The history of poker

Poker is also called playing cards. There are many theories about its origin, the most recognized one is that playing cards first appeared in China, at least in 969 AD. At that time, a deck of playing cards in China had four suits, each suit had 14 cards, and was used both as banknotes and for card games. There is a legend that a Venetian brought playing cards back to his hometown from China, so Venice was the first place in Europe to have playing cards. This Venetian traveler may be Niccolò Polo, who returned to Venice from China with his brother Madio in about 1269, or it may be Niccolò's son, the famous Marco Polo , he accompanied his father and uncle on their second trip to China.

Some authorities believe that India is more likely to be the origin of playing cards than China. Some people have suggested that there is a certain connection between early European playing cards (Tarot cards) and the goddess Ardhanari in Hindu mythology. The goddess is represented with four hands, each holding a wand, a cup, a sword and a ring (representing money). Some early playing cards in Europe also had similar symbols printed on them. There is a theory that playing cards were introduced to Europe by Gypsies, who may have been an Indian nation. They passed through Persia and Arabia into Egypt, and from Egypt to Europe. Some of them, about 100 people, entered Paris in 1427.

As early as the 14th century or earlier, many places in Europe, including Nuremberg, Augsburg and Ulm (Ulm), were already producing playing cards. The Italian Tarot card (TAROT) may have appeared earlier than the German playing cards: in an Italian document dating from 1299, the Tarot card has been mentioned. Johanna, Duchess of Brabant, taught playing cards in the Netherlands in 1379, and playing cards existed in Spain at least as early as 1371. Possibly the Moors or Saracens brought cards to Italy from Spain, but attempts to illustrate the similarity between the Spanish naipes and the Arabic nabi for cards were unsuccessful.

In 1392, King Charles VI of France ordered Jacquemin Greeneul to draw a deck of playing cards by hand. This historical fact led to the emergence of the theory that playing cards originated in France. But it is obvious that the deck of cards drawn by His Holiness’ order was nothing more than a deck of cards similar to other cards that had already been used. The royal treasurer who was in charge of the money payment accounts at that time told of three decks of cards, printed "gold and various colors, and much decorated, for the entertainment of our Majesty the King." 17 of them. The card is currently on display at the National Library of France.

Playing cards were introduced to the UK later than to other European countries. Jose died in 1400. Although he recounted the various entertainments of the time, he never mentioned playing cards: "They danced, they played chess and feasted." About Edward I wearing a cuffed costume to play four The reference to King(k)'s game almost certainly refers to some other game, perhaps some form of chess. The earliest confirmed mention of British playing cards in the data was in 1465. In this year, British playing card manufacturers applied to Edward IV to ban the import of foreign-made Zak cards, and there was an appropriate decree as evidence.

C.P. Hargrave wrote in his book "The History of Poker": "There is a legend about Columbus and his sailors, saying that these sailors loved gambling. When they When they were hit by a storm on the vast and mysterious sea, they threw all their playing cards into the sea out of superstitious terror. Later, after they reached the land, they felt guilty about this reckless action. They regretted it, so they made some playing cards from a kind of leaf in this new country. These playing cards aroused great interest from the Indians. The material ("Florida History") tells that Spanish soldiers used leather playing cards to play cards during the expedition in 1534.

This statement appears to be more than just a legend. Mexicans have had card games for a long time. At that time, Mexicans called it amapa-tolli, where amapa means paper and tolli means game.

The modern form of fifty-two card decks, divided into two red suits and two black suits, probably evolved from the early Italian Tarot cards (TAROT). Success: At that time, Tarot cards were divided into four suits, each suit had 10 SPOT CARDS of 10 and below, and 4 face cards: King (K), Queen (Q), Knight and Guard. There was no queen in early playing cards, but some modern playing cards still have warriors instead of queens. The guard has been printed in various shapes of VALET, but still retains the name guard, but in modern usage it has been changed to J (JACK). The knight is no longer used in a deck of 52 cards, but is used as a head card.

