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Aces Casino • Feb 11, 2020

Did You Know...?

Fun Facts About the Game Everyone Loves

Playing cards were invented by the Chinese before AD1000 and reached Europe around 1360. Sometime during the early 19th century the game of Poker cultivated and has grown into a lucrative sport played all over the world today. America is the birthplace of Poker. The game was developed in Louisiana, more specifically New Orleans. The first version of Poker was played with only twenty cards, where now we play with the full deck of fifty-two cards. In the twenty-card version you were only able to play with four players. Each player was dealt five cards then they would bet on who had the best hand. It was not until around 1834 that the fifty-two-card deck was integrated into the game.

In the early stages of poker gold nuggets, gold coins, and gold dust was used for the ante. The problem was that they could not standardize units; thus, the poker chip was born. Saloons and gaming houses came up with poker chips, that were made from bone, wood, clay, and ivory. Each chip had a design that would tell the value and could be exchanged for real money. You could exchange the money at the gaming house like what you do today in a Casino.

The world’s longest poker game was held in the famous “Bird Cage Theater” in Tombstone, Arizona. It was said to have lasted eight years, five months, and three days. It was played continuously twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and the minimum buy in was $1000. Most don’t know it, but Poker is the most lucrative sport in the world. Millions of people watch baseball, football, basketball, etc., and know how much the top players make. However, if you look at the top money makers in each sport, the sum of the five largest pots won adds up to $44,2023,738, far exceeding what professional sports players earn.

In 2012, Antonio Esfandiari won the largest WSOP pot taking home a whopping $18.3 million. Coming in second is Elton Tsang who won $12.2 million. The top online poker winner to date is Patrik Antonius who won over $17 million. Currently, Daniel Negreanu is at the top of the jackpot list with over $34 million in total winnings.

The largest online poker tournament to date was set on June 16, 2013. It had 225,000 players with a $1 buy-in and a prize pool of $300,000. First place took home $25,000 and the runner up won $15,000.

The famous “Dead Man’s Hand” which consists of the Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades, 8 of Clubs, and 8 of Spades, was born when Wild Bill Hickok, a famous gunslinger, was shot and killed at a Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. Hickok was allegedly holding those cards when he died, forever coining the name.

There are many different “tells” that players have, but here are a few to watch for next time you are in a game. The direction a player leans, forward or backward, can be an indication of a powerful hand. Also, the way a player stacks their chips can be used as a way to mislead the other players. A person who is bluffing may use direct eye contact to get you to fold. Keep an eye on your opponents; they are definitely watching you too.

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