The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-07-22
THE GAME OF POKER
IT SEEMS TO HAVE ORIGINATED IN
NEW ORLEANS.

II Apparently nm Improvement ON
the Old French Game "Le Jeu du
Pogue" OF German "Pochenspiel."
All the evidence about poker which
has come to light points to its origin In
New Orleans. The question is, Where
did New Orleans get it from, or is 1t an
Improvement on some game known to
the population Of that city, who, it
must be remembered, were French and
used French terms in any games that
they played?
There is no French game played with
only twenty cards, as poker was played
ut New Orleans in 1882, but there are
several French games in which all the
poker hands are to he found except four
Of kind. Ambigu, brelan and many
others will at once suggest themselves.
But all these French games are
played with three cards only in the
hand Of each player. Where could the
inventor Of poker have found game
played with FIVE. cards In each hand
and the pack consisting Of twenty
cards only?
The standard pack Of cards In Eu-
rope from the earliest days has been
what is now called the piquet pack,
which is the same as our American
euchre pack, thirty-two cards. There is
only one country In the world that
uses a pack limited to twenty cards,
and that is Persia. There is only one
country in the world where poker has
always been played with five cards in
the hand Of each player, and that is
Persia, but the game is not called po-
ker. 1t is called as mas.
Those who are familiar with this an
cient Persian game unhesitatingly as
sert some Frenchman must have
brought it to New Orleans in its primi-
tive form, with the pack limited to
twenty cards and the hand of each
player increased to five. The question
stin remains, How did it change its
name?
The old Persian pack had no aces,
court cards and spots, like ours, but
each suit was made up of pictures
which ranked: Lion, king, lady, soldier
and dancing girl. This pack was
called varak as, varak asands or
simply as, from the game as or asands,
which was played with it. This an
cient game was simply twenty card
poker, as it was first played in Amer
lea at the beginning Of this century.
But If poker was originally known as
asands, how came it to lose that name?
1t seemed to the writer, and also to
Mr.. Jessel, that the answer to this
question must be looked for in the Ian
guage of the people who brought the
game from Europe, If they did bring it.
If they brought it to New Orleans
from Persia, or If some resident of
that city was familiar with the Per-
sian game and thought it an improve
ment on the French game Of ambigu
and brelan, the introducer was prob
ably French and more familiar with
French games and French terms than
with Persian.
and most authoritative works on card
games was published in France and
ran through great many editions.
This is the famous Academic Univer-
selle des Jeux; Chez Theodore Legras,
au Palais, Paris"
In the 1865 edition of this work we
find the first description of the game
Of hoe.
The game Of hoe continues to be de-
scribed until the edition Of 1902, with
no mention Of any improvement or
change in its form. In 1873, however,
page 305, we find q description Of lie
jeu du poque, which exactly agrees
with the game known to all German
children as pochenspiel or pochen. The
Academic DIES Jeux" speaks Of poque
as descendant or offshoot from the
older game of hoe.
The popularity Of poque is that aft
er the cards are dealt and each player
has taken from the common pool the
counter for the rank of the highest
cards held he is at liberty to bet upon
the various combinations Of cards he
holds, triplets, pairs, etc. In the
French description of the game we are
told that player opened the betting
by saying, "Je poque dun jeton," or
two chips. or as many as. he pleased,
and that then the others could see him,
raise him or drop out in their turn.
In the German game pochen as it is
played today we find exactly the same
expressions still in use, "Ich poche
ems" or as many chips as the player
cares to venture, and the answer of
the player entering the betting against
the opener is invariably, "Ich poche
NIT" Both poque and pochen are
played with piquet pack, thirty-two
cards.
Now, it is very curious that in the
English translation of this Academic
des Jeux" and in all the English de-
scriptions Of the game Of poque we find
the players are instructed to say in
English, II poque for so much" and
the following players are to respond.
II poque against you"
Show this word ''poque" to any ordi-
nary English speaking person not ac-
quainted with French, and he would
undoubtedly separate 1t into two syl-
tables and call it po-que. In the Ger
man the word poche is already as near
poker as the vowel sound will admit.
What more natural than that resi-
dent Of New Orleans Of French birth
Or extraction already familiar with the
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