Chinese playing cards are very different from Western playing cards; Chinese playing cards are narrow and elongated, usually 2 to 2.5 inches long and 0.5 to 2 inches wide. Early playing cards were even narrower and longer. . In terms of the number and suit of cards, Chinese and Indian playing cards are very different from Western playing cards. There is a kind of Indian playing cards, one deck has 144 cards, divided into 8 suits, each suit has 18 cards; another kind of Indian thin cards has 120 cards per deck, divided into 10 suits, and each suit has 12 cards. There is a kind of Chinese playing card. There are only 30 cards in a deck, divided into 3 suits, with 9 cards in each suit, and 3 cards with great power; but there are generally 4 suits.

The early pattern design was entirely determined by the skills of the artists who carved the woodblocks. Later, the pattern gradually transformed from representing recognized characters or phenomena into meaningless figures. There was a legend that Henry VIII was the model for the pattern of four K's; the portraits of the four K's on the oldest surviving British playing cards all have the same curly mustache and mustache that are parted to both sides as Henry VIII. Bearded. It is also said that the model of the portrait pattern on the four Qs is probably Queen Elizabeth of the York Dynasty, the queen of Henry VII. The design of the portraits on the remaining head cards is obviously inherited from the portraits of the playing cards made in Lyon, France in the past. Although the portraits are different, similarities can still be seen in terms of customs, hand positions, and weapons. of.

The manufacturing of French playing cards has always been developed along the lines of each manufacturer. In 1813, the government promulgated an officially approved design and gave each card a name. It is still used today. Many playing cards use this name:

Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs

K David, Charlie Caesar, Alexander

Q Pallas, Judith, Rachel Arkin Ni

J Hojir Rahel Hector Lancelot

Among them, Spades K David is the father of King Solomon of Israel in the 10th century BC. The harp was played, and many hymns were written in the Bible. The Queen of Spades, Pallas, is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. She is the only queen among the four queens who holds a weapon. J of Spades Hogill is the attendant of Charles I (K of Hearts). The king of hearts, King Charles I, is the only king among the four kings who does not have a beard. The Queen of Hearts is Queen Judith. J of Hearts La Hire is an attendant of Charles VII. Diamond K Caesar is the king of the Roman Empire and is the only profile image among the four king cards. Jack of Diamonds Hector was a squire to Charles I. Club K Alexander was the first Macedonian king to conquer the world. He always wore a ball with a cross on his clothes. Plum Blossom Q The word Argine is derived from the letter shift of the word Queen (Regina). She is holding a rose flower, which represents the Lancastrian royal family in the UK with red roses as its symbol and white roses. The York royal family, whose symbol is the flower, finally reconciled after the War of Roses and tied the roses of both sides together. Club J Lancelot is a knight in the story of King Arthur.

In Hungarian playing cards, there are 8 portraits on the head cards, which respectively represent the 8 characters in the play "William Tell" written by Schiller and set in Switzerland.

But this kind of playing cards has never been used in Switzerland.

There is no Q in the common German playing cards, but there are two J. And some German playing cards have 4 face cards in each suit, A, K, J, and J. In Treppola playing cards (Spanish and Italian), a knight on a horse replaces the image of the queen on the queen.

The internationally accepted poker suits are spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds, which are the most common and first appeared in France. Color. Some Western countries have traditionally played slightly different poker suits. Among them, Germany has red hearts, leaves, bells and acorns, Switzerland has shields, flowers, bells and acorns, and Italy has swords, glasses, coins and sticks.

Italian suits first appeared in Italy and Spain. They are the most common suits besides ordinary suits. They are printed in most Western countries, including countries with their own distinctive suit pokers such as Germany and Switzerland.

German suits are mainly popular in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and other countries. Swiss poker is relatively narrow in popularity and is mainly popular in Switzerland. However, it is also printed in small quantities in other countries. For example, it was printed in Russia at the beginning of the last century. .