Poker is a casino game known for its rich history. There are many colorful stories involving the famous casino game. Knowing fantastic facts about Poker makes playing at situs poker online more exciting. There are several casinos, both online and offline, offering the game of poker. Let us take a look at some of the most interesting fun facts about Poker before you start a game.
- A dead man’s hand in Poker consists of two aces and two eights. It was the hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he died on August 2, 1876. Hickok was a famed lawman, gunslinger, and cardplayer in the Dakota Territory.
- The early versions of Poker used twenty cards instead of the standard fifty-two. The four players received five cards each and the one who had the best hand started the betting.
- The very first poker tournament broadcasted was the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. It was in 1973 when people first saw a poker tournament on television.
- Former President Richard Nixon was an outstanding poker player. His skills helped him fund his first campaign for the House of Representatives. He used his poker winnings during his time in the navy. He pocketed about $150 a month, a nice haul in the 1940s.
- Playing Texas Hold’em in casinos is illegal in Texas. All forms of casino gambling are not allowed in Texas. There are two exceptions though. A casino on an Indian reservation and a card room that found a loophole in the gambling law.
- Christopher Bryan Moneymaker won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker. He was the first person to become a world champion after qualifying through an online poker site. His win on May 23, 2003, revolutionized poker. It showed that an amateur could win on poker’s biggest stage. His ancestors were German coin minters who anglicized their surname from Nurmacher.
- The longest-running poker game in history happened continuously 24/7. The Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone held the said event. It lasted for eight years, five months, and three days. The marathon game only ended because of the flooding of the building.
- Ben Affleck is actually a great poker player. He won the California State Poker Championship. He got $356,000 and qualified for the World Poker Tour Championship.
- The wife of General Douglas MacArthur won an entire set of White House china in a poker game. It was against former President Warren Harding.