The History of Poker
Poker spread in the American South in the early 19th century; Texas Hold'em, with two cards of your own and five shared ones, is traditionally dated to the early 20th century.
From the American South
Poker was popularized in the American South in the early 19th century; gambling riverboats on the Mississippi and around New Orleans helped spread it in the 1830s. One early description, of poker played on a steamboat in 1829, comes from the English actor Joe Cowell. The earliest known form was played with just 20 cards. The French game poque and the Persian As-Nas are named as possible ancestors; historians such as David Parlett have questioned a direct descent from As-Nas.
Texas Hold'em
The Texas Legislature officially recognizes Robstown, Texas, as the birthplace of Texas Hold'em, dating it to the early 20th century. The game was introduced to Las Vegas in 1963 by Corky McCorquodale. In 1970 Benny Binion and his son Jack held a gathering of players under the name World Series of Poker. In the 2000s the game became much more popular, helped among other things by television cameras that showed the players' own cards.
Poker at PaperGames
PaperGames plays Limit Hold'em: bets and raises are the size of the big blind before the flop and on the flop, and twice that on the turn and the river - so there is never an amount to type in. The chips are only points in the game. The computers never see your cards; they judge their own hands only from what they can see.