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Cards in Egypt have been found belonging to the late 12th century, while another school of thought credits India to the land where poker originated.
There are 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 in the American civilization show that poker was a much favoured game with the upper class citizens.
Legend has it that the game began in New Orleans and spread all the way toOhio and Mississippi.
It was further popularised when extensive rail networks began to develop throughout the land.
The game underwent several modifications to be called by nicknames like stud, straight and draw poker which gained fame during 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 could be arrested for getting involved in 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 and the laws that prevented gambling anywhere within the state were powerless against it.
Stud poker was not that favoured due to its dependence on luck of the player over his skill.
Due to 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 can be inferred that the poker game has stood the test of time and is still the people's favourite.
Although it is a highly modified form that is being played now, it is 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 and the situation was worse for those who had just begun playing.
A person who wished to play poker had to have a bundle of cash on his person, and also a technical knowledge about the game.
Even if their chances 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 number of participants turning up for the Poker series.
The how's behind the growth of the online poker game can be easily defined.
Online poker has the advantage of having a smaller over-head cost, a player can increase or decrease the number of opponents according to his skill.
Online poker is also 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 important feature in playing poker online, is that there is 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're about to win.
Since its all done through the software, the risks are minimal while the stakes soar high.
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