Exactly in which point of the history the poker game appeared, it is still debatable. It is known, however, that the German game called Pochspiel which dated back to the 15th century used betting, bluffing and hand rankings altogether. Another game that is quite similar to poker is original from Persia and is called As Nas, but there aren’t specific recordings of it until 1890. In 1937, R.F. Foster described the game in the Foster’s Complete Hoyle as a game played first in the US with a twenty card pack and five cards distributed to each player and identical to the Persian game of As Nas. However, in the late 20th century David Parlett and other game historians started to doubt that poker derives directly from As Nas. They argued that there is another game, a French one called poque, which was played near the area where poker is believed to be original from. However, what is more certain is that the name Poker comes from the Irish word Poca, meaning pocket. Another version is that it derives from the French “poque”, also deriving from “pochen” in German, which means to call a bluff. It is uncertain whether poker was inspired by the games baring these names or just the name. Still, it is believed to have common origins with other two Renaissance games: primero and brelan in France. What is sure is that brelan is the “parent” of the English brag, which later incorporated bluffing.
Other opinions claim that poker cannot be based on such old games, as it involves betting, a much more recent card play principle. These thinkers believe that poker appeared until the middle of the 18th century and spread up and down the Mississippi River by the 19th century. There was also a type of poker for only two players, with a 20 card pack.
There is a description of the game by Joseph Crowell, the English actor, who reported poker to be played in 1829 New Orleans. Furthermore, Jonathan Green described in his book “An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling” how poker spread all over the US by the means of riverboats on Mississippi, as gambling was a popular pastime activity.
Following this spread, poker started to be played with a 52 card deck and it was introduced the flush. A printed handbook of games first mentions the draw in 1850. The stud and the straight poker were added during the Civil War in the US. Around 1875 the wild card was added followed by the split-pot and lowball poker in the early 1900s and in 1925 the community card poker.
In both English and American cultures, the poker game and its jargon gained an important role.