Poker Variants

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Poker, in general, has many variations and each one of the variations is fun to play. So, if you’re new to poker and has only heard of Texas Hold’em( which is the most popular variant of them all), then you’re in for a hell of a surprise.

All the Variations of poker are super fun and you’ll have a really good time playing all these games. All the seven variants that I’m mentioning here are pretty well-known and are played all over the world. This includes all the casinos that are present across the world.

Popular Variations of Poker played right now

1) Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold’em poker stands first in the list and is the most popular variations of poker that exists. It is played in each and every casino that is present and is played the most among the players.

Deuce-to-seven, one of the most popular poker variations amongst the poker professionals, is gold to those who understand its nuances and poison to those who are allured by the draw. With multiple betting rounds, the action gets heavy and the multiple draws makes for many rounds of fun-filled pots (and major suck outs). Poker Variants Edit. Poker is a very popular pastime, these days. There are lots of poker games, though, so they can be confusing. Luckily, the most popular kinds can, for the most part, be sorted into three families. The first group is community poker games. In community poker games, players receive a certain number of hole cards. Rewind just a few decades and Seven-Card Stud was the most popular poker game in America. Since then it's been overtaken in a big way by faster and more exciting variants like No-Limit Hold'em.

If you’re new to poker and is looking to play, then Texas Hold’em poker is the best choice to do so. The rules of Texas Hold’em is the basis for all the other variations of poker I’m mentioning below. It is also really fun to play and hands down the best variations of poker.

Rules

The rules of the game are very easy to understand and once you learn them, then you can start playing the game immediately.

1. Texas Hold’em is played between 2-9 players and each player is dealt with 2 cards facing down.
2. To deal with the cards a dealer will be present. If there is no dealer then a dealer button is placed in front of one player and the cards are dealt from him and in the clockwise direction. After each hand, the dealer button moves one step in the clockwise direction.
3. The two players left of the dealer has to pay the small and the big blind respectively. These are the minimum bets that every player must pay in order to play the hand. The small and the big blind has to be placed without even seeing their cards.
4. The person sitting to the left of Big blind starts the game and he can bet the minimum amount or fold his hand. After he has played the same is repeated for the remaining players in the clockwise direction.
5. After each one of them bets then three cards are dealt on the table facing up and is known as the flop. After seeing the flop each player can bet, check or fold.
6. Similarly, a fourth card is dealt on the table facing up after each one of the players bet and is known as the turn card. Again each player can check, bet or fold his hand.
7. After the betting is finished, a fifth card is dealt on the table facing up and is known as the River. Again each player can check, bet or fold his hand.
8. After the betting, the winner is decided and the player that betted last has to show his card if he has the better hand than the other players, he wins everything that is present on the table.

Related: Check out the Hands ranking that will decide who is going to win.

2) Omaha Hold’em Poker

Omaha Poker is also a very popular form of poker and is played all over the world. Omaha Poker is the second most popular variations of poker. Omaha poker is pretty much similar to Texas Hold’em Poker in many ways. It is a very action-packed game where the position of the players become important when it comes to winning a hand. The major difference between Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker is that each player is dealt with four hole cards instead of two.

There is three variant of Omaha Poker that is played.

1. Pot-limit Omaha (meaning you can bet what is in the pot).
2. No-limit Omaha (meaning you can bet all of your chips at any time).
3. Limit Omaha (meaning there is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting).

Among these Pot-Limit Omaha is the most popular one that is played a lot.

Rules

As mentioned earlier, Omaha poker is similar to Texas Hold’em. In Omaha poker, a total of four rounds of betting happens and after the final round of betting the winner is decided.

