There is some debate to where poker orignated from. The name could decend from the French word of poque which came from the german word of pochen. The game play is like a persain game called as nas which could have been taught to French settlers. Most commonly it is thought to share an ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero.

There are nearly hundreds of different ways to play poker with newer ones being invented all the time. Almost all of the different versions are played in the same basic pattern. Some of the more common games are "seven-card stud" and "draw poker". A popular television show is the World Poker Tournament where many famous poker players get together to compete in a poker tournament for cash prizes.

To play poker you need some sort of "currency" to use to create the betting system. Most commonly the players have a poker chip set that was systematically created for the game of poker. The poker chips are normally valued in different amounts to create the feel of betting while playing.