Poker

Poker is perhaps the most popular and widely known card game. Tough there is a lot of debate about where it originated; the most accepted theory is that poker is actually a direct descendant of the Persian game Nas. The earliest direct reference to the game poker shows it might have actually originated in New Orleans around 1830. By the mid 1800’s, its popularity had spread from the Missipi river to the east Via the Railroad.

Poker is an extremely popular game in which players with fully or particially concealed cards make wagers into a central Pot, which is then awarded to the player or players with the best combination of cards or the player who makes an uncalled bet.

The history of poker is a matter of some debate as mentioned above. The name of the game likely descended from the French Poque, which descended from the German Pohen (to knock). Yet it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. As mentioned above, it also closely resembles the Persian game of As Nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors.

English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orlease in 1829, with 20 cards, four players betting on which players hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country.

A little while after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additionas were made that included: Draw Poker, Stud Poker, and the Straight. Other developments that came along the way included the Wild Card, Lowball, and Split-pot poker and the community card poker games.

The spread of poker in other countries has been attributed to the American Military.

Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. Major poker tournament fields have grown dramatically because of the growing popularity of online satellite-qualifier tournaments where the prize is an entry into a major tournament. The 2003 and 2004 WSOP champions, Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raynor, respectively, won their seats to the main event by winning online satellites.

Five of a kind
. A five of a kind is only possible when using wild cards, and is the highest possible hand in poker.

Royal Flush
A royal flush is the highest natural hand. It consists of an ace, king queen jack and 10 all of the same suit.

Straight Flush
A straight flush is five cards in sequence, all of the same suit.

Four of a Kind
Four of a kind is quite simply, four cards of the same rank.

Full House
A full house consists of three of a kind and a pair.

Flush
A flush is five cards, all of the same suit.

Straight
Five cards in sequence.

Three of a Kind
Three cards of any rank, matched with two cards that are not a pair.

Two Pair
Two cards of one rank, plus two of another.

Pair
Two cards of the same rank.

The World Series of Poker the most popular and prestigious set of poker tournaments in the world. The original World Series of Poker (WSOP) was started in 1969 by Tom Moore of San Antonio, Texas at the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno and was an invitational event. This inaugural event was won by Crandall Addington who went on to place in the top ten of the WSOP series Main Event eight times, a record that still stands today. The set of tournaments that the WSOP would evolve into was the brainchild of Las Vegas casino owner and poker player Benny Binion, as well as his two sons Jack and Ted.

In 2004, Harrah’s Entertainment purchased Binions Horseshoe, kept the rights to the Horseshoe and WSOP brands, sold the hotel and casico to MTR Gaming Group, and announced that the 2005 Series events would be held at Harrah’s-Owned Rio Hotel and Casino, located just off the Las Vegas Strip. The final two days of the main event in 2005 were held downtown at what is now the MTR operated Binions in celebration of the centennial of founding of Las Vegas. It also added a more made for TV $2 million freeroll invitational Tournament of Champions event first won by Annie Duke, as a winner take all event.

Online Poker is the game of poker played online on the internet. It has is credited with poker meteoritic rise over the past few years. It has increased the number of poker players dramatically. For the years of 2005 revenues, from online poker were estimated at US $200 million per month.

Traditionally, venues for playing poker, such as casinos and poker rooms, may be intimidating for novice players and are located in geographically disparate locations. Brick and mortar casinos are also reluctant to promote poker because it is difficult for them to profit from it. Though the rake, or time charge, of traditional casinos is often high, the opportunity costs of running a poker room are even higher. Brick and mortar casinos often make much more money by removing poker rooms and adding moreslot machines

Online venues, by contrast, are dramatically cheaper because they have much smaller overhead costs. For example, adding another table does not take up valuable space like it would for a brick and mortar casino. Online poker rooms tend to be viewed as more player-friendly. For example, the software may prompt the player when it is his or her turn to act. Online poker rooms also allow the players to play for low stakes (as low as 1¢) and often offer poker freerolls (where there is no entry fee), attracting beginners.

Online venues may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, especially collusion between players. However, they also have collusion detection abilities that do not exist in brick and mortar casinos. For example, online poker room security employees can look at the "hand history" of the cards previously played by any player on the site, making patterns of behavior easier to detect than in a casino where colluding players can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing the strength of their holding. Online poker rooms also check players' IP Addresses in order to prevent players at the same household or at known open proxy servers from playing on the same tables.

The main event of the WSOP has been the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament since 1972. (In 1971, the buy-in was $5,000.) Winners of the event not only get the largest prize of the tournament and a gold bracelet, but additionally their picture is placed into the Gallery of Champions at Binion's.

The winner of the Main Event is also given the unofficial title of World Champion, however the game's top professionals - who consider the Main Event a crapshoot due to its sheer size - have stated that the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event is the one which ultimately decides the world's best player. H.O.R.S.E is an event in which Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Eight-or-better are all played. The 2006 H.O.R.S.E tournament was won by Chip Reese.

It should be noted that the professionals played a major role in convincing WSOP management to stage an event with a much larger buy-in than the Main Event; the growth of poker tournaments and the World Series (by way of "The Moneymaker Effect") had resulted in fields with a far greater number of amateurs in proportion to professionals. Hence, the Main Event now has a much greater likelihood of producing winners who are amateurs and/or relatively unknown players. The professionals sought to create an event which was far more likely to produce a winner from amongst their midst. The $50,000 buy-in, being five times larger than the buy-in for the Main Event, has thus far tended to deter amateurs from playing in the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. It remains to be seen if this will continue to be true in the future, and if the bragging rights associated with winning the Main Event will continue to be regarded as highly.

2004: Daniel Negreanu

2005: Allen Cunningham

2006: Jeff Madson

The next few years will be a test to see whether the poker community is large enough to support all of these games, at all of these venues. From a poker room manager’s standpoint, the increasing numbers of rooms seem to be diluting the action somewhat. Some of the rooms are having difficulty attracting enough players to keep their staffs working. There are many players, particularly tourists, who would choose to play in a room such as the Bellagio based on the perception that that is where the action is. They may check out the new room at the Hilton, or the Stratosphere, if that is where they are staying, but they want to play at a “hot” room. To some extent, they are right. A poker room needs to reach a certain critical mass of players to be a success, and the Bellagio has that in spades, plus the added attraction of high-stakes celebrity players. But a room can be “hot” without celebrities and tourists, as long as it has enough loyal customers. Poker rooms such as the one at Green Valley Ranch, in Henderson, are also experiencing great success. They, too, have reached a critical mass of players. In the case of Green Valley, or several of the Station casinos around town, these players are mostly locals. The key is that there are a lot of them, and they play regularly. Nonetheless, the nature of poker is such that you really only need ten players to run a game. Once you are in a game, and really into the action, it doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you think the game is good. As a player, if I am in a good game, I couldn’t care less if it is at Santa Fe Station or the Hard Rock or the Bellagio. But if the game breaks, I want to be sure that there is another game to jump into.

Johnny Chan

Daniel Negreanu

Jeff Madson

Doyle Brunson

Mike Matasaw

Phil Ivey

The professor

Annie Duke