Video Poker history was preceded by centuries of traditional poker. That said, the history of poker is unfortunately a little murky. It may have roots in a number of games, like the Persian game as nas, the Indian ganjifa, or the French poque. Regardless of its ancestral journey, there is strong evidence that it came to America with the French settlers in New Orleans who played a card game called poque that involved bluffing and rounds of betting. This poque deck may have been the first to use suits of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. With Video Poker history still more than a century off, poque migrated up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers by boat where it met English-bred railroad men, who probably corrupted the name to poker and carried it back to the eastern cities during the U.S. Civil War. Then, in the late 1860's and early 1870's, Civil War veterans brought poker westward over the Continental Divide until it became a fixture in every hotel parlor and saloon in America's Wild West. As a widely popularized game, poker developed many variations including stud, draw, and straight. The introduction of wild cards around 1875 added another level of intrigue and excitement. Today, poker is probably the most widely played card game in the world. It ranks as one of the top sporting events—in prize money if not publicity—with many tournaments culminating in the grand stakes of the World Series of Poker. Eventually, Video Poker history began, but not until the advent of computer chips in the 1970's. Before that, the technology for Video Poker simply did not exist. From the start, Video Poker combined the elements of draw poker with the look and feel of slot machines. The game really came into its own in 1979 when SIRCOMA introduced its popular Video Poker game called Draw Poker. SIRCOMA, short for Si Redd’s coin machines, later became International Game Technology (IGT), which still serves as a leader in the field. During the 1980’s, the popularity of Video Poker continued to grow and its technology improved. It came to occupy prime real estate in the casinos. Video Poker history suggests that one reason for the game’s popularity was its resemblance to slot machines: it was a solo experience and therefore a lot less intimidating than sitting down at a traditional poker table complete with a dealer and fellow players. Video Poker history does not go back terribly far, but it does point to a game that was well-received from the start and which remains popular to this day, both in casinos and among online enthusiasts. |
