Poker, and how it all started

The inventors of poker, if there could be said to be any, could never have dreamt of the international following that the game enjoys today, especially in its most popular form of Texas hold’em. But before that, the original game, played with 20 cards, still had a long way to go. The beginnings of poker could be traced back to 1829, when French settlers brought a primitive version of the game to New Orleans. From there, poker was spread throughout the eastern states by Mississippi riverboat gamblers. It was played by four players using the above-mentioned 20-card deck. The winner was the player who showed the best hand. But even in those days, poker had already been called the “cheating game”...