Video Poker History

The video poker machine is one of the most popular gambling machines in existence today. Part poker, and part video game, it's the perfect combination to make it a modern day gambling sensation. Although today's video poker machines are the epitome of our current high tech in gambling, they have existed in simpler form for about two hundred years.

Video poker is of course based on the card game of poker. The video poker machine of today is the result of the game of poker being manifested into different types of games at varying levels of technology through the generations. The game of poker has been played in America since the early 1880s, with the game being referred to as 'Poker' in 1834 by a man name Jonathan Green.

The earliest recorded ancestors of the video poker machine were coin operated machines which used poker cards. These machines came into the scene in the late 1800s, and were manufactured by a company by the name of Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn. The poker card machines were placed in liquor stores and cigar shops, and shortly worked their way across the U.S.

These machines worked by the player putting a coin into the poker machine and pulling a handle, which spun five drums that held the poker cards. The player would wait for it to stop, while hoping for a winning hand. A winning hand was paid out in cigars or drinks. Sadly, and unbeknownst to the players, the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts were left out of the deck to reduce the chances of winning.

In 1901, Charles Fey made the next big improvement to the poker machine by adding the first 'draw' feature to the already wildly popular machine. Fey's addition to the poker machine allowed the player to actually use their poker skills in the game, as opposed to being left to the mercy of blind luck.

Charles Fey's improvement allowed the player to hold certain drums still after the first spin, while pulling the handle to spin the remaining drums. This in effect was the first 'hold' and 'draw' combination.

Over the following years, people's interest in poker card machines diminished, with only an occasional hiccup of interest every now and again. It wasn't until the late 1970s that the poker machine was reborn into the video poker machine, thus rekindling the love of video poker.

The first of these machines appeared along side of the personal computer. It was this technology which made the video poker machine a reality. With its solid state circuitry, and its television like monitor, this clunky machine would give rise to the poker machines of today. These machines have made their homes in bars, casinos and even online.

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The History of Poker Chips

In a recent post, I talked about how you can start your own home game. One of the requisites of doing this however, is having the right equipment and what is the most vital piece of equipment for poker? Chips, poker chips that is.

For the uninitiated, once you've seen standard chips (even on TV), they're all the same. For the enthusiast though, each chip set is different and he has his certain preferences regarding this matter. Let's take a look at the basics of the chips you play with in poker so that you can pick out the perfect set to start your home game.

In the early days of gambling, people used different small items instead of chips. Pieces of wood, clay, and even gold were used as tokens for the game. It was only in the late 1800s that poker chips as we know them today were created for the special purpose of keeping count in poker. Those poker chips were made of clay composite. In the 1940s, plastic chips were manufactured and became widely available to the public.

Today, there are basically 3 types of chips according to the material. The most common and most affordable are the plastic poker chips. They are light and easily damaged so they are best used by beginners. The other type of poker chips is made of metal core. Poker chips made of metal core are heavier than the plastic ones and less prone to damage. They are favored by those who host home games as they give that "casino feel" and they are not too expensive. Perhaps the best kind of poker chips are made of clay composite. They are the most costly and not as easy to find as the plastic ones. Casinos use clay composite chips and in fact, they have them custom made. Most casinos have their logo inscribed on the chips - these are actually copyrighted.

You can buy poker chip sets with a specific number of chips in them. Usually included in the set are 2 decks of cards and a pair of dice. The set is normally housed in a metal case with an inner lining of velvet to protect the chips. Chips are of a variety of colors - red, black, white, green, and even pink.

Thanks to the popularity of poker, buying chips is not a difficult task. You can visit your local sporting store and chances are that they have chip sets. Better yet, you can search on the Internet. There is a host of poker chip vendors online that offer more variety when it comes to poker chips. You can specify the quantity of chips in one set and you can even specify which colors you want. When shopping around for poker chips for your home game, make sure that you will have enough poker chips for the number of players you are expecting. This is a case of having more is better than having less.

Once you have your chips in hand, do not let them go to waste by not taking care of them. Always keep them clean and in good shape. The case that comes with the set is meant for a purpose - to protect the chips - so use it.

Paul Graham is a poker enthusiast, a writer, researcher, speaker, and consultant. You can visit his blog and sign up free to get blog updates by email, along with game winning tips, tested poker strategies, the latest poker news, free poker tools, additional resources, and a whole lot more! Go now to http://www.SmokePoker.com and you'll also receive a Free Poker Bot for streamlining and automating your poker play, as a thank you for visiting!

