A Brief History of Poker

Poker is a card game with millions of fans. Writing about this popular pastime requires attention to detail, engaging anecdotes and a grasp of the psychology and mathematics that are behind the game.

Unlike most card games, in which players place bets that have a certain expected value (usually positive), the decision to call a raise or fold depends on an individual player’s perception of their odds of getting a better hand. This uncertainty, which is inherent in deciding under incomplete information, is one of the reasons that the success of poker relies so heavily on a combination of probability, psychology and game theory.

In each round of betting, all active players reveal their hands. The highest hand wins the pot, which consists of all of the chips that have been placed down as buy-ins so far. Players may also add wild cards to their hands to increase the chances of a high-ranking hand.

Several early vying games may have contributed to the development of poker, including Bog’ (German, 17th – 18th centuries), Glic and Flux & Trente-un (French, 16th century), Brag (18th – 19th centuries), and Bouillotte (1670s – mid-18th century). A number of other games, with different rules and numbers of cards, also exist, but are not as closely related to poker as these are to the modern game.