Who Invented Poker Cards? A Look into Their Creation and Evolution
The playing cards used in poker games have a history as fascinating as the game itself. It dates back many centuries and transcends numerous cultures and civilizations. So, what is the history of card games and the cards themselves? Who invented poker cards, and what was the first card game?
History of Playing Cards
Historians often credit the invention of cards to the Chinese, and most scholars believe they originated around 1,000 AD. It’s thought these cards developed from intricately designed game tiles like the ones used in Mahjong. The cards were probably sold to European traders who took them across popular trade routes into Eastern Europe and North Africa.
From there, they landed in Egypt during the Mameluke empire. They took on many forms and weren’t standardized, but this is where the cards first became popular and gradually morphed into what we recognize as playing cards today.
By the late 14th century, playing cards were being referenced in texts across Europe, with one German monk writing about various card games, many of which seemed to use 52 cards. The cards took on a more modern shape in Italy, where face cards featuring a king, queen, and knave were created.
Over the next century, the cards developed four different suits, beginning with acorns, hearts, bells, and leaves in Germany and then switching to clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades in France during the 1400s.
By the time they reached England later in the same century, playing cards were widespread. The English used the same suits and colors before spreading their empire to all four corners of the world, and these designs took root and became modern playing cards.
Who Invented Poker Cards
The game of poker is thought to have begun in the United States. It likely developed from ideas taken from European games, including brag from England, as-nas from Persia, and poque from France. The game was played with a 52-card deck or a cut version that used only 20 cards.
The earliest references to the game come from New Orleans. The 1843 book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling describes its spread across the Mississippi River to the American West, where it took root.
This means that the game had already been around for several decades by the time American folk hero Wild Bill Hickock was shot dead with a hand of aces and eights (after that known as “dead man’s hand”). At this time, the most common forms of poker were stud and five-card draw, but a bigger variant was coming from the Lone Star State.
Although the exact origins are unknown, it’s thought that Texas Hold’em began in Robstown, Texas, in the early 20th century. Its growth was relatively slow, with stud and draw variants remaining the most popular poker games for several decades. In the late 1960s, it was introduced to Sin City casinos, and by the 1970s, it was the star feature of major poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Even then, the game didn’t become a leading variant until the 1980s/90s, and it received its most significant boost in the early 2000s when Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Mian Event. After qualifying for the tournament through a satellite that cost just $86, Moneymaker took home a prize of $2.5 million.
Moneymaker inspired countless other players to follow in his footsteps, making Hold’em the most popular variant and launching the age of online poker.
History of Card Games
If we assume that playing cards originated in China around 1,000 AD and then spread to Egypt and Europe, it’s fair to assume that some standard card games were being played around this time. However, we didn’t have much information about these games or even the cards they used, and we can’t even be sure these early “cards” were paper-based.
However, we have more information on the games played in Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries. Stories about a couple of card sharps dating back to the early 1400s exist, although the game they played has yet to be described.
One of the earliest games described was Ronfa. This game was played in Italy during the 15th century but likely originated in France. However, as with other games popular at the time, we don’t know much about it except that it was a popular game often played at court that used a 48-card deck with the 10s removed.
Karnöffel, a German game played in Bavaria around the same time, also used a 48-card deck (the aces were removed) and is often regarded as the oldest known game that used modern playing cards. Again, we don’t know exactly how it was played, but it did continue in some form for several centuries, and there are some descendants of the game still being played today. It may not have looked all that different from some games discussed in our casino games guide.
Summary: Playing Cards Origin
Playing cards have had a long and fascinating history, from early Chinese games played with tiles to intricately designed Egyptian cards and numerous European variants. By the time Wild Bill picked up that fateful hand, playing cards had already been standardized for several centuries, and the cards he held didn’t look that different from the ones in use today.
Remember this the next time you look over those Hold’em or three-card poker hands. If you want to step back from history and focus on the present, improve your poker game with the help from our three-card poker betting strategy.
Poker Common Queries
What is the story behind the deck of cards?
The modern deck of cards was created in Europe about 600 years ago, but it was developed from cards and games that first began life in China.
Why are there 52 cards in a deck?
No one knows for sure, but it’s thought that the number of cards could represent the number of weeks in a year, with the four suits representing the seasons.
What was the first card game?
The German game of Karnöffel is the oldest card game we know of, but playing cards had been in use for a long time before the first recorded mention of this game, so it probably wasn’t the first.
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