Where Does The Name Poker Come From Anyway?

Etymology fascinates us. And so does poker. So today, we’re going to bring together our two interests. Poker etymology is going to seriously tickle you.

Find out where the term, “poker” came from and lots more. This trip through history is sure to reveal more than you bargained for…

And if you’re stumped about some familiar terms and what they mean, you’ll love our guide to poker terminology too. Less academic and more practical, it’ll give you the gift of the gab on the felt.

Poker etymology

How did poker get its name?

If you’re interested in the history of poker, you might have already asked yourselves this question. The truth is, no one is really sure where the term “poker” for this particular card game comes from. But we can take a few educated guesses.

It seems to date back at least until 1834 in America. People speculate that its an anglacized version of the German card game Pochspiel. In this game, there’s an element to the play called pochen. The literal translation of this is to knock or rap. However, the best translation in this context means to brag as a bluff.

Some people also say that poker as we know it may be related to the French game poque. Having said that, there isn’t a whole lot of evidence to back this up.

We do know that the game evolved from the English game of brag, which leads us to believe that the German pochspiel roots of poker etymology are possibly closer to the mark.

Poker popped up first certainly by 1829, where riverboat gamblers on the Mississippi used to play. However, unlike today, they played with a 20-card deck and it was always played with four players. The evolution to a full deck came a little later, in the 1840s.

And what about the etymology of the term poker face?

Poker etymology also leads itself to terms in the game and around it. One of the most notable of these terms is definitely poker face. If you’re into songs about gambling or films about poker, we know you’ve heard that term!

Poker face means a deadpan expression. And it is linked for sure to the card game. Interestingly, it first crops up not too much longer than that game itself. In 1875 a book called Round Games at Cards. It says, “No one who has any pretensions to good play will betray the value of his hand by gesture, change of countenance or any other symptom.”.

Inspired to take to the felt?

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