For decades, Texas Hold’em was popular among professional poker players, but it remained relatively unknown to the general public. Texas Hold’em quickly spread throughout Texas and in 1967 it became accepted in some Las Vegas casinos. Some of the earliest players called Hold’em a “thinking man’s game” because this new way of playing allowed poker players to take control of their own fates and utilize a wide variety of strategies. This new poker variation called for its players to share five common cards and combine them with two private hole cards to make the best possible 5-card hand.

In the early twentieth century, a new variation of poker known as Hold’em was born in Robstown, Texas.