The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-06-12
THE ORIGIN OF POKER
And whence Came the Name OF
Great American Card Game.

Great American Oaru Gumes
From the New York Sun
A discussion took place recently at
London club about the origin of
various popular games, especially
bridge and poker. An account was
given of the efforts made by the Sun
m discover the earliest date at which
noker was played in America, and in
what part of the country it was in
vented.
From the various letters it was evil
dent that there were no card players
now living who could remember a time
when poker was unknown. Several
correspondents sent descriptions of the
game as they had seen it played on
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers as far
pack as 1910.
They remarked upon the primitive
ness of the rules, the quickness of the
nlav. the facts that the pack con-
aimed twenty cards only and that
straights, jackpots and drawing were
unknown. But not one of them re-
called any evidence that poker was
a new game in 1910.
one correspondent said that as he
recollected the game in New Orleans
il was first called poke. This name
appears in an early description of the
game, but seems to have been gem
orally regarded as a msprint. Was it?
One of the men present at this dis
cussion, Frederic Jessel. of Graves
Hiu Gardens, London, who is famous
as a connoisseur on everything rela-
ing to cards and the owner of what
is probably the finest collection of
books on cards and card games in
the world, comprising more than 1000
volumes, very kindly suggested that
If the writer would take the trouble
10 wade through this mass OF liter
AZURE, some of which dated back to
1865 it was at his disposal, an offer
which was very promptly accepted.
1t took a good many afternoons to
20 through the thirty odd books de-
voted exclusively to poker, the earliest
of which was published in 1874, but
none of them shed the slightest ray of
light on the origin of the game, or
how it got its name
Leaving the poker text books be-
hind, the next search was made
through the various encyclopedias of
games which are now commonly spok-
en- of under the generic title of
"Hoyles," any book which treats of
number of variety of games being now
called a "Hoyle.'
No Reference Until 1854.
The European Hoyles and Bohns
Handbook of Games make no ref
erence to poker until 1884. "Caven-
dsh," the great authority on whist and
for nearly forty years card editor of
the Field, which during his life was the
recognized authority on all matters re-
lating to cards. wrote a book-"Round
Games of Cards'-in 1875, in which
poker is described. WinterblOSSOn S
book must have been published in Eng
land about the same time, as the copy
in the British Museum is dated 1875.
In the American reprints and copies
of some of the European Hoyles, poker
was tackled on at the end in an appen-
dix as early as 1850. In the 1915 edi-
ton of "Hoyle's Games" published by
H. F. Anners in Philadelphia, there is
no mention of poker, but in the supple
ment to the edition of 1850 there is a
very brief description of the game.
1t seems to have been played with
the full pack. straight poker of course,
and had the popularity that any play
err holding a hand better than triplets
receivedn bonus from each of the others
at tine table as a sort of consolation
in case no one bet against him.
The first mention of draw poker is
to be found in Dick & Fitzgeralds
Hoyle, the edition printed in 1867, and
not until the edition published in 1875
do we md any mention of jackpots.
In the edition of 1870 jackpots are still
unknown, and "Cavendish," in his
Round Games of Cards. which came
cut in 1875, makes no mention of Jack
pots.
In none of these works is there any
explanation of the origin of the game
itself.
The English edition of Bohn's Hand
book of Games" which came out in
1850 was printed from the same plates
unchanged until 1884, when poker was
added. In the American edition poker
was added from the first, in 1850, but
draw poker was not put in until 1887
While there is no attempt to account
for poker itself, several writers attrib
ute the invention of jackpots to some
players in Toledo, some time about
1870, who were anxious to put stop
to the constant throwing up OF hands
by close players who would not come
in on anything less than jacks, leaving
the liberal players with no one to play
against.
Jackpot Late Invention.
That jackpots were unknown much
before 1870 has long ago been proved,
and If Toledo invented them there GER
tainly should be some people still liv-
ing who could recall the circumstances.
Stepping into another path of investi-
cation, the columns of the press, there
is no mention to be found of a single
dispute about poker in any of the Eng
lish papers until about 1875. In Ameri-
ca a careful examination of all the de-
cisions on card questions published in
Wilkes Spirit O. the Times, from 1870
to 1874, showed not a single case in
which tnekpots are mentioned, although
almost every other phase of the game
is dacseed upon.
Early in 1874 we find the first men
ton of jackpots, when correspondent
asks If he must show his entire hand
or only openers when he is called. To
this the editor replies: 1--WE know of
no rules for jackpot poker"
In all this mass of matter there was
no reference to the origin of the game.
and not a single correspondent seems
to have raised the question. This be-
ing the case, the search through the
treasures CT the Jesse Library had to
he diverted to books published at ear
Her d1tes, which were not Hoyles, but
books on the evils of gambling, a
favorlte topic with the old writer's.
1t is IN one of these books that the
first mention of poker is to be found.
The Reformed Gambler" by Jonathan
H. Green, published by T. p. Peter
son & Bro, Philadelphia, and copy
rghted in 1858.
On page 14O of this hook is a de-