Poker Variations

Poker games come in several different variations from Texas Hold ‘Em to Omaha to other more and less trendy versions. Whatever form of poker you go on to be playing or want to play, the purpose of the game is the same. There are lots of versions and variations of poker, the main types being Texas Hold ‘Em, and Omaha games. At “friendly” tables, the dealer often has the choice of deciding the type of game. More structured tournaments generally detail the format from the get-go.

Below are a few of the mainly well-liked versions of poker that you may come across at your weekly dealer’s option poker game. If you don’t know these, you’ll be at a drawback when something wild (like Follow The Queen!) is called.

All the poker games have several variations you can play. But, just because you may know how to play one technique, doesn’t mean that another variation can be picked up without knowing the rules. Each version of poker has its own rules, terms, hand values, number of betting rounds and actions between rounds. On the other hand, each variation generally only takes a few moments to learn. And with practice, you can master all of the different types. Here are a few of the most popular:

Texas Hold ‘Em

Played in the World Series of Poker, Texas Hold ‘Em is simply the most well-liked poker game in America today. In Texas Hold ‘Em, players are dealt two “pocket” or “hole cards” then wait for 5 community cards to be revealed.

Betting takes place in 4 rounds: one time later than the hole cards are dealt, one time later than the 1st three community cards are revealed (referred to as “the flop”), once after the 4th community card is revealed (“the turn”) and lastly after the 5th community card is flipped (“the river”). Players must make their best hands with any arrangement of 5 cards (their hole cards and the communal).

The game of Texas Hold ‘Em created several years ago and became massively popular when it was the game of choice at the main event of the World Series of Poker. It is a fast paced game where each player is dealt two starting cards that are solely for use by them. Each player’s cards are unknown to the other players. There follows a round of betting and then the dealer reveals a further three cards.

Types of Texas Hold ‘Em

• Limit Texas Hold ‘Em: There is a fixed betting limit on each round of betting.
• No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em: A player can bet amount, up to all of their chips.
• Pot Limit Texas Hold ‘Em: A player can bet amount, up to the size of the pot.
• Mixed Texas Hold ‘Em: The game switches between rounds of Limit Texas Hold ‘Em and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

Stud

In stud poker, each player gets a blend of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are 7-card stud and 5-card stud. For those online players who are new with this option of poker, it’s totally different from Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha. There are no common cards, you have a better option of precisely putting a player on a hand, and your position in the order of the betting can change five times in one hand.

Types of Stud

7-Card Stud

This poker variant is related to Texas Hold ‘Em, but with a little diverse rules. 7-card stud is played both high only and high/low. Up to eight players can play in this game, but it’s possible there won’t be enough cards if every player makes it to the end of the game. In this case, in its place of dealing a card to each active player, the dealer turns a community card that all players can use. The game can be broke down into four segments: the bring, setup, betting rounds and the showdown. The best hand wins.

5-Card Stud

This is the initial variety of the card game stud poker, created during the American Civil War. All players must first ante before they get their first cards, just like in 7-card stud. There are four betting rounds, not counting the ante. Each player is dealt two cards, one face-up and one face-down. The first round of betting follows, then each player gets one more card face-down and the second round of betting begins. Then a fourth card is dealt face-down and the third round of betting begins before the fifth and final card is dealt face-down, followed by the final round of betting.

Omaha

It is the second most popular poker variant after Hold ‘Em in the world. It’s mainly played with high hands only, but the high-low split version is also admired. The game is amazingly similar to Texas Hold’em but the only main difference is the fact that all players receive 4 hole cards in its place of 2. Quite clearly, Omaha policies are fairly different from the ones that work in Hold’em. It is a game of community cards with a flop, turn and river, and the betting rounds play the same. If you’re new to this variation of poker, you definitely shouldn’t rely on your Hold’em experience too much.

Types of Omaha

• Pot Limit Omaha Poker
• No Limit Omaha Poker
• Fixed Limit Omaha Poker

Red Dog

Red Dog Poker is a game of chance played with an ordinary 52-card deck. It appears to be a variation of the game called acey-deucey, itself a simple game of chance played around the world. Game has much more to do with traditional poker options. Rules are pretty simple, which makes it a game that is easy to understand, learn and play. All cards are ranked as in a standard poker game with suits being irrelevant and aces always being high.

You will be glad to know that you can make use of a Red Dog poker strategy to amplify your chances of winning and keep the house's edge to a minimum with the bulk of casino games.

Merge it Up

Not a soul says you have to play the same game all night every night. Merge it up and add one, more or all of these variations to your next home game.