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Electronic Poker is merely a combination of 2 popular forms of gambling: the video slot with the poker game. Succeeding at a game of Electronic Poker involves a mixture of gambler ability with good luck, making it a favorite with gamblers. The game of poker is thought to have begun back in 1830, where it is recorded as having been enjoyed by French immigrants dwelling in New Orleans. Electronic Poker uses a variation of the game known as 5card draw poker. Meanwhile, the coin-operated card equipment (known affectionately as a "slot") was first developed in the late 1800’s, with poker machines appearing in San Francisco in Eighteen Ninety. These machines were quite simple by today’s standards, utilizing actual cards instead of icons.

The machines dropped in acceptance throughout the first half of the 1900’s. Economic problems mixed with the restricted technologies of the machines themselves meant that folks just were not interested in playing anymore. A really primitive electronic poker device was released in 1964 but accomplished only reasonable success.

It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the Electronic-Poker device as we know it today became available. Developments in technologies meant that a central processing unit (CPU) could be installed inside the machines to give them a "brain", while a video screen transmitted the action to the gambler.

Meanwhile, casino operators searched for new high-profit games, and also the combination of a slots using the much more traditional game of five-card draw poker proved to be a winning mixture on the old and new. The 1st Video Poker equipment was built in ‘76 by Bally Manufacturing. It was only black and white, but a color version was developed just 8 months later, released by the Fortune Coin Business. Over the next few years, chips started to be less costly to mass produce, and more gambling houses introduced Electronic-Poker machines as they became a lot more financially viable. A version named Draw Poker was introduced in 1979 by a company now known as IGT, and it achieved unheralded success.

Electronic Poker actually took off from the early 80s where it became common in gambling establishments across Las Vegas. Gamblers discovered themselves far less intimidated by a machine than they were when seated at a table looking at others. The recognition of the game has gradually increased during the last twenty-five years and it can now be found in the majority of casinos around the world, along with bars and on the Net.