[demon102]

Poker was built around playing for money which is what the real motive is for playing the game. Texas holdem from what I read was made by coybows that wanted a game to play that would allow many players (10+ players at a time) to play the game at the same time which is y u only get 2 holecards. The money was a big motivating factor for playing cuz they would all like to win some extra money. If they just sat around and played for rocks instead of money then of course the game woundnt be the same. The point of the game is to win what is being wagered and is put into the pot, if no one cares what they are wagering and doesnt care about losing it then a major factor of the game is thrown out of the window. Even if a cowboy won all the rocks from every other player I dont think he would be all that pleased and the game would die a quick death cuz no one would want to play to win a rock.