Competitive sports have been around almost as long as human culture itself. Starting with the Olympic Games in ancient Athens, people throughout the millennia have come together to best each other—and watch others do the same—in feats of strength and power. From the discus and the javelin, to the basketball and the hockey puck of today, sports have been a flagship of human competitive nature, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But, with the advent of so-called “soft sports”, many activities over the last few years are starting to see their day in the sun alongside the baseballs, basketballs, and footballs of the world, and chief among them is poker.
Yes, poker, the age long tradition of stealing your friend’s money based on a simple draw of the cards. What started as a simple way to pass the time has now become a full-fledged sport, with television coverage, celebrities, and a huge payout that turns normal, everyday people into millionaires overnight. Today, televised poker draws audiences of which the size easily compares to the most popular sports around the world, and that size is growing quickly still. But, how did this come to be? How did a simple game of cards become one of the most popular televised sports ever? Well, that’s what I’m here to tell you. Here is an abbreviated history of Poker, the sport.
The Beginnings
There’s not a definite point in time that we can point to in which poker, in its modern form, was created; but, many historians believe that poker is derived from the French game Poque, which started making its rounds in the city of New Orleans around the 18th century. It then spread up the Mississippi river and to the rest of the continental United States in the 19th century, when poker players first adopted the standard 52-card pack (as opposed to the 20-card pack which had been used in the past). Since then, the game has evolved, adding the complex rules we know today as time went on.
Popularity
However, though it was a very popular game throughout the Midwest—causing the popular culture connection to America’s Wild West mythology—it wasn’t until the 1970s that poker first took center stage on a national level. The reason for this rise to prominence? The World Series of Poker, of course. Before this time, poker was generally played only at home, in bars, and in casinos and, while there were probably tournaments before this, none gained such popularity as WSOP tournaments, the first of which was held in 1970. With champions such as Johnny Moss, Amarillos Slim, Puggy Pearson, and other such popular folk heroes during this decade, it wasn’t long before CBS began televising these tournaments; thus, the period of modern poker popularity began.
Limelight
The popularity of the World Series of Poker was truly infectious during the 1980s, drawing viewers even with less-than-robust coverage (caused by the inability to see the players’ cards). Millions of viewers tuned in to see the 1981 WSOP, produced by NBC Sports for the first time, and the viewership has only gone up since then. With the induction of the hole cam in 1997, and the spread of poker mania—and access—all over the world, the World Series of Poker cemented itself as a true spectator sport that drew millions of viewers and players from everywhere. What had started as a simple professional’s tournament and gentlemen’s card game had transformed into a worldwide phenomenon—poker was here to stay.
Poker as a Sport
Of course, that brings us to today, where the World Series of Poker is still going strong, and the payouts, viewership, and number of players have all grown exponentially since that first night in the Binion’s Horseshoe casino. Over $100,000,000 in prize money has been paid out over its long and lustrous history, and the game of poker has only benefited, spreading throughout homes in a ubiquitous fashion. It is because of this popularity, and the recent softening of the definition of “sport”, that poker has become one of the most watched sports in all of history, cementing its spot in pop culture as a giant, and a much loved past-time to boot.
Truly, many may argue poker’s status as a true sport; but, what no one can dispute is the massive success and popularity throughout the world, as well as its effect on American culture in general. It’s all this that makes Poker “America’s Card Game”, and it is all this that renders poker the “sport” of the century.
Tyler Fleck is a poker enthusiast and a multi-purpose blogger, posting on the behalf of Texas Poker Store, Texas’s number one online supplier of poker tables and other poker accessories. Contact him for more information about the history of poker (or if you want to join in for a friendly online game), or visit Texas Poker Store’s website for more information.