History of Poker Chips

Poker chips have been around for almost as long as the game of poker itself has been around. Although, these poker chips were definitely not what you or I would pick up for a gaming session with our buddies. During the 1800s, as poker and gaming in general was gaining popularity across the United States, particularly in the west, there was a need to keep track of the game play and of winnings and losses.

Not everybody had the same currency, and some people had no currency at all. Instead, perhaps they had small pieces of gold they were able to mine out or other expensive ores, gems or minerals. Maybe they just had a lot of supplies or even exotic or hard to grow foods. This was all most people had, so these were used by players as poker chips. However, there was also need for standardization and larger amount of chips.

Players wanted to play with more money than they always carried with them, or if they did have their money with them, they didn't want to leave it on a table with a bunch of angry, edgy guys getting drunk and losing their money. And who can blame them for that? So bars and gambling houses began providing poker chips to these players. They would hold on to the money, probably collect a fee for their efforts, and everybody would be on an equal playing ground and their money and valuables would be safe.

Of course, there was no such thing as plastic in these days, or any mass produced poker chips of any kind. In place of these items were stones, pieces of wood and even bones. These small gaming houses, which were also probably brothels as well, began the trend of taking people's money or valuables and turning it into house poker chips that had the same value. But in fact, the history of poker chips can actually be extended much farther back and across the globe. Different civilizations loved to gamble and different kinds of games were played by all, all with their own "poker chips" to keep track of it all.

By the late 1800s, there were finally clay poker chips being made. As technology improved and new materials and production methods began appearing, plastic chips and acrylic chips also started to be made. Other materials include ivory and composites of stones and other materials.

The History of Poker Chips - Paying Dividends for Poker Players Today

By the middle of the 20th century, the massive casinos that have come to be the preferred destination for gamblers around the globe began to popularize. This meant two things, both of which have helped all poker players everywhere. First, there was a need to start producing literally millions of poker chips. These casinos are massive and they have thousands of people playing at any given time and there's more casinos than one could count.

Secondly, there was a need to be able to separate and authenticate the multitudes of poker chips on the market. With today's technology, that means that poker chips used by casinos have microchips implanted in them, weigh very specific amounts and come with different sizes and textures. Of course, a casino's poker chips are also intricately designed and styled so they cannot be forged by a would be counterfeiter.

But because of the companies that now have the ability to mass produce millions of poker chips and because they also have the ability to customize these poker chips to every possible detail, the average poker player like you or I benefits the most. That's because finally there are extremely high quality, affordable and customizable poker chips that we can use for our personal games.

A good set of poker chips used to set you back enough so that you probably couldn't even play any poker for a while after you bought them! That's not the case anymore, as you can buy a great set, that looks and feels great, and impresses your buddies, for extremely cheap prices.

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A Brief History of Online Poker

Online Poker is without a doubt one of the most convenient and easiest ways to play poker being that you never have to leave your house and you can bring the feel of Vegas into your house and never change out of your pajamas. While it may not hold the same excitement as traditional face to face casinos it is still convenient none the less.

Poker has been around for almost 200 years and it's no secret that the recent online version of poker is a phenomenon. It has certainly without a doubt changed the face of poker and how poker is played and to this day continues to boom with players and activity. It was around the mid 1990's that online sports books were showing up along with the launch of some online casinos.

The first operational online casino was developed in 1994 by a major online casino software supplier called Microgaming. Although, this was released in 1994, it wasn't until 1998 that the first online poker room was brought on to the internet and established. The very first online poker room was named Planet Poker and not long after it's launch became a relatively small poker room but still enjoyed it's time as the only sole poker room playable online.

Many other poker rooms copied it's structure with a rake structure set at %5 and up to a $3 max rake. While the industry constantly and drastically changed since 1998, it's no surprise that the rake structure has remained consistent and for the most part, the same.

Around 1999, Paradise Poker was introduced onto the web and in no time at all became a top industry leader and it was also around this time that a successful poker player named Dutch Boyd developed the online poker firm called Poker Spot. Poker Spot was launched in May of 2000 and it was the very first online poker room to offer tournaments to it's players in September.

