A Short History of Video Poker

23 May 2015

By Jerry Stickman

Casinos today have a plethora of video poker machines. They come in denominations ranging from a penny to – and beyond – $100. There are scores of variations ranging from the basic Jacks or Better through bonus games through wild card games such as deuces wild and joker’s wild. There are multiple action games where the initially dealt and saved cards of a hand are played three, five, 10, 50 and even 100 times. There are video poker ‘action’ games such as spin poker (a combination of video poker and slot machine) and multi-strike poker where a winning hand leads to up to three additional hands that each double the payback of a winning hand from the previous winning hand. If that isn’t enough variety to set your head spinning, there is even a multi-play version of multi-strike poker.

How did things get to this stage? How and when did video poker first appear on the scene?

The history of video poker and slot machines is closely related. To properly understand the development of video poker we must start with some forerunners of the game.

In 1891 the Sittman and Pitt Company of Brooklyn, New York, invented an early poker machine. This machine contained five drums each having ten different playing cards. Once a coin was inserted and the handle pulled, the drums would spin. Each drum would eventually stop on a card making up the final poker hand.

In 1898 Charles Fey, commonly known as the father of the slot machine, created the Card Bell. This poker machine could automatically pay cash prizes to winner of up to 20 coins for a royal flush.

In 1901 Fey created a new poker machine called the Skill Draw which had a “Hold” feature. After the initial spin created a poker hand, the player could hold some of the cards and re-spin the un-held cards in an effort to improve the hand. This was the first 5-Card Draw Poker machine.
During the early 1900’s Sittman and Pitt also began manufacturing machines with the draw feature. They became so popular that they could not be manufactured fast enough. These machines were available in almost every liquor store and smoke shop throughout the United States.
Poker was already the card game of the people.

The introduction of the draw feature provided another way for the eager poker player to play his game. The addition of the draw feature made the player feel like he was taking part in the gambling side of things. It was no longer simply blind luck contributing to gambling fortunes but a certain amount of skill also played a role. But, since gambling was not legal in most of the country at that time, winning hands were usually paid off in prizes such as drinks, cigars, or cigarettes.
The player was under the impression that the machine used a full deck of 52 cards. However, these machines held only 50 cards. In most cases the ten of spades and jack of hearts were eliminated.

Although the players did not realize it, this cut the possibility of a royal flush in half since a royal was not possible in spades or hearts. Even though, these machine were very popular and it was these early machines that led to current video poker as we know it.

Some of these original machines are still on display at the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, Nevada.

It wasn’t until 1970 that Dale Electronics introduced the first video poker machine. It was dubbed Poker-Matic and was installed in virtually every casino in Las Vegas at the time. It did not, however, become a big hit.

In the mid 70’s, a distributor for Bally’s Gaming named Si Redd pitched a new invention to the company’s executives in Chicago – a game called Video Poker. The executives rejected the idea since they didn’t want to branch out from slot machines to a whole new untested game. In what is probably one of the biggest mistakes made by Bally’s, they agreed to let Si take the patent. Within months Si made a deal with Fortune Coin Company in Reno to form Si Redd’s Coin Machines (or SIRCOMA for short) to mass produce his patented video poker machines. While interest in the games grew slowly, by 1981 this new game was the most popular addition to casinos.

The earliest version of Draw Poker required at least two pairs for a winning hand. By changing the lowest winning hand to a pair of jacks or better the game’s popularity dramatically increased. These original machines were quite primitive by today’s standards with screens very similar to televisions at the time.

Soon after, Si took the company public and changed the name to International Gaming Technology (IGT) which is still a huge player today.

Throughout the 1980’s the popularity of video poker grew. People who felt intimidated by casino table games were not intimidated by these games. The invention of video poker actually improved the popularity of video slot machines. The early video slot machines were avoided because players were used to seeing the reels spin, but with the acceptance of video poker, having spinning reels was no longer the issue it once was.

Today there are hundreds of different video poker variations and thousands of different pay tables. New and exciting versions continue to be released. All of this stemming from an 1891 mechanical poker machine and nurtured by improvements in technology. The biggest factor in video poker’s success, however, is the ingenuity of humans making it all possible.

May all your wins be swift and large and all your losses slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman”


Jerry “Stickman” is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker!" You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com