1. The game is played between 2-10 players and each player is dealt with four hole cards facing down.
2. Since in Omaha Poker, the position of the players affects the game, a “dealer puck” is placed in front of one player. This puck will determine the order of play for the coming hands. After each hand, the dealer puck moves in the clockwise direction to ensure fairness to all the players involved in the game.
3. The two players sitting left of the Dealer puck has to pay the “Blinds“. There are two blinds present, i.e, Big Blind and Small Blind. The blinds in general, are the minimum cost that must be paid before the cards are dealt with. The person sitting immediate left of the Dealer Puck has to pay the Small Blind( Half of the minimum cost) and the person left of Small Blind has to pay the Big Blind( Equal to the minimum cost).
4. After the two players sitting left of the dealer places the blinds, the hole cards are now distributed to all the players playing the game. After seeing the cards, the remaining players have to pay to match the big blind. The player sitting left of Big Blind starts the game.
5. Each player can bet, raise or fold. There is a maximum of one bet followed by three additional raises in each round.
6. After the first round of betting, three cards are placed on the table facing up known as the Flop, similar to Texas Hold’em. These cards are called as the community cards.
7. The betting continues as the previous round in the clockwise direction starting from the left of Dealer Button.
8. After the second round of betting is over a fourth community card is dealt facing the table known as the Turn card. The betting continues as the previous round in the clockwise direction starting from the left of Dealer Button.
9. After the third round of betting is over a fifth community card is dealt on the table facing up, known as the River. This is carried by the fourth and the final betting round similar to the previous rounds.
10. After the final round of betting is over the remaining players will show their cards to see who won. To decide on the winner, the two of the four hole cards and three of the five community cards are used. The player with the best five cards wins.

3) 7 Card Stud

7 Card Stud is the third most popular variations of poker and is played in almost all the casinos. It is very easy to learn but to master it is another thing. You need to have a good memory in order to play well in this poker variant.

There are no community cards dealt on the table, but instead, all the players receive 7 cards, 3 facing down and 4 facing up. Hence if you need to play well, you need to memorize the other players face-up cards. This is the reason I mentioned you need a good memory power to play the game.

Rules

1. The game is played between 2-8 players and each player is dealt with 7 cards, 3 facing down and 4 facing up.
2. Before the cards are distributed, each player must pay an ante which is usually 1/10th of the minimum betting size.
3. After the ante is paid, each player receives 3 cards, 2 facing down and 1 facing up.
4. The player with the lowest (value) face-up card will start the game and must pay the minimum bet which is called the “Bring it in“. He can even bet double of the bring-in amount. But, the player to start cannot fold.
5. The betting continues in the clockwise direction with each player having the option to fold or pay the bring-in amount. They can also bet the double of the bring-in amount similar to the player that starts the game.
6. After everyone has played their turn, a 4th card is dealt with all the players face-up called the Fourth Street.
7. The player with the highest value hand with their face-up cards has to start the bet now. After him, the remaining players will play in the clockwise direction similar to the last round.
8. After everyone has played their turn a 5th card is dealt facing up to all the players. This card is called Fifth Street. Similarly, after each one has bet similar to the previous round a 6th card is dealt with all the players facing up known as the Sixth Street.
9. Now after everyone plays after the sixth card, the seventh street is dealt with all the remaining players face-down.
10. Anyone still in the hand after the final betting ( Betting after the seventh street is dealt) must show their hands and the person with the best five-card wins the hand and takes all the money from the table. After that, the next hand starts.

4) Chinese Poker

Chinese Poker is the fourth most popular variations of poker and is played all over the world. As the name suggests, it was originated from China and is very popular among Chinese.

The final hand won is decided by thepoker hand rankings similar to Texas Hold’em Poker. This variation of poker is a bit different from the others but super fun.

Rules

1. The game is played between 2-4 players and each of the player receive 13 cards face-down. That’s right… 13 cards, not 2, not 7 but 13.
2. There are no betting rounds in this variation of poker but instead, each player must agree to a certain value (Amount) before they play the hand.
3. After the players receive their 13 cards they must arrange these cards into 3 groups of 3 different hands.
4. The first hand or group must include 3 cards and these cards must be the worst of the 13 cards. This hand is called the Front Hand or the Top Hand.
5. The second hand or group must include 5 cards and these cards must be better than the first hand but worse than the third hand. This hand is called the Middle Hand.
6. The third hand or group must also include 5 cards and these cards have to be the best hand among the other 2 groups. This hand is called the Bottom Hand.
7. After each player decides their hands they place the cards face-up on the table with the remaining players doing the same.
8. Each player scores each hand against the corresponding hand of each other player.
9. You win one point for each hand you win against other players. The player that wins the most hand wins that round. There are also bonus points for players that win all three of their hands with the other player. Winning all three hands are known as Scoop.

There is another variant of Chinese Poker called as the Open-face Chinese Poker. This version is even more complicated than the normal version. There is a slight variation of rules for this version. The rules are mentioned below.

