10 surprising facts about the game poker
Poker is one of the world’s favorite card games. Invented over a thousand years ago the game has become a huge part of the American identity. The game has been featured in nearly 2000 feature films and is one of the most lucrative professional games in the world.
We all know a lot about the game and how it’s played, but today, we thought we’d share with you 10 surprising facts you didn’t know about Poker.
#1 – Poker originates from the game Dominos
We actually don’t know how old Poker is or how it was invented. However, a record from China from the year 969 CE talks about an emperor playing ‘domino’s cards’ with his friends at New Years.
This game came to be known as Poker. Modern Poker shares many similarities with dominos, including a focus on bluffing and flushes.
#2 – There was once a Poker Game that lasted for over 8 days
Legend has it that a theatre called the Bird Cage in Arizona held a $1000 buy-in high stakes tournament. However, this game actually ended up lasting over 8 years – 8 years, 5 months, and 3 days to be exact.
If this story could be verified it would be officially the longest game of Poker ever played.
#3 – There is an underwater Poker tournament played in Florida every year
The competition is called The Lady Luck Underwater Poker Tournament – it is free to enter and participants must battle their way through the qualifying rounds (held on land) before entering the water.
The tournament provides specially designed poker chips and cards for the final round, which is held underwater. The winner gets a good amount of prize money and a lovely trophy.
#4 – Poker is a professional Game
Poker is not just for stag-nights and smoky backrooms in bars. It is actually a professional game and there is a Poker world series. In this tournament, professional Poker players play each other for vast sums of money all over the world.
These games are now broadcast around the world and make millions of dollars from sponsors alone.
#5 – Beware the Dead Man’s Hand
There is a hand known in Poker as The Dead Man’s Hand. This hand is 2 aces and 2 eights. The name actually has nothing to do with how the game of Poker is played. Instead, it got the name as it was the hand that the famous Poker player Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot.
#6 – The first $1,000,000 poker game didn’t happen until 2012
When we think of poker we all think of high-stakes games with money being thrown around like it’s nothing.
So, you may be surprised to hear that the first million dollars (that we know of) poker match only happened in 2012.
The buy-in for the tournament was $1,000,000, with 47 participants. In the end, the winner walked away with over $18,000,000. The winner’s name was “The Magician” Antonio Esfandiari.
#7 – The biggest ever poker game had 225,000 players
This tournament was held on the Isle of Man (in the United Kingdom), in June 2013. The buy-in for this tournament was $1 and the prize pool was $225,000. It was hosted by PokerStars and was officiated by The Guinness Book of World Records.
#8 – Poker chips used to be made out of ivory and bone
The earliest records of Poker being played we have are from China. It is thought that the original poker chips were made from ivory, bone, wood, and clay. The rarer the material the more valuable the chip.
#9 – Richard Nixon funded his first Congressional Campaign with winnings from a Poker Game
Before he became the President of the United States, Richard Nixon was a man who needed to fund his own campaigns. He was notoriously good at Poker. In fact, he used his winnings from the game to fund his first campaign where he ran for a position in Congress. He didn’t stop playing Poker after he became a politician.
#10 – Your odds of getting a Royal Flush are 649,740 to 1 (still better odds than winning the lottery
Whether you choose to play Poker from home or at a tournament you will want to draw a royal flush. Unsurprisingly, Royal Flushes are fairly rare. Your chances of getting one are 649,740 to 1. However, your chances of winning the lottery are over 14,000,000 to 1.
