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Introduction |
INTRODUCTIONPoker, in all its forms, such as Draw and Stud Poker and their variations as well as Texas Hold’Em and Omaha is nowadays one of the most popular card games both in casinos and at home. OriginsPoker was invented in America. It did not spring into existence fully formed, but took its main elements from a number of earlier games, the most notable of which was bouillotte, a nineteenth-century French game which had itself evolved from an earlier game called Brelan. In Bouillotte, four players were each dealt a three-card hand from a 20-card pack (A,K,Q,9,8 in four suits), and the thirteenth card was turned face up as a common card that all the players could use to improve their hands. The players would bet on their hands in a similar way to today’s poker players, the hands being ranked simply as four of a kind, three of a kind or two of a kind. The highest hand won the pot, and four or three of a kind with or without the up-card won bonus chips from the others players. * Dead Man’s Hand * Local Rules There are various versions of the story of the stranger in town who joined in a game in the local shady dive. Producing a full house at a showdown he was surprised when a local character displayed an odd collection of cards, 10 high, and grabbed the pot. ‘According to house rules, a lollapalooza beats everything, ’ he said. A few hands later the stranger laid down the self-same hand, only to lose the pot to a pair of Queens. Asking why, he was told of another house rule, ‘Only one lollapalooza a night.’ Another game often mentioned as an ancestor of poker is a Persian game called As Nas, which was played with special packs of 20 or 25 cards according to whether four of five people were playing. Each player received five cards and, again, they bet as in poker. The winning hand was the one with most cards of the same rank. |
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