The history of poker as well as it’s origin has been widely disputed. There are as many possible birthplaces as there are variations of the game. The most popular belief is that poker was invented in Asia around 900 A.D., possibly derived from Chinese dominoes.
French colonists imported poker to the United States when French- Canadian settlers founded New Orleans. From New Orleans, the game's influence traveled by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, then spread via wagon and train into the Western frontier. Modifications such as stud poker, draw poker, and the straight became popular, during the Civil War.
During the wild west pioneer period of United States history, a saloon with a poker table could be found in just about every dusty town from the east coast to the west coast. Poker was extremely popular during the Civil War when the soldiers from both sides played. In just over two centuries, poker has never looked back.
Since poker’s humble beginnings on the banks of the Mississippi, the popularity of this widely played game has grown in leaps and bounds, evolving into a number of poker variations.
And today, with nearly 80 million Americans playing poker, it looks like the game is here to stay. With the wealth of poker information available online, and the relative ease of logging on and playing online with other poker players from around the world, there is no time like the present to join the online poker community of amateur and professional players alike.