Video Poker History

It was bound to happen, the marriage between the game of five card draw poker and technology, the creation of the phenomenon known as video poker. Late last century, in the 1970s, the popular game of poker and the allure of the slot machine merged to form the wildly popular game of video poker. In fact, early slot machines dating back to the end of the 19th century used cards rather than symbols, so the amazing fact is that a proper marriage didn’t occur sooner.

The birth of video poker stems in large part from, of course, the game of poker itself but also the invention of slot machines. Appealing to people familiar with the game of poker as well as those fond of the ease-of-use inherent in slots, Video Poker has evolved over the years into one of the most popular non-table games in casinos, both on land and online.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, around the same time actually as personal computers were being developed and enhanced, video poker became a reality when technology became advance - and economical - enough to combine a CPU with a television-like monitor. As you can imagine, the first video poker games at this time were pretty primitive.

As technology improved and industry leaders saw the potential of this technology, everyone started getting in on the action. `Solid State` (referring to the combination of the central processing unit and television-like monitor) roulette, horse racing, and poker were all available at this time and it was Dale Electronic's `Poker-Matic` that experienced the greatest level of notoriety and success.

When the Fortune Coin Company built a video bell slot machine in 1975, the apparatus soon transformed into a draw poker machine and soared in popularity. After the video chip was invented later in the mid-70s, and after SIRCOMA (which you know today as International Game Technology - STILL a leader in the field!) introduces its `Draw Poker` in 1979, there was really no looking back.

Video poker soon became, and remains to this day, a popular fixture in nearly every casino. Less intimidating than regular poker, yet still involving a certain level of decision-making while maintaining the ease-of-use of a slot machine, video poker appeals to a wide range of casino patrons.