So you love Poker and are really good at the game, or maybe not so much, but still love the game and every other fact surrounding the game. Let us introduce you some astonishing facts, from the time Poker was introduced till the time WSOP made its debut and beyond.
1. Longest Poker game in the History: Yes it’s astonishing but true!! The Longest Poker game in the history, starting in the year 1881, this game lasted for 8 years, 5 months and 3 days. Hosted in Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone Arizona, this tourney required $1000 buy-in and featured several legendary Old West personalities.
2. World Series of Poker Debut: The year was 1970, and the place was Las Vegas. A handful of hot shot players assembled to go head to head to determine the first world champion poker player. Unlike ensuing years when the winner has been decided by a freeze-out tournament, the first was decided by voting.
3. 20 Cards were used to play Poker: The most common form of early poker was played with a 20-card deck and four players. Players were dealt five cards and then bet on who had the best hand. The first documented mention of playing with a 52-card deck is from 1834.
4. Poker Today: According to research cited by the non-profit Poker Players Alliance, approximately 70 million Americans play poker live and/or online—more than 20% of the population.
5. Texas Dolly: Getting dealt 10,2 is referred to as Doyle Brunson because he won back to back World Series with the hand.
6. Poker Chip: The origin: Until the late 1800s, poker “chips” consisted of just about any small valuable object—anything from gold nuggets, or even gold dust, to coins. Desperately in need of standardized units, saloons and gaming houses crafted chips out of ivory, bone, clay and wood, decorated with unique symbols. However, these were often copied by cheats. By the early 1900s, commercial firms sold manufactured clay chips that were more difficult to copy.
7. The French Connection: Due to French influence, Spades represent Royalty, Diamonds represent Merchants, Clubs represent the peasants, and hearts represent the clergy.
8. The Presidential Suite: Former President Richard Nixon won $6000 playing Poker in his first two months in the U.S. navy during WWII. That is roughly equal to $42,600 USD in 2004. He used that money as well as more Poker winnings to finance his run for the U.S. Congress in 1946, which he won.