Video poker is a modern day descendent of the original slot machine. To get to the origins of video poker, one must travel back to the development of the first slot machines.

Origins of Video Poker

They were first produced in 1891 by company from the Bronx, New York called Sittman and Pitt. These interesting machines were made up of five spinning drums each containing ten different playing cards or symbols.

The cost of these games was usually a nickel. A customer would place his nickel in the coin slot and pull a lever, spinning the drums. The catch, though, was that usually the ten of spades and jack of hearts were left out.

By not having these cards, it cut the odds of getting a royal flush in half. Most of these early machines were in local bars and seedy “juke joints”. The prizes for the best hand were typically cigars and free drinks.

Then in 1899, a fellow by the name of Charles Fey introduced the Liberty Bell slot machine. This machine was able to automatically pay out cash prizes for the best hands. An original antique Liberty Bell slot machine is still on display at the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, Nevada.

In 1901, Fey created the Skill Draw machine. This machine allowed players to utilize a hold function on certain cards that they wanted to keep then spin the rest. Ultimately, Fey invented the first five card draw slot machine. This feature enabled the customers to use skill and strategy, rather than relying solely on luck.

Modern Video Poker history

By 1970, Dale Electronics gave Las Vegas the first video poker game, Poker-Matic. At first, these games were not a huge success by any means. Also similar to Poker-Matic, Walt Fraley introduced the first video slot games, but they were not well receive by the public either.

The rise of video poker was brought about by the 1975 IGT’s Draw Poker game. This was the turning point of video poker, immensely popular and trusted by the video poker gaming community. These games were not intimidating to players, as were the tables in the casinos at the time. Their success grew throughout the 1980’s with a wide variety of very popular and different video poker games.

In 1994, Micogaming produced the first online casino software and with that video poker exploded world-wide. This isn’t your grandpa’s old fashion five card draw anymore. You can now download software directly to your computer, and win a fortune or lose your wallet right in the comfort of your own home!

So, more advanced, popular, and innovative. It has made leaps and bounds from its point of origin, long ago in a dusty old juke joint. If you wanna play a modern game, you can check agen bola.