Not a whole lot is known about where Texas Hold’em originated.  What is known is that the game has rapidly spread in popularity over the past several years and, in 2007, Robstown, Texas received the honor of being the birthplace of this very popular poker game.

After the game was invented, it spread through Texas rather quickly and it didn’t take long before it was introduced in Las Vegas.  This occurred in 1967 when a group of Texas card players and gamblers brought the game to the City of Sin.  It was then introduced to Europe.  Nonetheless, the Golden Nugget Casino located in Las Vegas was the only casino in the city to offer the game for a very long time.

Unfortunately for the game of Texas Hold’em, it didn’t receive much recognition from the more affluent clientele while being played in the Golden Nugget.  This is because the Golden Nugget was considered to be a “sawdust joint” at the time as its floors were covered with old sawdust.  The more remote location and odd décor made it quite unattractive to many of the richer visitors to the city.

It wasn’t until 1969 that the game started to get a bit more recognition when several professional players were invited to come play the game at the Dunes Casino in Las Vegas.  This casino has since been demolished, but it offered a great location and since many of the players were inexperienced in the game, it made playing the game quite profitable for professional players.

Texas Hold’em was also featured at the Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention that was held in 1969.  This convention was renamed the World Series of Poker when the rights to the event were purchased in 1970 by Jack and Benny Binion.  At this time, the series was moved to Binion’s Horseshoe Casion in Vegas.  After the first year of being held in this location, it was suggested that Texas Hold’em be the main event of the tournament.  Ever since, it has been played as the main event of the World Series of Poker.

Over the twenty years that followed the Binion’s decision to make Texas Hold’em the main event of its tournament, interest in the poker game continued to grow.  In 1972, it only had eight entrants.  By 1991, this number had grown to 200. 

One of the first books to discuss how to play Texas Hold’em was released in 1978.  This self-published book, entitled Super/System and written by Doyle Brunson, is still considered to be one of the most important books to ever be written on the game.