The History of Video Poker
Video Poker is merely a mixture of 2 well-known forms of betting: the slot machine with the poker game. Winning a game of Electronic-Poker involves a mixture of gambler skill with good luck, making it a favorite with players. The game of poker is thought to have originated back in 1830, where it’s recorded as having been played by French expatriates residing in New Orleans. Electronic Poker uses a version of the game known as five-card draw poker. Meanwhile, the coin-operated card device (referred affectionately as a "slot") was first created in the late 19th century, with poker machines showing up in San Francisco in 1890. These machines were very basic by today’s standards, utilizing actual cards rather than icons.
The machines dropped in interest throughout the first half of the 1900’s. Economic difficulties mixed with the restricted technologies of the machines themselves meant that people just weren’t interested in gambling anymore. A incredibly primitive digital poker machine was released in 1964 but achieved only reasonable results.
It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the Video-Poker machine as we know it today started to be accessible. Advancements in technologies meant that a computer chip (CPU) could be put inside the machines to give them a "brain", whilst a video screen transmitted the action to the bettor.
Meanwhile, casino operators searched for new high-profit games, and the mixture of a slot machine with the extra traditional game of five-card draw poker proved to be a winning blend on the old and new. The first Electronic-Poker unit was built in ‘76 by Bally Manufacturing. It was black and white only, but a color version followed just 8 months later, by the Fortune Coin Company. Over the next handful of years, chips started to be more affordable to produce, and additional casinos introduced Video Poker machines as they grew to become much more financially viable. A version called Draw Poker was launched in ‘79 by a organization now labeled IGT, and it achieved amazing success.
Video Poker actually took off in the early 80s where it became well-known in gambling establishments across Sin City. Bettors found themselves less anxious by a machines than they were when playing at a table looking at others. The recognition of the game has steadily grown over the last 25 years and it can now be found in the majority of gambling establishments throughout the world, along with bars and on the Net.