From Riverboats to the Internet

Poker has a both long and foremost intriguing history. THere are many milestones posted along this historic path. From the device of the game in the international hustle of early 19th century New Orleans. Via Mississippi steamboats and the wild west. To gangster controlled card rooms during the prohibition.

Looking back perhaps it will be said that the most important thing for the popularity of the game was the Internet. Because although all the milestones mentioned so far are intriguing the are not comforting. And most of us like feeling comfortable when gambling, there are only a select few who would enjoy playing poker where "the only thing that beats four of a kind is a Smith & Wesson".

As the French came to America, as the civil war broke out, and as the second world war was fought, poker spread. With the more peaceful dawn or maybe late morning of the Internet, poker has tail grabbed once again.

This has actually changed the answer to the question "what is poker?", or at least to the query "how is poker played?". Because the poker interest has grown exponentially, and because it has now truly become a world wide game, everyone with an interest in the game can now play anytime and anywhere.

No previous milestones of poker has ever accomplished this. Perhaps the most dramatic change is not "merely" that a poker game is always around but that a poker game that suits you is always around.