In 2004, Online Poker drastically boomed because of increasing popularity and demand for online poker rooms and it was because of virtual playing tables that the industry's revenues skyrocketed. When new firms such as Full Tilt Poker and Noble poker were introduced, the industry saw even more entry from new players skyrocketing profits even higher.

Today, many major successful online poker firms are considering becoming public companies. It was in October 2004 that a company called Sportingbet purchased Paradise Poker for almost 300 million dollars. Now there are many online poker rooms that are candidates for public offerings as the value of poker rooms continues to climb higher and higher.

Poker took the online world by storm almost as much as cell phones when they were first introduced. Online Poker rooms offered so many things that a live casino could not such as playing from your home and less money being risked. Online Poker is here to stay and I honestly can't say I see it going anywhere anytime soon. Whether you're a novice or beginner, Online Poker is one of the most convenient ways to play no matter who you are, whether you play for fun or for real money.

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Online Poker History - The Story Behind The Sensational Hit

Online poker is defined as the type of the poker game played in the internet by either one person or a number of participants. The ease of accessibility is what has made on-line poker very popular because of its appealing nature that has seen many people turn to it as a major form of entertainment. It is estimated that in 2003 alone almost USD$ 35 million was collected in monthly revenue from on-line poker alone.

The game of poker has been going for many years, but the history of online poker - along with most other online games - is relatively short. Yet despite the relatively short length of the history of the game, it is an extremely rapid developing part of the entire online gambling industry which is not showing any signs of slowing down. While it is very popular in America, Europe is fast catching up too.

The history of online poker begins with the history of poker in general. The game of poker has been around for thousands of years with origins all over the world, from China to France to Persia and Spain. However, it wasn't until 1834 that the game of Poker with the name of "Poker" was officially recorded. Jonathan H. Green wrote about "the cheating game" which was played on Mississippi riverboats. This game was played with only twenty cards, but evolved into modern day poker.

Online poker only dates back 9 years, to 1998 which was when the first games came on line. But the real milestone for the history of poker was 2002. A year later when the World Poker Tour was launched on America's travel channel in March, poker really hit off. This was also true for when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) had its largest turn out over.

These events and others certainly contributed to the developing growth of the history of poker as more and more individuals found out about how fun the game was to play on line, and indeed, how lucrative it could be, especially when playing online poker tournaments. 2004 and 2005 saw a huge influx of additional online poker rooms and sites, many of which appealed to the masses, even the non-poker playing ones who started to show an interest in this new and exciting online game.

Poker is a game that is coordinated by gambling laws and regulations and is mainly played in casinos and card rooms. However, it has recently become available for play in online poker rooms. The introduction of poker to the Online has increased the popularity of the game a huge amount, but it didn't start out so simply.

The history of online poker began in 1998, when the first online poker room was opened. Planetpoker.com was the first website in the history of online poker and as the first it had many obstacles to overcome. One of the main problems was trust-after all they had to build peoples' trust in order to get them to play with real money on their site. They also had to work out software that would be user friendly and realistic. However, once they worked out these problems it was a smooth ride.

Probably one of the reasons the history of online poker developed so well was because of how enthusiastic poker professionals have been since the game's inception on line. Such big names as Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Andy Bloch, and Erick Lindgren are included in this list.

The history is now definitely well on the map, especially financially as the industry in America has reached over $2 billion. There are so many poker rooms today on line that pretty much at any time, 24/7, one is able to find a poker game of their choice. Whether you love 3 card poker, video poker, Texas Hold'em Poker, 7 card stud poker, 5 card draw poker, Omaha Hi-Lo poker, to name but a few, on line players will probably be able to find a game to satisfy and appeal.

Many online poker sites offer now offer numerous features that attract and appeal to new players. This new features are what are making raves in the world series of poker because the world of poker has now wakened to the realization that even on-line poker participants can also have a shot at the big game.

One similar feature offered by the online poker sites is the tournament referred to as "satellite". This feature allows participants to gain actual access to real live poker tournaments. In a similar tournament Chris Moneymaker emerged the victor and was able to participate in the World Series of Poker in 2003. his victory shocked the whole world.

Recent figures have in fact projected that the revenue generated by on-line poker could reach as high as US$ 100 million target in 2005, and that online participants are estimated to reach 100,000 people.