• Each player is dealt with 5 cards first instead of 13 and they must build the top hand (including 3 cards) with those five cards.
• After that, each player draws one card per turn from the deck and continues to build their hands to complete Middle Hand and the Bottom Hand.
• There are way more decisions and excitement since you have to draw each card one at a time.

5) Five-card Draw

Five-card draw poker is the fifth most popular variations of poker and is more popular as a home game than casinos. You’ll rarely see these games in casinos, but is popular online where you’ll find plenty of tournaments going on.

The winning hand is decided by the same rules as the Texas Hold’em. There is a dealer button and the small and the big blind left of the dealer just like Texas Hold’em Poker.

Rules

1. The game is played between 2-4 players and each one of the players receives 5 cards face-down. The player left of the big blind starts the game by betting the big blind amount or Folding his hand. He can even raise the amount if he wants to.
2. After every player has played, each one of the players gets the option to exchange their cards for new cards if they want to. They can exchange as many cards as they want. The player to start the exchange is the player sitting to the left of the dealer.
3. After the exchange, there is another round of betting starting with the player sitting left of the Dealer Button.
4. After the betting is finished, the remaining players must show their cards to the other players. The player with the best hand wins the pot and the next hand gets started.

This is one of the unique variations of poker where you get to play with two hands if you want to. Super fun and easy to understand.

6) Razz

Razz is the sixth most popular variations of poker and is similar to the 7 card stud. Even in this variant of poker, we get 7 cards and we try to win the hand in the end by choosing only 5 of those 7 cards. Razz is a lowball poker game which means the card and hand rankings are flipped upside down. Aces are of low value in Razz and Flushes and Straights doesn’t count.

The lowest value hand in Razz is A-2-3-4-5.

Rules

1. The game is played between 2-8 players and each player is dealt with 7 cards, 3 facing down and 4 facing up.
2. Before the cards are distributed, each player must pay an ante which is usually 1/10th of the minimum betting size.
3. After the ante is paid, each player receives 3 cards, 2 facing down and 1 facing up.
4. The player with the highest (value) face-up card will start the game and must pay the minimum bet which is called the “Bring it in“. He can even bet double of the bring-in amount. But, the player to start cannot fold.
5. The betting continues in the clockwise direction with each player having the option to fold or pay the bring-in amount. They can also bet the double of the bring-in amount similar to the player that starts the game.
6. After everyone has played their turn, a 4th card is dealt with all the players face-up called the Fourth Street.
7. The player with the lowest value hand with their face-up cards has to start the bet now. After him, the remaining players will play in the clockwise direction similar to the last round.
8. After everyone has played their turn a 5th card is dealt facing up to all the players. This card is called Fifth Street. Similarly, after each one has bet similar to the previous round a 6th card is dealt with all the players facing up known as the Sixth Street.
9. Now after everyone plays after the sixth card, the seventh street is dealt with all the remaining players face-down.
10. Anyone still in the hand after the final betting ( Betting after the seventh street is dealt) must show their hands and the person with the lowest value five-card (The best lowball hand) wins the hand and takes all the money from the table. After that, the next hand starts.

Note: Razz is pretty unique variations of poker where the Poker Hands are reversed.

7) 2-7 Triple Draw

2-7 Triple Draw is the 7th most popular variations of poker. It is usually not found in many casinos but is very popular online. You can play plenty of online tournaments and compete with the best in the world.

The 2-7 triple draw is also similar to the 5 card poker where you receive 5 cards in the beginning face-down. But the winner, in the end, is decided by the worst possible hand in poker. Therefore the best hand in 2-7 Triple draw is the 2-3-4-5-7. Hence the name 2-7. Triple draw suggests that you can exchange your cards 3 times instead of once as in 5 card draw.

To better understand the game you can watch this video tutorial. This is one of the most unique variations of poker and hard to master.

Rules

There are 4 betting rounds that happen in 2-7 Triple draw.

1. 1. The game is played between 2 – 4 players and each player gets 5 cards face-down. There is a dealer similar to Texas Hold’em. To the left of the dealer Small and the Big blind sits. The player sitting to the left of the Big Blind starts the game
   2. After the betting rounds, each player can draw up to five new cards. There are four betting rounds and three draws. Triple Draw is played with fixed betting limits.
   3. After the final betting round, players still in must show down their cards to see who wins. The player with the lowest value hand wins.

These were the most popular variations of poker and their rules.

