The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-05
washington starr

a London club about the origin of
various popular games, especially
bridge and poker. An account was
given of the efforts made by the Sun
to discover the earliest date at which
poker was played in America, and in
what part Of the country it was in
vented.
From the various letters 1T was evil
dent that there were no card players
now living who could remember a
time when poker was unknown. Sew
eral correspondents sent descriptions
of the game as they had seen il played
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers as
far back as 1870
They remarked upon the primitive
ness of the rules, the quickness of the
play, the facts that the pack contain
ed 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. even in 1910.
One correspondent said that as he
recOllected the game in New Orleans
it was first called poke. This name
appears in an early description of the
game, but seems to have been gener-
ally regarded as a misprint. Was it?
One of the men present at this dis
cussion, Frederic Jessel of Craven Hill
Gardens. London. who is famous as
connOisseur on everything relating
to cards and the owner of what is pro-
badly 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 TO wade
through this mass of literature. some
of which dated back to 1865, it was at
his disposal. an offer which was very
promptly accepted.
It took a good many afternoons to
go through the thirty-odd books de-
voted exclusively to poker. the earliest
of which was published i'm 1874, but
none of them shed the slightest ray
of light on the origin of the game, of
how it got it's name.
Leaving the poker textbooks behind,
the next search was made through
various encyclopedias of games, which
are now commonly spoken of under the
generic title of "Hoyles," any book
which treats of anumber or variety of
games being now called "Hoyle."
The European Hoyles and Bohn's
Handbook of Games" make no re-
/ ference to poker until 1884. "Caven-
dish" the great authority on whist
and for nearly forty years card editor
4
/ the recognized authority on all mat
| ters relating to cards, wrote book
| Round Games of CaTds'-in 1915, in
which poker is decribed. Winterbos-
SONS book must have been published
/ in England about the same time. as
/ the copy in the British Museum is dat
/ ed 1875
| In the American reprints and copies
of some of the European Hoyles poker
Z ,Nf1
dix as early as 1850. In the 1915 edi
| ton of "HoyIe'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
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
er holding a hand better than trip1ets
received a bonus from each of the
others at the table as a sort of con-
ISOLATION in case no one bet against
him.
The first mention of draw poker is
to be found in Dick & Fitzgerald's
HOyle. the edition printed in 1867, and
not until the edition published in 1875
do we find any mention of jackpots.
In the edition of 1879 jackpots are still
unknown, and 'Cavendish,' in his
Round Games of Cards" which came
out in 1879, 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
frs in hrlt
draw poker was not put in until 1887.
While there is no attempt to account
for poker itself, several writer's attri-
butte the invention of jackpots to some
players in Toledo, some time about
1870. who were anxious to put a 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.
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 living
who could recall the circumstances.
Stepping into another path of in
vestigation, the columns of the press,
there is no mention to be found of a
single dispute about poker in any of
the English papers uAilii dDOHN 1910
In America a careful examination OF
all the decisions on card questions
published by Wilkes Spirit of the
Times. from 1870 to 1874 shown not
single case in which jackpots are men
toned, although almost every other
phase of the game is decided upon.
Early in 1874 we find the first men
ton of jackpots, when a correspon-
dent asks If he must show his entire
hand or, only openers when he is call
ed. To this the editor replies; We
know of no rules for jackpots poker"
In all this mass of matter there was
no reference to the origin Of the game,
and not single correspondent seems
to have raised the question. This be-
ing the case, the search through the
treasures of the Jessel library had to
be diverted 10 books published at
earlier dates, which were not Hoyles,
but books on the evils of gambling,
favorite topic with the old writers.
1t is I'm one of these books that the
first mention of poker is to be found.
1.-The Reformed Gambler" by Jona-
than H. Green, published by 7. p.
Peterson & Bro, Philadelphia, and