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Poker History

The origin of the game that we today call Poker is uncertain and debated. Most researchers agree that the name Poker is derived from the French word poque, which in turn originates from the German word pochen - to knock. It is however unsure whether Poker is actually related to the card games where players must knock the table to mark certain situations. Poker bears a keener resemblance to an old Persian game called As Nas. Some researchers therefore suggest that As Nas was taught to French immigrants in New Orleans by Persian seafarers, and later developed into Poker in America. Poker also resembles a Renaissance game called Primero and a French game known as Brelan. In England, Brelan eventually developed into a game named Brag or Bragg, a card game where the possibility of bluffing is an important part of the game, just as in Poker.

One of the earlier mentions of Poker is from 1829, when an English actor named Joseph Crowell encountered a type of card game in New Orleans where a deck of 20 cards were used by four players. The players made bets and tried to guess which player had the best hand. In 1843, Jonathan H. Green published a book named "An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling" where he described how this game spread from New Orleans via the riverboats on Mississippi. Playing games was a very popular pastime on the Mississippi riverboats. As the game spread, the rules were changed and a full deck containing 52 cards began to be used. One of the major rule changes was the introduction of the so called flush.

A lot of the more modern poker versions were invented during the American Civil War, including Draw Poker and five card Stud Poker. The straight was also introduced during this era. Around 1875 the use of wild cards was added. Lowball developed around the same time, and the split-pot poker was invented around the turn of the century. The first poker games involving community cards arose around 1925. Some researches claim the U.S. military are responsible for spreading the game to Asia during wars, where it is today very popular and a natural part of the traditional Asian games.

Poker is a noticeable part of the American history and the poker jargon has even made it into standard American English. Most of us use poker jargon in our every day language even if we never have played a single game of poker in our entire life. Have you ever called someone's bluff? Had an ace up your sleeve? Described an unknown or unpredictable factor as a "wildcard"? Beats me, ace in the hole, blue chip, cash in, stack up, pass the buck, high roller, poker face and when the chips are down, are other examples of poker expressions that have made it into normal language.

During the 1970's, the first World Series of Poker were played which popularised Poker tournaments at the American casinos. This is also the time when the first serious Poker books were published. Three of the most famous ones are "The Theory of Poker" written by David Sklansky, "The Book of Tells" by Mike Caro and "Super System" by Doyle Brunson.

Today, poker is played all over the world. Poker has grown increasingly popular during the latest decade, chiefly due to the invention of online poker and the hole-card camera that made the Poker tournaments much more interesting to watch for non-players. Poker is today considered a spectator sport and several TV-shows are devoted to the game. The World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour are two major Poker tournaments that are broadcasted via cable and satellite.

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Article courtesy of William Berg

Poker History - Unearthing The Greatest Gamble Game Ever

It is approximately two hundred years since poker has been introduced but the poker that is being called online poker is a recently introduced phenomenon. Though online poker is of recent origin, it has gained popularity at a very fast pace and is now played all over the world with a new perception.

Online sportsbooks were the first to be introduced in the internet and they were followed by many, one among them being online poker. Online casinos were also introduced in the mid 90s, the same time when sportsbooks reached the internet. Microgaming, that came up in the early 90s is a good example and has now become a casino software developer.

In 1998, Planet poker entered the scene and was the first to create an online poker gambling rooms. It was the first and the last of its kind for quite long. With passage of time, many new and big poker sites reached the net carrying a maximum rate of about 3 dollars with an initial rake of five percent. The industry was recognized only in 1998 but it noteworthy that the rates have been almost the same.

In 1999, Paradise Poker was created and this has now become the leader in industry. It was around this time that Dutch Boyd created Poker Spot.

Though Poker spot is the pioneer in running poker tournaments online, they faced whole lot of problems. The group did not collect the deposits of the players from its credit card partners. The company did not remit the winnings of the players as all deposits it held, were not returned. This resulted in their fall.

The introduction of the Netellers e-cash system has reduced the repetitions of the problems encountered by the Poker spot group in other poker players. The online poker groups are provided with funds from the Neteller system. The Netellers e-cash system frees the players from the trouble of using the wire transfer or credit card to deposit money in order to enter the poker group. This has helped in the minimization of frauds and improved the credibility of the company.

