While poker's exact origin is the subject of debate, many game scholars point to the French game Poque and the Persian game As-Nas as possible early inspirations. For example, in the 1937 edition of Foster's Complete Hoyle, R. F. Foster wrote that "the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas." However, in the 1990s the notion that poker is a direct derivative of As-Nas began to be challenged by gaming historians including David Parlett. What is certain, however, is that poker was popularised in the American South in the early 19th century, as gambling riverboats in the Mississippi River and around New Orleans during the 1830s helped spread the game. One early description of poker played on a steamboat in 1829 is recorded by the English actor, Joe Cowell. The game was played with twenty cards ranking from Ace (high) to Ten (low).