Interesting Poker Facts
Poker is one of the most popular card games on the planet. It’s made millionaires out of a few savvy players, which means that providing you have the skill and the nerve, you could make a pretty penny or two off the back of it. However, it takes plenty of years and plenty of people-watching to know how to make the best plays, and when.
But how much do you actually know about the game? Instead of focusing on strategies and the best ways to make a living through playing cards, we thought we’d focus on a few fun facts about poker to help ease you into its wild and wonderful world.
- Poker is, as mentioned, a big money spinner if you are a good enough player. The best poker players will likely tell you that luck rarely comes into it! The biggest-ever World Series of Poker win was claimed by poker pro Jamie Gold, who scooped $12 million. It’s an instant millionaire maker if you’re good enough! Better start honing up your skills!
- The game of poker is actually much older than many people give it credit for being. It’s thought that people have been playing the game for over a thousand years. As with much modern phenomena, it’s thought that the game first originated in China, or possibly even in Persia. The jury is still out!
- Poker is so prevalent in the movies that there is almost a whole genre. Many famous movies to feature poker have casinos as their main backdrop. More often than not, poker is shown to be a risky, high-stakes game. It is in real life, but only if you have plenty riding on the cards!
Fun Poker Facts: History of Poker Game in India Poker is a popular game, but Indians have always felt that the game is of western origin. Smoky casinos, well-dressed players, millions of cash deals, and unlimited flow of drinks – poker certainly doesn’t go with the Indian culture. There are many fun facts about poker, especially since the game has existed for over 1,000 years. Since it has been around for so long, and exists in so many cultures, lots of strange and interesting things have happened. It is believed that poker actually began being played in China in the 10th century.
- Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular poker games on the planet. However, believe it or not, it’s illegal to play the game in Texas. That’s because certain gambling laws prevent you from playing the game across the state.
- Poker can run for a long time depending on how many players are at the table, and what’s at stake. The longest poker game in history, believe it or not, lasted an incredible eight years and five months! Of course, this was a continuous game with various players joining and leaving. Even weirder is the fact that it probably would have gone on longer were it not stopped by flood!
- Be careful what – or who – you bet in a poker game. Andrei Karpov was one such player who was so certain he’d win the game, he bet his wife. He lost, and his wife willingly left him for the winner – wouldn’t you?
- One of the most successful poker players of all time, particularly from the online scene, is Tom Dwan. In the space of four years, he was able to convert $50 into more than $5,000,000.
- Plenty of famous people have been known to dabble in the odd round of poker, and many have gone on to make successful second careers in the bargain. Believe it or not, there are some politicians who have drummed up serious cash this way, too. One US President who was particularly successful at the table was Richard Nixon, who supposedly helped to fund his political career with his poker winnings in the mid 1940s.
- Mark Twain, author of several well-loved US novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, was well-known for being a poker fanatic. He used to pilot boats down the Mississippi River, during which time he’d join a game of poker or two as his crew sailed along. It’s likely you’ll find plenty of references to card games in his novels, too.
- Believe it or not, people used to play poker with as few as 20 cards in a deck. This was when the game was largely a four-player affair, and before it expanded into the incredible multi-player, multi-million match-up it is today. Nowadays, of course, everyone from rookies to pros use traditional 52-card decks.
- Groucho Marx supposedly got his nickname from the fact that he used to carry a poker grouch, or bag, around with him – that, at least, is one school of thought on the story. Much of the truth behind the comic actor remains a mystery!
Do you know any interesting or fun facts about poker that we’ve not mentioned? Share them here in the comments section below!
With millions of players worldwide, poker is a wildly popular game to play online and in person. And while it's important to know the rules of the game before trying your hand at this entertaining pastime, it's a lot of fun to learn interesting facts about it as well! As part of our history, pop culture and more, poker has a lot of fascinating tales to tell and trivia tidbits abound. Read on to discover 10 interesting facts about poker here.
1 - Poker is more than 1000 years old
Although it's mostly famous for being a game with beginnings in the American Old West, poker actually started hundreds of years before that time and outside the United States. Historians believe poker first originated in 10th century China or from a Persian game called as nas in the 16th century. Wherever it began, a version of it became popular in France, and was introduced from there to Canada and then the United States, where it was popularized. It's now played in various forms worldwide and is incredibly popular in the UK.
2 - Poker evolved from dominos
Although its exact origins aren't known, poker is said to have evolved through various games over the century, including domino and ranked card combinations. Emperor Mu-Tsung was reported to have played 'domino cards' on New Year's Eve with his wife in the year 969 A.D. Regardless of its domino-like origins, bluffing has always been central to the game and remains so today.
3 - Poker used to be played with just 20 cards
Early poker games were not played with the standard 52-card deck we use today; in fact, that deck came about in the mid 1800s to accommodate more players. According to several authors of mid-19th century books, people playing poker started out using a 20-card deck. This necessitated bets being made in a narrow combination range with four players each getting five cards dealt to them.
4 - Poker has been featured in hundreds of motion pictures
From Westerns like 'Maverick' set in the American Old West and starring James Garner to 'The Gambler' starring Kenny Rogers to the James Bond film 'Casino Royale' starring Daniel Craig, poker has been featured in hundreds of motion pictures. This dynamic game has brought drama to a single scene or entire movie, adding to our entertainment for generations. Check out how a high-stakes poker scene added dramatic tension to 'Casino Royale' on YouTube.
5 - The first $1 million game of poker took place in 2012
Most of us play poker for low to middle stakes, but Guy Laliberte, the CEO of Cirque Du Soleil, decided to go for broke when he suggested a $1 million buy-in tournament in 2012. It seemed like folly at first, but 48 players participated in this dramatic tournament at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the winner, 'The Magician' Antonio Esfandiari, taking home a record $18,346,673 in winnings.
Interesting Poker Facts Pictures
6 - Poker has a World Series!
Poker moved from a parlour game to a knock-down competition when the World Series of Poker was first held in 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the first year's series saw little participants or press coverage, it grew in popularity and participation over the years. These days, the World Series of Poker has grown to be a mainstream, corporate-sponsored event that ESPN covers.
7 -The first-ever televised game of poker was in 1973
Although poker was widely played prior to the 1970s, it hadn't made its way to being an interest to television audiences. But that all changed as interest grew in the World Series of Poker after its debut in 1970. When CBS Sports covered the dramatic competition in 1973, it became the first poker game broadcast on national television. It was the first of many broadcasts, and televised poker is a favorite on ESPN nowadays.
8 - Poker is responsible for Groucho Marx's name
In 1915, the four Marx brothers all got nicknames that ended in 'o' from Art Fisher during a poker game. Whether Groucho was so named because he carried around a grouch bag (small money purse) or because he could be a bit moody remains a mystery. But if it wasn't for that poker game, he'd be known by his given name, Julius, instead of Groucho--a name far less humorous.
9 - The largest game of poker every played was in the UK!
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this June 2013 poker tournament took place in Onchan, Isle of Man and had 225,000 players who played for a $25,000 top prize. It was hosted by PokerStars and players only had a $1 pay up.
10 - The longest-running game of poker ever played lasted more than 8 years
Interesting Poker Facts
Poker Trivia Facts
The Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona, boasts that it hosted the longest poker game ever in 1881. The tournament, which had a $1000 buy-in, was said to last eight years, five months and three days.