The Name
The name,
poker, probably descended from the French game "Poque" or from the German game "Pochen" which means 'to knock' yet it's not clear if the game of poker has anything with those specific games.
Some people believe that the origin of the name is from the underground slang term "poke", a term that was often used by pickpockets. Cardsharps used this term when they referred to empting the pockets of a casual sucker, but in order not to sound too obvious, they added the 'r'.
Others believe that the origin of the word poker is from "Hocus Pocus", a magical term that is widely used by magicians.
The Game
Most people believe that poker origin is from the Persian game "As Nas" that was taught to French settlers in Louisiana by Persian merchants and sailors, still no one is sure that this is the direct origin of the game.
There are reports that this game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, but the earliest written reference to the game was in Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling, where the author describes a card game that was played on Mississippi riverboats.
The game changed a lot during the years. Players started to use a standard full 52-card deck and the flush was introduced.
Many other variations of poker were invented during the American Civil War, including stud poker and draw poker.
Later on other additions and developments followed, such as lowball, the wild card and community card poker games.
Nowadays poker's popularity became huge. You can find poker games in almost every casino, land based and online.