3 Interesting Facts About Poker
You’ll want Lady Luck to be on your side when the cards are dealt in Poker, but the classic table game is actually predominantly a game of skill. Once you have your hand, it’s up to you how you use it in your plight to come out on top and beat your opponents. You’ll want to capitalise on the other player’s mistakes, being able to read their moves and expressions, and make strategic decisions based upon your predictions. Fundamentally, Poker is a game of maths, odds and strategy, rather than simply luck.
Poker itself is fascinating, as you never really know what’s going to happen next, particularly in a high-stake game, or a professional competition. It’s no wonder that it’s such a popular casino game and its longevity is testament to this, especially as you can now play Poker at an online casino. What’s equally as fascinating are these three facts that we’ve compiled that you might not have known before, so read on for some exciting Poker trivia.
1. The longest Poker game in history
Held at the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona, the longest Poker game in history lasted for a whopping eight years, five months and three days. The game ran without stopping, 24 hours per day, seven days per week and was a high-stakes game, with buy-ins costing $1,000. The game spanned from 1881 to 1889 and over these eight years, it is predicted that $10 million worth changed hands.
The game saw some heavyweight players come to try their hand at the game, including James Brady — known as ‘Diamond Jim Brady’ — and George Hearst. Believe it or not, the only reason that the game didn’t carry on is because the building flooded in 1889, caused by water entering the mines and seeping into some of the town’s lower-lying properties.
2. Early Poker games were played with 20 cards
As you’ll probably know, Poker today uses a full deck of cards, meaning that there are 52 cards used during play. However, this hasn’t always been the case, as should you travel back in time to a Poker game before 1834, an average game involved just 20 cards and four players.
The rules of course also differed to the game that we’re familiar with today, to cater to the reduced deck involved. Each player was dealt five cards and once they had their hands, betting would begin.
3. Poker is a sport and a lucrative one at that!
We all know that sports stars have a hefty salary, take Cristiano Ronaldo and Rodger Federer for instance, whose collective career earnings exceed $150 million. However, did you know that Poker is also classed as a sport and has earned its name as the most high-paying game in the world, with the sum of the five biggest prizes amounting to almost $45 million in some professional tournaments.
Unlike most sports however, it’s just as easy to lose money as it is to win, hence the fact that Poker is respected as a professional sport, requiring courage, skill and a whole lot of self-belief.
