THE HISTORY OF TEXAS HOLDEM

The origins of texas holdem poker are somewhat unclear. Some claim that he game was first played in the early 1900s in the town of Robstown, Texas. Others say that it was invented in a bunkhouse full of ranch hands. They only had one deck of cards and thus invented a game in which as many as 23 players could play at the same time. The texas holdem rules, with two hole cards to each player and five community cards, makes this possible.

Doyle, Sailor and Amarillo Slim

Texas is undoubtedly the home of Texas Hold'em, and in the late 1950s, three Texans came to form a fearsome poker team. The three were Doyle Brunson "Sailor" Roberts and "Amarillo Slim" Preston and they travelled around Texas and the Southwest, finding and crushing as many poker games as possible, often playing Texas Hold'em.

Rumours of this exciting new poker game spread across the country, and in 1963 Felton "Corky" McCorquodale introduced it to Las Vegas' California Club. Soon Hold'em could be played in other popular card rooms as well, such as the Stardust, the Dunes and the Golden Nugget.

World Series of Poker

By 1971, Texas Hold'em had gained such popularity that it became the natural choice for the first ever World Series of Poker Main Event, the tournament where the world champion of poker is crowned. The WSOP pretty much lived a life of its own, outside the main stream spotlight until 2003, when amateur Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event and $2,500,000. Moneymaker had qualified through an online satellite for $40, and suddenly everybody wanted to play Texas Hold'em and repeat his amazing accomplishment. In just a few years time the number of entrants in the Main Event grew from a few hundred to several thousands.

Online Poker and Poker TV

The possibility to play Hold'em online, and TV shows like "Late Night Poker" and "The World Poker Tour" where you could see the players hole cards made the interest in the game even bigger. Today, Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular poker game in both the United States and the rest of the world.