Origin of poker playing is highly debated, however recent excavations lend a helping hand to the doubt about its beginnings. Cards in Egypt have been found belonging to the late 12th century, company website while another school of thought credits India to the land where poker originated. You can find other pieces of evidence that suggest that poker might not have originated in Egypt or India but in the western world.

Documents maintained since early days within the American civilization show that poker was a significantly favoured game with the upper class citizens. Legend has it that the game began in New Orleans and spread all of the way to Ohio and Mississippi. It was further popularised when extensive rail networks began to create through the land. The game underwent several modifications to be called by nicknames like stud, straight and draw poker which gained fame through the time of the Civil War.

In Europe, the demise of poker was marked as the year the wild card concept was introduced. An example of the wild card was the Joker card and it led to further modification of the poker game. Court ruling in Nevada declared games involving betting as illegal and gamblers might be arrested for getting involved with such acts. California however favoured this game, and gave it legitimate grounds to play the game. Draw poker was favoured because, the player’s skill mattered most as well as the laws that prevented gambling anywhere in the state were powerless against it. Stud poker was not that favoured as a result of its dependence upon luck of the player over his skill. Because of this, draw poker became the nation’s favourite game and Nevada went along with the tide, cancelling the laws that banned the game. It went so far as to legalise gambling in casinos.

From these bits of evidence it may be inferred that the poker game has stood the test of time and is still the people’s favourite. Though it is a highly modified form which is being played now, it’s historically rich, with its own set of stories and puzzles.

Along came online poker

During its formative years, only the upper-class men played poker mainly because of the affordibility and placing the high stakes. The commoner was a mere witness to it as well as the situation was worse for all those who had just begun playing. Someone who wished to play poker had to have a bundle of money on his person, and additionally a technical understanding of the game. Even when their probability of winning are nil, they have to keep a straight face in order that they may not give themselves out to the opponent.

Online poker changed the scenario, and is now a force to be reckoned with, seeing the range of participants turning up for the Poker series. The how’s behind the expansion of the internet poker game may be conveniently defined. Online poker has the benefit from having a smaller over-head cost, a player can increase or decrease the number of opponents according to his skill. Online poker can also be credited as being more user friendly and requires less skills to play. A player’s current status in the game is flashed to him at regular intervals.

Probably the most significant feature in playing poker online, is the fact that there’s no need to wear a mask and play the game. There is no need to fear about face-reading when your draw is bad or when you are going to win. Since its all done over the software, the potential risks are minimal as the stakes soar high.