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Visit the world’s oldest gambling lounge to dive into the past and experience the history of poker and gambling. If you visit, you must try a game, but remember to practice beforehand.
Near Martinez, you will find this historical pearl. It is the oldest poker-room in the world. It’s well worth a visit as an add-on to all the art and entertainment in the East Bay.
The history of the oldest poker cave
Before it became solely a card room, or the more common term a casino, it was a hotel called the Pony Express, which stopped running in 1860. So even before this date, this establishment worked as a card room that mostly hosted poker games, making it the oldest continuously operating poker room as it has been hosting poker games since 1854.
In 1979 a poker player named Lamar Wilkinson, who ended up at the final tables in seven of the World Series of Poker in the notorious gambling city of Las Vegas, bought the casino. Wilkinson changed the name into the California Grand Casino. In 2009 changes came along as he moved the casino into a building on the other side of the street hosting both a bar and a restaurant. The casino was later elected as the best casino in San Francisco East Bay.
The game of poker
The casino of course offers a variety of poker games. Here amongst Texas Hold’Em poker and the casino’s hosts tournaments in Hold’Em as well. The game of poker is an old card game, and it tracks back to the mid of the 19th century.
Since then, it has developed and changed, and the rules we play by today would probably not apply back then. The many forms of poker we have today is also a newer invention. As poker games and tournaments were aired on television poker and gambling became very popular and the industry experienced a big boom in gamblers and players. The online platforms only made it more popular and common. And today almost everybody knows poker.
Practice before going
Before you visit the casino, it is a great idea to practice your gambling skills. This way you can get the mistakes out of the way before you sit in the actual casino face to face with your opponent. This is something that can throw off even the most experienced gambler. So, practice by playing with your friends or family or do your research by visiting an online casino. This way you can get a feeling of a real game playing real opponents and maybe they might challenge you more than your friends – depending on their level of skill of course. If you decide to practice by going to an online casino, make sure that you choose a trusted and recommended site. This way you will be able to gamble safely which is important. Otherwise, it can be useful to check out which bonuses the different sites offer as it can provide you with an easy start.
