rules of the game were further modified with the addition of the Dead Man’s Hand. For example, in order to win the Dead Man’s Hand, the player would have to have a Queen, Jack or Ten in their hand at the start of the hand. If they did not have one of these three cards, then they would have to draw a card from the 6 card deck.

Today, the most popular variation of the game is known as Texas Hold’em. Texas Hold’em is played with two decks of cards, known as High Card Hold’em and Low Card Hold’em. In High Card Hold’em, the player who has the Ace of spades in their hand goes first. If they cannot get the Ace, they can double their hand and the game will continue for another round. If the player gets the Ace, they win all the money that they have lost. If they do not get the Ace, then the next player goes first, and so on.

Low Card Hold’em sees the player who has the Ace of spades go first. In the beginning of the game, each player is dealt 3 cards, and they can take one card each as they want to play their cards. Once all players have 3 cards, the game begins. Each player then has to double their hands if they want to win. Now a days, there are variations of the game that use six, eight and other different decks of cards.