The history of poker in print refers to the history of books about the game of poker.
The earliest printed reference to poker in its modern form can be found within J. Hildreth's Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains (1836). It is documented that this book was printed and in circulation before 1829.
The earliest book to detail the modern rules of poker came to print in 1850. Henry George Bohn’s New Handbook of Games (1850) stated the rules of poker in print for the very first time. This was followed by books such as Willium B Dick’s The American card player (1866), The Modern Pocket Hoyle (1868) and Schenck’s Rules for Playing Poker private circulation (1872).
The first books written exclusively about poker were written in 1875. Henry T Winterblossom’s The Game of Draw Poker Mathematically Illustrated (1875) and Blackbridge’s The Complete Card Player (1875) gave a detailed account of the game and presented it in a new light, as a respectable pastime based upon maths and skill.