Poker Facts

Poker Facts

I have to admit it, I love trivia and random facts about anything (no wonder one of my favorite shows is “Who wants to be a Millionaire?”). So, after doing some homework I decided to share with you some of the most interesting poker facts I found out there. I’m posting some familiar facts- which I believe all of us- involved in the poker industry, should know already, but some I betcha didn’t have a clue before reading this… so, enjoy!

• Poker origins (speculations as always!):“Pochspiel” is a German game that most believe had the biggest influence on today’s poker, since it involved bluffing, hand ranking and betting. But the Persian game “As Nas” has been denoted as the true game from which poker derived (five cards dealt from a 20-card pack). The first US poker games date back to the early 1800’s, in the Mississippi River Delta area.
• One of my favorites is this bit of historic trivia about deck of cards:  the king of spades represents David, King of Israel; the king of Clubs represents Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia; the king of Hearts is Charlemagne, King of France; and the king of Diamonds is Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome.
• As I browsed around, I bumped into exaggerated and more realistic figures. These are the lowest and highest numbers I got for US players who play poker on a regular basis: 40 to 80 million regular players. So, if the US has a population of 309 million, that’d be 1 in 4. That’s a lot! That’s more people than who chew gum!
• Ex-president Richard Nixon played his share of poker, winning $6000 during his first 2 months in the U.S. Navy (WWII); this would be an equivalent of $42,640 in 2004 dollars. With this money he was able to finance his run for U.S. Congress in 1964, which he won.
• And what about Edmond Hoyle? Great grandfather to poker? Not even close! Poker was played as it is today almost 150 years after he died. He used to play whist and wrote a book about it, but people hear the phrase “according to Hoyle” and have made up a story that wasn’t true. It only makes reference to playing according to the rules, playing straight.
• The first WSOP event was held in 1970 at Binion’s Horseshoe (now part of Harrahs’ Entertainment, owners of the Rio Hotel and Casino- where the WSOP currently takes place). The winner was Johnny Moss and he received a silver cup as he was elected the first World Champion of Poker.
• Now some numbers to be in awe about:
  • More than 70 million decks of cards are sold in the U.S every year.
  • The youngest player to win the WSOP main event was 24, the oldest 80.
  • Phill Hellmuth has the most bracelets (11), while Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan have won 10 each.
  • The biggest prize to be awarded in a Main Event at the WSOP was in 2006 with a total amount of $12,000,000. Jamie Gold took this home, winning with pocket Qs,9c.
  • Total number of possible poker hands in a 52-card deck:  2,598,960.
  • Odds of being dealt a pocket pair: 16 to 1. And a Royal Flush? 649,740 to 1.
  • The number of 2009 WSOP participants in all combined events: 60,878. And this year? Who knows, I’ll let you know once I do my count!

And because I like videos, here’s one a lot of you would remember. I love their attitudes! I just couldn’t help it! You want to laugh and hug the poor guy at the same time!

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