The History of Texas Hold’Em Poker

Texas Hold’em is the most popular variation of Poker. It is played using a standard 52 card deck. To put it simply; each player is dealt 2 cards face down, 5 community cards are placed face up and each player must build the best 5 card combination of these 7 cards. There are rounds of betting after the dealing of the hold cards, the first 3 community cards (the flop), the next community card (the turn) and the last community card (the river). Players compete to accumulate the highest amount of chips or money, depending if it is a cash game or a tournament. However this is an extremely simple summary of a very detailed and complex game which tests the intellect, luck, psychology and courage of each player.

Nobody knows the true origins of Texas Hold’Em, although the officially recognised birthplace is Robstown, Texas, sometime around the 1900s. Hold’Em was first introduced to it’s spiritual home, Las Vegas, by a group of Texan players in 1967. The very first tournament was held in 1969, but it was in 1970 that the tournament was acquired by Benny and Jack Binion, who renamed it the World Series of Poker. The first few years saw the tournament only attract a handful of players, a far cry away from the huge event we all know and love today!

Texas Hold’Em gained a large fanbase when it was first launched online, in 1998 Planet Poker was the first card room to offer real games. This gave the game huge exposure, players could compete from their living rooms all over the world. The growth was rapid. In 2001 the revenue from online poker stood at $82.7 million to a colossal $2.4 billion in 2005.

Texas Hold’Ems rise to the top has been rapid, it is now be seen as a world renowned and mainstream game. Tournaments are held all over the world, as well as online, and are broadcast live on TV. Hold’Em can attribute it’s popularity to the complexity of the game, it is often referred to as ‘the thinking man’s game’. The game now has a huge following of dedicated players and, from small beginnings, will only continue to increase in popularity.