Maybe you already know the rules of Texas Hold’em and call this game “poker” thinking that it is the only variation there is? In fact, there are plenty of different variations. Some are popular, others more rare. Discover in this article 5 variations to learn to become a complete poker player.
Whatever your fancy, whatever your resolution, you should try to find the variant that’s right for you. A player like Alexandre Luneau (nickname: Alexonmoon) has decent Texas Hold’em results, but has made millions on rarer games like 2 to 7.
What better way to learn about poker than by learning these five popular poker games!
Texas hold’em
It is the most popular poker game in the world. If you want to learn how to play poker games online, this is a great place to start.
This is all the more true as most of the tournaments known in the world (WSOP, WPT, EPT, etc.) use this variant.
Each player receives two face down cards from everyone (except himself) and must create the best possible five card hand. The action moves clockwise but starts to the left of the dealer’s button. The two players to the dealer’s left usually need to place a small and a big blind to start betting.
Five community cards are displayed in the middle of the table on the flop (3 cards), turn (1 card) and river (1 card) and players must make the best combination of five cards from their seven cards.
It is not the most complicated variant, nor the simplest, but the most popular. It is played in limit and no-limit.
Omaha
If you’ve learned the rules of Texas hold’em poker, buckle up because Omaha might be for you if you’re up for bigger chip variations.
In Omaha, players are dealt four face down cards instead of two and can only use two cards from their hand. So, if you have 2222 in your face down cards, it’s not worth anything …
Much like a game of Texas Hold’em poker, you have five community cards put out by the dealer with a flop, turn and river (more often called the flop, turn and river). The betting rounds are conducted in the same way.
Omaha is usually played in a limit or pot-limit format, with the most common variations being Omaha High or Omaha 8-or-Better (Hi-Lo).
Omaha High is like Texas Hold’em, with players hoping to win the pot with the best high hand. Omaha 8-or-Better splits the pot between the best high hand and the best low hand; qualifying for the low hand means having five different cards that are eight or less.
Omaha is a fast paced game of poker and players make big hands more often than in Texas Hold’em. The position is of great strategic importance.
There is a greater variance and the part of luck matters more since many players play aggressively the many draws. So a winning period doesn’t have to make you think you are a genius, just like a negative period doesn’t mean you are bad.
Seven card stud
It was the game that was popular before the explosion of Texas Hold’em and yet today many people (who don’t understand the variant) consider it old-fashioned poker.
Played with two to eight players and without a flop and community cards, Seven Card Stud starts with two cards face down and a third face up.
After getting seven cards dealt – three face down and four face down – you choose the best combination of five cards (with the same hand rank in Texas Hold Them or Omaha).
Seven Card Stud is most often played as a limit game. Pay attention to your opponents’ cards in this game so as not to underestimate or incorrectly estimate the odds. It’s a very technical game that requires a lot of experience to play well.
2-7 Triple Draw
Once you feel like you’ve tackled the best variations or are just ready for a few advanced poker games, 2-7 Triple Draw will be waiting for you with reverse hand rankings!
The object of a poker game like 2-7 Triple Draw is to make the lowest possible five-card hand with four betting rounds and three possible card exchanges.
On each turn, players choose which cards to discard between zero and five cards and the dealer will deal replacement cards. It is a form of poker called closed. There is a final round of betting after the third and final draw, and then the dealer’s button determines the order of the bets.
Aces play high and both play low; remember that straight and straight flushes play against you, so the best hand is 23457 with no straight flush. This six-player game uses a dealer button and the same betting structure as Texas Hold’em.
Chinese poker
There is a special rule in Chinese poker called “Fantasyland”. Do we need to say more? We will say yes!
This new poker game, Chinese poker was invented in 2011 and has evolved. Chinese poker allows players to draw cards from a single deck, while trying to get the best hand possible.
Instead of tricks, players play for points, as in card games like rummy or gin. Once all of the card replacement rounds are over, players have 13 cards in three hands: the top, middle, and bottom.
The top only contains three cards but is marked as a regular hand; the bottom and middle are regular five-card hands.