Why has Texas hold 'em become so widespread? - James McManus episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 18, 2026 · 8 MIN

Why has Texas hold 'em become so widespread? - James McManus

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the history of poker, from the game’s invention in the American South to its explosion of popularity across the world.--From its earliest incarnations, poker has always been a contest of guile, guts, and gambling. The game first emerged around 1800 in the melting pot of New Orleans, and soon spread up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers. So, how did this simple game of the American South skyrocket in popularity? James McManus shares how the card game became an international affair. Lesson by James McManus, directed by Chintis Lundgren.Learn more about the history of poker with James McManus' book, "Cowboys Full: The story of poker" here: https://bit.ly/4ajF5ArSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/bluffing-betting-and-busting-the-history-of-poker-james-mcmanusDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/bluffing-betting-and-busting-the-history-of-poker-james-mcmanus/digdeeperAnimator's website: http://chintislundgren.com Music: https://www.campstudio.co----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath and Dan Nguyen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why has Texas hold 'em become so widespread? - James McManus

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