The History of Video Poker

by Jaime on February 24th, 2010

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Electronic Poker is simply a mixture of two well-liked forms of gambling: the video slot with the poker game. Succeeding at a game of Video-Poker involves a blend of gambler ability with good fortune, making it a favorite with bettors. The game of poker is believed to have originated back in 1830, where it is recorded as having been enjoyed by French immigrants dwelling in New Orleans. Electronic-Poker uses a variation of the game called 5card draw poker. Meanwhile, the coin-operated card device (better-known affectionately as a "slot") was first invented in the late Nineteenth century, with poker machines appearing in San Francisco in Eighteen Ninety. These machines were incredibly simple by today’s specifications, using actual cards rather than icons.

The machines declined in popularity throughout the 1st half of the Twentieth century. Economic problems combined with the limited technologies of the machines themselves meant that persons just were not interested in betting anymore. A really primitive electronic digital poker device was released in Nineteen Sixty-Four but achieved only moderate success.

It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the Video-Poker machines as we know it today started to be accessible. Breakthroughs in technology meant that a central processing unit (CPU) could be put inside the machines to give them a "brain", while a monitor transmitted the action to the bettor.

Meanwhile, gambling house operators searched for new high-profit games, and also the mixture of a video slot machine with the more traditional game of five-card draw poker proved to be a winning blend with the old and new. The initial Electronic Poker unit was built in 1976 by Bally Manufacturing. It was black and white only, but a color version was developed just eight months later, by the Fortune Coin Business. Over the next few years, chips became less expensive to mass produce, and more gambling establishments introduced Electronic-Poker machines as they grew to become extra financially viable. A version labeled Draw Poker was unveiled in 1979 by a corporation now referred to as IGT, and it achieved amazing success.

Video Poker genuinely took off within the early 80s where it grew to become famous in gambling establishments across Las Vegas. Players found themselves less intimidated by a unit than they were when sitting down at a table facing others. The popularity of the game has steadily improved over the last quarter-century and it can now be found in the majority of casinos around the world, along with bars and on the Internet.

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