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A
Brief History of Gambling: Gambling
has existed as a form of entertainment
for as long as people have lived
on this planet. You
can trace back forms of |
gambling in every age, civilization, religion
and culture. Research discloses that various
forms of gambling have existed in all
great societies. Materials used for gambling
have been discovered in Egypt, India,
Rome and in ancient China. Even in the
Pyramid of Cheops specific writings were
found connected to gambling. From the
14th century archeologists discovered
signs that gambling was banned from some
civilizations and cultures.
When
the British King Henry VIII found out
that his soldiers spent more time on
gambling than training he banned gambling
from his kingdom. This was an interesting
move since King Henry VIII himself was
a passionate gambler. There goes a funny
story that he lost the church bell of
London in a bet. Different gambling
games have different backgrounds. The
card games Blackjack and Poker supposedly
originate from shuffling paper money
in ancient China. Via the Mameluke Empire,
this card game traveled to Europe and
in Italy and Spain the makers of the
cards started to make drawings on the
cards from members of the Royal Court
(like the Jack and the King). The Queen
was introduced to the pack of cards
in 1500..
The
Chinese recorded the first official
account of the practice in 2300 B.C.,
and it is generally believed that gambling,
in one form or another, has been present
in almost every society since. From
the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleon's
France and Elizabeth an England, history
is rich with tales of exploits based
on the games of chance. At the height
of the Roman Empire, lawmakers decreed
that all children were to be taught
to gamble and throw dice. One Roman
emperor even designed his carriage to
allow dice games while enroute to his
official duties.
The French are credited with inventing
playing cards in 1387, and in 1440 Johann
Gutenberg of Germany printed the first
full deck of cards. Many present-day gambling
games are incarnations of previous games.
The French working class of the sixteenth
century became adept at the Egyptian game
of roulette, while Napoleon took interest
in the card game vingt-et-un what is now
known as blackjack or twenty-one.
The
English developed a diversion called hazard,
the forerunner of today's popular dice-throwing
game of craps, and the basis for modern
poker games is believed to have originated
from a combination of ancient influences
including Persian, Italian, and English
games of chance. Further refinements to
poker include betting techniques introduced
by the French and the concept of bluffing
developed by the British. |
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