"As Nas" definition

An ancient Persian game that some say is an ancestor of poker. Usage: It seems to have originated from a 16th century Persian card game known as As Nas. This game was played with 25 cards with 5 different suits. The game played in a similar fashion to modern 5 card stud and possessed similar poker hands rankings, such as three-of-a-kind. When Europeans began to play the game, they called it "poque" or "pochen." While poker's origins may lie in Europe and Persia, it truly developed in the United States.