In the year 2001, online poker industry welcomed the entry of the two giant firms, Party Poker and Poker Stars. Paradise was on the lead until 2003, when they were overtaken by Party Poker due to the latter?s strategic advertising. The launch of World Poker Tour along with the Party Poker Million strategies attracted a lot of people and drove the group to success.

Chris MoneyMaker also contributed a lot to the popularity and growth of online poker. He was charged with 40 dollars to enter the poker room. He won the satellite tournament conducted by the Poker stars and was qualified for the final and the main event. He won the topmost prize of 2.5 Million dollars in a game considered to be one of the biggest of the World's Series of Poker tournaments and in which about 839 participants had contested.

The creation of the site http://www.pokertips.org made online poker more accessible to all people especially to those who were new to the field of online poker. In 2004, that is one year after the launch of the site, the game became very popular with the fascinating story of Mr. Moneymaker adding another feather to its cap. The companies pocketed huge amounts and there were other entrants like Noble Poker and the Full Tilt Poker to the industry as well.

Sportingbet, a listed sportsbook acquired Paradise Poker and this contributed to the growth of gambling industry. A lot of companies considered listing in the stock market as it helped them get funds to aid expansion of their business.

The United Kingdom has passed a legislation which states that gambling is legal.

Today we have a lot of sites that educate people who are new to the industry on the game. They aid in developing the skills of the beginners and making them professionals. Here are a few books on online poker: the Super System which is by Doyle Brunson, the Hold 'em Poker for the Advanced Players and this is by Sklansky,Malmuth, the Killer Poker which is by John Vorhaus and Texas Holdem which is by Ken Warren. You are advised to learn the basic skills and the poker theory from experts.

Some of the best Online Poker Sites

Texas Holdem Poker

StudStrategy

Low Limit Omaha

Poker School Online at pokerschoolonline.com

Ichiban Poker

Poker Performance Psychology

PlayWinningPoker.com and playwinningpoker.com

The Gamblers Edge at thegamblersedge.com

Poker Pro Association

Low Limit Holdem at lowlimitholdem.com

PokerStrategy

Poker Pages at pokerpages.com

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The History of Online Poker

For those of us whose significant others frown upon a weekly poker night with the boys or with the girls, online poker is the answer. You no longer need to hide in your basement with bowls of stale Fritos and a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon to enjoy a game of poker. Rather, the internet has brought the game right to your computer. This is a more recent phenomenon, however, as online poker rooms have only arisen in the past ten or twelve years; just a child compared to the 200-year history of "old-fashioned," face-to-poker face poker.

Online poker was preceded by other forms of online gambling such as sports-orienting betting in the early 1990's and online casinos in the mid 1990's. Planet Poker, a now smaller operation, established the first online poker room in 1998 and a year later, Paradise Poker emerged. Their use of effective advertising, innovative software, and international appeal led them to the forefront of online poker where they still enjoy the status as one of the industry leaders. In 2000, Poker Spot emerged as the first online poker site to offer tournament play. However, this site suffered from technical difficulties that resulted in its unfortunate demise.

Through the early years of the 21st Century, Paradise Poker remained the top firm in the biz until 2003 when poker hit mainstream television. The World Poker Tour premiered on the Travel Channel and captured the highest ratings in the network's history. This not only led to a dramatic rise in poker's popularity, but it also resulted in the emergence of another online poker giant. A company called Party Poker launched a well-devised advertising campaign that aired during the World Poker Tour. This brilliant marketing led them to the forefront of the industry where they currently hold almost half of the entire online poker community.

Following this rating booms experienced by the Travel Channel, other networks such as ESPN began airing live poker as part of their regular programming. Shows such as Celebrity Poker are still immensely popular. These shows not only led to the increased visibility and popularity of poker, but they resulted in a boom in online gaming. Many viewers felt inspired by the fact that entrants were qualifying for big tournaments through online play. Online poker received some big press in both 2003 and 2004 when the winners of the World Series of Poker were Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, both online players through Poker Stars. This free advertising was quite effective, and 6,000 entrants for the World Series of Poker qualified through online play in 2005.

Since this time, new firms continue to emerge, and some sources report that revenues brought in at virtual tables have nearly tripled in the last few years.

Tom Shannahan has been playing poker since he was 16. He grew up watching his father play with friends once a week. He currently writes part time for Pokerlistings.com where you can find more great information about Poker Tournaments and Online Poker Rooms.