The earliest published reference to the game was written by a man named Johnathan H. Green. This reference was published way back in 1834 where Green spoke of a game he called “the cheating game”, that was often played on Mississippi Riverboats. After dong some research and realizing that he was the first person to actually write on the subject, it is said that Green took it upon himself to name the game “Poker”. Obviously the name stuck.

The Missiissipi Riverboat was all the rage during this time and the popular “cheating” card game that was played on these boats was the legendary Three-Card Monte. It is reported that when this new “cheating” game, or Poker, came along it seemed to replace the Three-Card Monte and quickly became the preferred of the two because players believed that it was a far more legitimate game. This “cheating game”, that Green wrote about, was played with only 20 of the 52 cards in a deck (the tens, face cards and aces) where 2 to 4 players were dealt 5 cards each.

However the origin of the name is also often disputed. Some believe that it comes from the word “pochspiel”, a German game where bluffing is one of the main components. Others say that it comes from the Hindu word, “pukka”. But the most common assumption is that the name Poker was borrowed from an 18 th century popular French game called “Poque”.

There are also those who believe that word evolved from the underground slang term “poke”. This was a term used many years ago by pickpockets and cardsharps. It is believed that the term “poke” came from the phrase “hocus pocus”, a phrase used by magicians to make things disappear. In the case of the cheating game it was peoples money that the cardsharps made disappear. It is believed that the cardsharps eventually added an r to the term so that any one who understood the underground slang would not figure out what they were talking about.

Over the years the cheating game has evolved into what we know poker to be today. The game of poker has traveled through history, from the days of the Mississippi River Boats to the Wild Western Saloons to the Casinos around the world and finally finding its way to the World Wide Web.

Unlike the olden days, poker and other casino games are today, very carefully regulated by government laws, to ensure a fair and fun experience.

The most popular of any other card game world wide, poker, has grown to a point where players from all over the world come together to compete in organized tournaments. These tournaments are taking place every week and there is a lot of money a stake. Some of the more popular and televised tournaments that you may come across or want to check out are the World Series of Poker and The World Poker Tour.