Gambling is a part of being human, and a strange part at that. Traditional logic and gambling have nothing in common. Logic steps back and it is replaced by fortune, by Lady Luck. When you are gambling, everything is relative. The strong can be defeated be the weak, the wise can make fools of themselves, the rich can become poor, and the poor can become rich.

The world of gambling is a world of opportunities. The opportunity to get rich, to win loads of money without having to work hard for it. Who among us has never dreamed of having riches handed to them? This is exactly what happens when you are gambling. You want to win, you want to become rich. This in turn unlocks parts of our personality that we do not usually show in day-to-day life. You can see a glimmer of hope in every player’s eye, but not all of them are lucky enough to win.

The origins of gambling

Playing games and gambling have always been a part of human nature and they have always accompanied us throughout history. All human activities from hunting in the primitive society and up to major financial deals in the 21st century are a gamble.

Our forefathers set up various games in ancient times. Competitions in strength and dexterity later on became famous tournaments. The first gambling activities appeared later on and they were based on chance, seeing if luck is on your side.

According to the historians the first game ever played was casting stones, shells, animals’ bones. These objects are prototypes of the modern dice.

The British Museum holds Documental evidence of the first games. For example they have dice manufactured by an unknown Egyptian craftsman. These dice are made from elephant tusks and are dated to the 16th century B.C. The British Museum also has a board for playing draughts, also called checkers. The owner of this board was queen Hatchepsut in 1600 B.C.

All ancient civilizations used dice to play games of fortune. This is a fact and it is historically attested.

Astragalus is a large genus of about 2,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Common names include “milk-vetchâ€? and “goat’s-thornâ€?. The astragalus that used to get caught on the fetlocks of animals was used as dice. Astragalus also refers to tetrahedral bricks with indentations. These are similar to modern dice. Modern dice are hexahedral (they have six faces), rounded corners and the numbers on opposite facets always add up to seven.

The dice games played in ancient times include playing odd or even, casting in the dice in a circle, or throwing the dice and trying to hit certain openings. Fortune tellers also used dice in their predictions. The dice were respected by all players and treated as living beings. The players would talk to them, whisper charms and try to persuade the dice to bring success.

Dice and dice games as well have existed for a long time. Dice games have almost instantly become one of the most intrepid gambling games. Dice players would bet almost anything, from money, various valuable objects, to their homes and even their freedom. According to the historians ancient Germans that lost playing dice became slaves.

Dice have always been a popular game, but this does not mean the authorities accepted it. The authorities have been trying to put an end to dice games form ancient times. The first known law against gambling games was implemented in the 3rd century B.C. This law was appropriately named “Lex Aleatoria�. “Alea� is Latin for “dice�.

According to an ancient Greek legend, the Olympic gods threw dice in order to see what they would rule. They cast lots and according to the lots Zeus got the Olympus, Poseidon received the ocean, and Hades came to rule the underworld.

Ancient Rome as well did not look favorably at gambling games. Even though gambling was officially forbidden, the law did not specify what measures should be taken against gambling. The only “penalty� for the players was the right of the defeated player to reclaim everything he lost, if he though that he was wrongly or unfairly defeated. Ancient Rome officially allowed gambling games to be played only during the Saturnalia. This was the Roman festival celebrating the god Saturn, and lasted for one day.

Soon other instruments that could be used to play games appeared. Playing cards are a good example.

According to the experts the first playing cards appeared in China. Ching-tsze-tung, in 1678, mentions in the Chinese dictionary that cards were created in 1120, and they were already widely used by 1132. In those days playing cards were long and narrow plates with the numbers 1 to 14 on them. There were four suits that symbolized the four seasons. There were 52 cards in a deck, corresponding to the number of weeks in a year.

Tarot cards are the predecessors of modern playing cards. Documented evidence exists of an edict that was put into practice in Saint Louis, in 1254. The edict forbade card games within France. It also specified a punishment to be used against gamblers, punishment by whip.

According to other historians Egypt is the birthplace of playing cards. Tarot cards were used in ancient Egypt for fortune-telling. The deck had 78 sheets or arkana. There were 22 senior arkana and 56 junior arkana. Senior arkana had pictures on them that correspond to golden tables, which are preserved in the dungeon of the god Tote in Egypt.

The 22 senior arkana are named as follows:

- Fool;
- Magician;
- Priestess;
- Hostess;
- Host;
- High priest;
- Lovers;
- Chariot;
- Power;
- Hermit;
- The wheel of fortune;
- Justice;
- The hanged man;
- Death;
- Abstinence;
- Devil;
- Tower;
- Star;
- Moon;
- Sun;
- Court;
- Peace.

Playing cards reached Europe in the 10th pr 11th century, according to the historians. This was during the crusades to the Near East.

Other historians argue that most card games originate from France. France is known as the homeland of European cards.

The first factory-made deck of Tarot cards included 56 cards of four suits. Those suits were: swords, wands, money and cups. There were also 22 trump cards that had the numbers 1 to 21 on them. Each card was named (the emperor, the empress, the nun, the conjurer, the fool, etc) and all the cards amounted to a total of 97. During the passing of time the cards were substituted with new ones. The deck slowly began to resemble the modern deck.

The symbols of the suits on playing cards have not changed ever since the 15th century.

Card games were very popular in the Middle Ages among various strata of population. All the people from commoners to the royal court enjoyed playing cards. In those days the symbols on the cards were a symbol of the society structure, as follows:

- Hearts represented the clergy;
- Diamonds represented the bourgeoisie;
- Spades represented officers and aristocracy;
- Clubs represented the commoners, the peasants.

The birthplace of modern card games such as poker and blackjack is the U.S., in the second half of the 19th century.

Nowadays there is a wide variety of card games. There are card games for adults and children, games for training logic and wit, and there are games just to pass the time. As a player becomes more mature, so does the complexity of the games he plays increases. Once a player is financially independent, he wants to try out his luck on various gambling games. He starts to make bets, plays the lottery, and eventually goes to a land based casino and tries his hand.

Modern land based casinos are temples dedicated to gambling. Casinos are places were a player can completely submit to the game. The game sharpens his feelings and emotions; it makes him forget about his worries and troubles. All that matters is the game, regardless if you are playing craps, roulette, poker or slots.