Poker is a world wide played game but have you ever wondered where it first came from or was invented before online poker sites exsited?

America would perhaps be your initial first response but believe it or not common belief is that poker is derived from a combination of the French game called "Poque" and a German game called "Pochen", which became very popular in 17th and 18th centuries sites.

In the 16th century there was a spanish game called "primero" which involved three cards being dealt to each player and this is where "Poque" and "pochen" evolved from.  " Primero" was an exciting game that involved bluffing and high betting stakes and dates back to 1526 and is known as the mother of poker.

French explorers brought the poker game with them to parts of French Canada during the exploration of the new world in the 18th century and as the settlers began to spread more and more through America the game spread also.

One of the most famous places you would associate poker with is the site of the mississippi river.  The game would be played on the river boats and caused bloody shootouts on the boats and in the wild west saloons.  Many a tale can be found of a poker game in the wild west.

Another way the game spread before it was online was through the American civil war.  Soldiers would play the game when not in bloody battle to take their minds of the brutal hardships of the long war and when the war was over the soldiers took the knowledge of the game back home with them and from there the game has just kept on spreading until now the game is played all over the world.