I am the owner of the site rohithebbar.com. I love playing poker and other card games.

Poker can be a card game that seems complex to the untrained player, but is actually straight forward once you get the gist. Most players pick up this beloved game easily and can’t wait to learn the many variations. There is a reason why poker is largely considered the world’s favourite card game; it’s fun, exciting and requires the perfect blend of luck and strategy. In order to get your head around poker, it’ll help to understand these basic terms generally found in all variations of the game, along with the ample diverse variations.

Betting Rounds

Betting is made in poker using chips valued at certain amounts, with all chips placed in the middle of the table to become the pot. The first player to place his/her bet will be dependent on the variation of poker being played, and once the first bet is placed betting moves clockwise around the table. Once players have examined their hand and their turn to bet comes, they have a number of choices on how to proceed:

• Fold – You always have the option to lay down your hand which takes you out of the pot for that round – you forfeit any chips placed during the betting rounds.
• Check – You stay in the hand, but opt not to place a bet. This can only be done if no one else has placed a bet before you. If a player has already placed a bet, you cannot check, but can still fold.
• Call – Here you choose to match the bet (put down the same amount of chips) as the player betting before you. This keeps you in the hand.
• Bet/Raise – Betting refers to putting forward a chosen amount of chips as the first player to do so. Raising refers to matching the previous bet (calling), and then adding additional chips (a bet of higher value) on top of that call.

Poker Dealings

The way each game is dealt will vary significantly depending on the version of poker you are playing. Deals refer to the distribution of cards to each player in accordance with the rules of the game in play.

Hole Cards and Community Cards

Hole cards are the face-down cards dealt to each individual player. These should not be revealed until the final round of betting has been completed, and cards must be shown to determine the winner. Community cards are the face-up cards placed in the middle of the table and shared by all players. All players use the community cards to create their best hand.

Playing Poker Against Dealer/Computer and Against Other Players

Each game of poker entails different rules, which will either comprise of playing against other players, or playing directly against the dealer. Put simply, this means:

Poker against other people – players compete against other competitors around the table, with the aim to beat others with the best hand or cunning tactics.

Poker against the dealer – players compete directly against the dealer, rather than each other, with the aim of each player to beat the dealer with a stronger-ranking hand. It’s heads-up v the dealer.

Poker Variants

Poker Variants Reddit

There are more variations to the game of poker than grains of sand on earth, but some of the most popular variations – ones found both offline and online – are detailed below:

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is the mother of all poker variations and the most common and popular form of poker played today. In this variant, players use two hole cards and five community cards to make up the best-ranking hand possible.

Omaha

Omaha loosely follows the structure of Texas Hold’em, with players using three community cards out of five, and two hole cards out of four to make up the best-ranking hand possible.

Poker Variants Pagat

Stud Poker

Poker Variants Games

There are numerous variations of Stud Poker, the most popular variant being Seven Card Stud and Five Card Stud, with the general aim being for players to make the best possible hand using face-up and face-down cards that are dealt throughout the game. Several betting rounds take place per deal.

H.O.R.S.E

H.O.R.S.E is a combination of five different variations of poker; Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Eight or Better (the acronyms of which make up the name of the game). During a game of H.O.R.S.E, each round of play rotates between each of these poker game variations. H.O.R.S.E adopts the rules of each of the poker variants mentioned above, so an understanding of each of these games is required. This game is known to be the best way for players to display their genuine poker skills, as players need to be able to demonstrate knowledge and performance over a range of poker variations.

3 Card Poker

This is fast becoming one of pokers most popular variants, and is found at all our endorsed online casinos, as well as land-based casinos around Australia. With a simple structure and fast-paced game-style, 3 card poker stipulates three cards are dealt to each active player, and three cards dealt to the dealer. Players bet an Ante to receive cards, and once they’ve checked their hand, they have the option to place a Play wager if they wish to continue (and think they’ll better the dealer’s hand). Side best such as Pairs Plus are available, too. Players are in competition against the dealer.

Poker Variants Home Games

With so many variations on traditional poker, players have the opportunity to explore different rules and formats to find the game most suited to their personal tastes. When it comes to poker there really is something for everyone, with online variations offering a range of titles, all with great graphics, sounds and live interaction options to keep players entertained for hours – for international players only, of course. Australians can’t legally play online for real money after September 2017 due to the new Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 now in full effect.