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History of five card pokerUS Friendly Poker Sites » History of five card poker
In the present time poker with its different variations is one of the most popular card games. Poker is actually said to have originated from Asia and Europe but it gained huge popularity in the United States during the early 19th century. As the people began to move towards the west, so did the game along with them and became a popular time past among the miners in the goldfields.
Currently Texas holdem is the most popular form of poker but before the rise of Texas holdem poker, it was five card poker which reigned supreme till around the early 20th century. The simplicity and the easy rules of the games were reasons behind its increasing popularity.
Initially when five card poker started it used be played with a deck consisting of only 20 cards and there used to be a single round of bet. The players were dealt five cards face down after which they had to place their wagers. Because of the limited number of cards the possible combinations were much less and also changing of cards was not a part of the game. During that time the different hand combinations were one pair, two pair, four of a kind, three of a kind and a full house.
During the 1820’s with the introduction of the full deck, more people began to play the game. Several changes were also introduced which increased the popularity of five card poker; the flush and gradually the straight can into play, the joker or the wild card was included into the deck and different versions of the game slowly began to appear.
The game began to spread from the mine fields to the large river boats on the Mississippi river where many games used to be held; New Orleans was also developed into an important centre for the game. During the American Civil War the game was a popular time past among the soldiers – both the Union as well as the Confederate soldiers.
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