History

When studying the history of 5 card draw poker it is essential to study the history of poker too. Poker dates back to Asia and Europe, but it was only when the game found its way to America that it really started to take off in popularity and become widespread. This happened in approximately the 19th century. In fact, miners really enjoyed playing 5 card draw poker following a hard day in the mines searching for gold. Perhaps that was why the game became a symbol of machoism (being a game played by hard working laborer miners) and even more so because the game lacked legality and thus players had to be really determined to play the game and not get caught.

Looking at the history of 5 card draw poker we find that the game has changed over the years since its inception. Initially there was just one betting round. Each player was dealt 5 cards which were face down and thereafter they placed their bets. At this time the game was played with only 20 cards (10 to Ace in each suit) and because of the few cards being used, there was no draw and there were fewer possibilities for winning combinations. Indeed the winning cards were: a pair; two pairs; three of a kind; a full house and four of a kind and at the time, the best hand one could get was 4 aces or 4 kings. Players didn’t change cards – there simply weren’t enough to go around. But because the game was not gaining in popularity (and indeed was probably decreasing in popularity), there was clearly some need for a change. And thus the history of 5 card draw poker saw some modifications.

In the 1820s, the full deck of cards was used for 5 card draw poker and this meant that more people could join the game during a hand. It has been said that this was a crucial milestone in the history of 5 card draw poker and along with it came the option to draw cards which also had a huge impact on the game’s popularity. Then the flush emerged in the game, followed by the straight.

Lots of different people now began playing 5 card draw poker. The game even became popular among soldiers during the US Civil war; Confederate as well as union. Just as things were going well for 5 card draw poker, 7 card stud poker made its entrance in to the poker playing world, shoving 5 card draw poker out of the limelight. It resurfaced somewhat with the emergence of online poker rooms.

It is indeed quite interesting to look at the history of 5 card draw poker and see what it has been through in terms of changes and popularity. It certainly gives players a sense of time and history and when playing the game, it might be quite heartwarming to imagine miners sitting around doing the same thing, all those years ago!