| |
Following the Gin History
A lot of experts and advanced players of gin rummy become
interested in the gin history as their interest in the game deepens. In
gaming, learning the history of the games is important because you get to
pick up a few tips of which games contributed to the final structure of
the game you like. This will lend you a couple of helpful insights that
can help you improve your gin rummy skills. But gin rummy enthusiasts are
not quite lucky in this aspect. Despite the long, winding history of the
game, it is still uncertain until now where the game really came from. But
they’re not so unfortunate, though. Gin rummy is connected to several
different theories with regards to its history, and it is also related to
several different card games. The “draw and discard” play pattern is not
very unique, so it seems, and the same can be said about the concept of
grouping like cards into groups. These aspects are key aspects about gin
rummy that connects it to the different theories about where rummy and its
most popular variant, gin rummy, came from.
The Different Gin History Theories
There are many different gin history theories that game
enthusiasts believe could very well be the true origin of the famous card
game. The most popular theory is, of course, the Spanish and Mexican
theory, which relates gin rummy to Conquian, an ancient Spanish card game
that has the similar draw and discard play pattern. Conquian, a name that
came from con quien, which is Spanish for “with whom,” refers to a 40-card
game that made its way from Spain to Mexico to Texas until it reached the
American Southwest. It is said that Conquian also made its way to England,
where it was turned into a game called Rum.
It is in this way that the game we all know and love today
came to be called rummy. As for the gin history, the game was also
connected to Poker, or more specifically, Whiskey Poker, which has the
same melding concept. Several players believe that Whiskey Poker gave way
to Rum Poker and eventually to Rummy or gin rummy. Aside from that, the
equally popular Chinese card game Mah-jong is also a player in the gin
history. It is said that the true history of gin rummy was influenced by
Mah-jong, which originated from Chinese card games called Khanhoo or Kon
Khin, which is undeniably similar to Conquian or Conkin.
Game historians believe that these early Chinese games were
westernized until they became rummy. Although Mah-jong is played using
tiles instead of cards, it is said to have the same playing
characteristics as rummy. From rummy, gin rummy came to life supposedly
because of Elwood T. Baker, a New Yorker who officially introduced a
formal set of rules for gin rummy as a member of the Rummy game family.
Baker was said to have come up with the game in the 1900s. Baker, however,
was said to have created the game based on Whiskey Poker, supporting the
Poker origin theory.
From Gin History to Gin in the Present
The real gin history may be unclear and unverified, but one
thing is for sure: Gin rummy has reached its peak in popularity and is in
its best state as of now, what with all the game variants and all the avid
players. Other than that, the large number of gin games available online
is proof enough that the long history of gin rummy was not in vain. Aside
from the online games, there are also many several forms of the game
scattered all over the world. Various countries have their own versions of
the game, and the game itself has several different variants. Among these
variants are well-loved games Kalooki, Oklahoma Gin, Tone Gin, Hollywood
Gin, among several others. Online gin also opens up more opportunities for
people to enjoy the game in more ways.
The Gin History: What’s the Truth?
Following the history of gin rummy can be quite confusing.
The gin history can be strengthened because of the draw and discard play
pattern as well as the objective of forming groups of cards as a focal
point in the game. A lot of people, however, believe that Elwood T. Baker
and his son indeed came up with the game based on the Poker origin theory,
but the creation of the basic form of the game and the way the game
evolved took influences from various sources, such as Spain’s Conquian and
Asia’s Mah-jong.
|
|
|
Gaming Sites
|
|
