History of Poker is long dating back to the ancient times. The Persians played a game called As-Nas, which some believe to be the ancestor of the game as we know it today. The XVII century Europe had produced a number of Poker versions. Its French variant called Poque migrated to America. At the begining of the XIX century, the popularity of the game picked up the pace and with a few modifications, the game was renamed and took its current form. The game's popularity is still growing even today.
The very word Poker comes from the French word for the XVIII century game of poque. Another possible explenation of the word is its similarity to a slang term "poke", which was used by pickpockets. Cardsharps who used this 20-card game for cleaning suckers' wallets ("poke") might have used this word with an "r" at the end, hence the word "poker".
Jonathan H. Green was the first to mention the game in 1834. Green learned the rules of Poker and in his writing, he refered to it as the "cheating game," being played on Mississippi riverboats. When he realized a growing interest in the game, he took upon himself to name it and Poker was born.
In the past, Poker was considered a game of chance or simply as a gambling game. Today, it is believed that the game is based upon skills. Experienced players win more often than beginers. Austrian governement removed the game from its list of governement run monopoly and allowed it to be played in private casinos.
Poker has grown to be a sporting game and it is very often played in international tournaments. Every week there is a Poker tournament in some part of the world.
Currently, Poker is one of the fastest growing sporting events, but hardly every treated as sport. The greatest Poker event, World Poker Series, attracts players from every part of the world, who compete for money and the Title to become the greatest poker player, a sort of world championship.
