soldiers were stationed abroad during World War I, taking Poker truly global. It would be several decades before the game really took off in Europe and Australia when U.S. Minister for Great Britain explaining the rules to court officials and insisted on him teaching her the game. The story goes that Queen Victoria overhead the U.S.

Image via Wikimedia.Īround the same time, in 1871, the game was brought back to its original home in Europe. It’s hard to imagine the wild west without a poker game in the saloon. By the late 19 th century, Poker was a key feature in the saloons of the frontier settlements. Poker spread from the Southern states along with migration of settlers and transportation of goods to the West. Poque became Poker and began to exhibit similarities to the modern game poker became a five-card game by 1834 with the addition of a 52-card deck. The first anglicised version of poker has been dated to the early 19th cenury when English speaking settlers moved to the area after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Primero was a three-card game, played with forty cards in which players gambled on getting the highest hand with bluffing being a key element.įrench settlers brought the game of Poque to the United States where it flourished in Franco areas like New Orleans. The origins of Poker can be traced to Europe with the 16 th century Spanish card game of Primero which was adapted in both France (Poque) and Germany (Pochen).

Of course, huge jackpots and prestigious tournaments have also helped project a glamorous edge to the proceedings.īut how did poker evolve in Australia, is it legal and why are there so many variations of the game? History of Poker in Australia Poker enjoys a popularity in Australia that is unrivalled by other forms of gambling, largely due to the game’s combination of luck and skill. Poker in Australia is a relatively new game but how did it get so popular? 2 Where to Play Poker in Australia: State by State.

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