The history and development of this game is not completely clear. Poker resembles the old Persian card game As Nas. The name Poker comes from the French game Poque, that has its roots in the German card game Poch. Additional games that perhaps influenced the development of Poker are the English Brag, the French Bouillotte (Brelan) as well as Pimero.
Poker as we know it today, began to spread in popularity in the early nineteen-hundreds, as it was mainly played on the steamboats along the Mississippi. The games that were probably the forerunners to Poker, the French "Poque," the German "Pochen" as well as the Persian "As Nas" are all several hundred years older.
Throughout the history of Poker, drastic changes occurred and there were quite a number of variations developed. Around 1840, the first games with the customary 52 card deck were played. In the early years, Poker was usually played with a 20 card deck, meaning the cards 2 - 9 were not included.
The most popular variation today is Texas Holdem and was introduced about 80 years ago. And the also popular Omaha variation was introduced just 30 years ago.
Poker has experienced a rise in popularity since the beginning of the World Series of Poker in the early 1970's. The Poker-boom that we are experiencing today did not begin until the win of the amateur player Chris Moneymaker at the WSOP 2003. Since then, the number of participants in these tournaments have multiplied tenfold. Another effect is that more and more players, also beginners, are playing online Poker. Also more and more tournaments are being broadcast on German TV. These changes have essentially led to the fact that Poker has become "acceptable" in the last ten years and is played by a large majority of people with much enthusiasm and many communicative elements.
Currently, Poker is probably the most widespread card game in the world. Due to the broadcasting of Poker tournaments and the Poker-boom in internet, the number of active Poker-players has grown dramatically. Everyone wants to play Poker, and with Crowns Cup it is the most fun of all
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