Poker originally became popular being played in sawdust floor saloons and gambling halls across the rugged frontier of the West.  This extremely popular game in the unregulated border towns and frontier areas caught on, and it became a national phenomenon in the country of its birth.  The adoption of the game of poker by a wide variety of walks of life is not surprising to those who play it and those who are familiar with how exciting the competition and wagering for high stakes can be.  As more and more people began to play poker, it started to become less and less a feature of strictly frontier gambling houses and saloons and made its way into the upscale and elegant establishments all across the world as one of the most popular games of skill available at the casino.

In this transformation, much of the old world charm of playing poker was left behind.  The activities of rude cowboys and rough and tumble riders of the range were far different from what one would expect to see at the poker tables in the modern world.  This vast difference is generally defined by the cultural attachments and social advancements that have occurred in the intervening centuries.  In today's modern world of subdued tempers and gentlemanly behavior, even the less reputable casinos and poker rooms have established rules for poker etiquette that must be followed.

These rules include all manner of various lesser and more serious offenses.  Among them are activities such as miss declaring your hand, asking for assistance from spectators or other players, physically striking other participating players at the table or criticizing other players at the table, acting out of turn as well as commenting on any ongoing hand.  Other poker etiquette rules forbid up the agreeing to inspect a player that is fully invested in the game and has gone all in, string betting, discarding cards and revealing what they were, splashing the pot, consistently playing slow and swearing at the table.  These various rules of etiquette are in place to protect players from less than scrupulous tactics and other intimidating methods of play by poker players who attempt to manipulate the game to their benefit.  In the early days of the game, the player never would have seen rules like these in place, other than the obvious ones about revealing discards and commenting on the ongoing game.  In the rough-and-tumble saloons of the West, poker etiquette was a nonexistent concept, but in the modern day it must be observed by all players.