There are a plethora of different version of poker. Some of these are very well known and played all over the world, while some are far less common. Naturally, it's the more popular ones that are typically offered on online poker sites. These games are also generally the ones played in land based casinos and poker rooms. Texas Hold'em is the most played version, with other popular variants including the following.
In addition to the versions mentioned above, a game of poker can also be played in different formats. The biggest distinction is between cash games, where money is won and lost on each hand, and tournaments, where players all start with a certain amount of chips and the aim is to win them all. Then there's a speed poker, a relatively new format which is played at a much faster pace.
It's considered that Poker is getting ancient origins because it had been existed around 1, 000 decades ago. It's thought that China, Persia, and situs poker online France have begun the origins with the particular game. But in that moment, around 1803it had been A16 card match, however at the conclusion of 1834, it turned. Read moreThe number of Forms of Poker. Some poker variations are always played with 6 or fewer seats at the table. Examples are 8-Game Mix and Deuce to Seven (2-7) Triple Draw. Please note that in 4-Max tournaments, the final table will form. Secondary Poker Types Three Card Poker. This is a version of poker that only includes the player and the dealer, it is what is known as a heads-up version of poker. The player kicks off the betting with an ante. The Three Main Types of Poker. There are three main classifications of poker: draw poker, stud poker, and community card poker. Pretty much every single variant of the game will fall into one of these categories. Speed poker is a relatively new format of the game that has been introduced at a number of online poker sites. It's played primarily using Texas Hold'em or Omaha and be played using either the cash game.
Best Forms Of Poker
Games can also be categorized based on the betting limit used. The betting limit basically dictates how much players can bet at various stages and has a big impact on the strategy involved. The main limits used are fixed limit and no limit, but there are others out there to choose from.
In this section on poker games we've provided information on all the main versions and formats. You can find details of everything we cover below.
Betting Limits
The betting limit of any particular game dictates how much a player may bet or raise relative to the stakes (when playing cash) or the current blind level (when playing tournaments). It's important to be aware of the different limits and how they work, as they change the way a game is played quite significantly.
The following are the most commonly used betting limits and we have written an article explaining how they all work.
The main way to classify a game of poker, apart from which variant is being played, is identifying whether it's a cash game or a tournament. The fundamental rules of whichever variant you're playing are the same regardless of the format, but there are some key differences to the way you win (or lose) money.
In a cash game you buy in for a certain amount of money and the winner of each hand wins however much money has gone into the pot. You can leave the table at any point and take any winnings you've made. You can also buy in for more money if you lose.
In a tournament, you pay an entry fee and receive a fixed number of chips that is the same amount as all of the other competitors. The winner of each hand wins however many chips have gone into the pot and players are eliminated after they have lost all of their chips. The goal is to be the last remaining player or in other words to win all the chips on the table. There are several different types of tournaments with each one having a slightly different set of rules.
We've provided more detailed information on how cash games and tournaments work on the following two pages.
Most Popular Forms Of Poker
Speed poker is a relatively new format of the game that has been introduced at a number of online poker sites. It's played primarily using Texas Hold'em or Omaha and be played using either the cash game or tournament format. All the standard rules are basically the same but it's played at a significantly faster pace.
Whenever you fold a hand you're automatically dealt into another one. This works by using a pool of players that are constantly moving tables rather than seating players at a specific table. It's not as complicated as it might sound and it's one of the most exciting ways to play poker online.
Texas Hold'em has earned its title as the world's favorite form of poker. It's easily the most played and featured version played at every online poker site. The majority of the time it's the game of choice for large live tournaments and the biggest cash games too.
A significant reason for the popularity of Texas Hold'em is the simplicity of that are reasonably easy to learn. Mastering the game is much more difficult though, and its challenging nature is also a big part of its appeal too. For more details on Texas Hold'em, including its history, the best places to play online, and an overview of the rules – please see the following pages.
Omaha shares a number of similarities with Texas Hold'em. It's the second most popular online game and it's often favored by players that like the fact it generates a lot of action. There are a few different variations of Omaha with the two most common being Omaha High and Omaha Hi-Lo. It's a good idea to learn the High version before Hi-Lo, because it's definitely the simpler of the two.
You can find more details on these poker variants on the following pages.
Before the popularity of Texas Hold'em spread, Seven Card Stud used to be the most widely played version of poker among serious players and professionals. In this variant you have more information to work with than you do in others and many argue that this means there's more strategy and skill involved, and less left up to chance.
For additional details on Seven Card Stud, please see the following pages.
Although not as popular or as well-known as most of the other poker versions we've covered here, Razz is still enjoyed by many players. It can be confusing when you first play because it's a low-ball game, meaning you want the lowest value hand rather than the highest. Outside of that, though, the rules aren't really too complicated.
You can read the full rules of Razz, along with more information on the game and some additional advice on where to play it, on the following pages.
Five Card Draw is less strategy oriented than many other poker games and it also has very simple rules. These reasons are probably why Five Card Draw is often the first type of poker that people learn how to play. It's still a very popular game to play at home and it can be found at most online poker sites too.
Please see the following pages for more on Five Card Draw.
In mixed game formats you play multiple poker variants at the same time. The version played rotates every few hands and many consider this format to represent the ultimate test of poker playing skill. You obviously need to be competent in several different forms of poker to be successful and they aren't really suitable for beginners or relatively inexperienced players.
Poker has three main branches. In draw poker each player's full hand remains concealed until the showdown, in stud poker some but not all of a player's cards are dealt faceup, and in community-card poker some cards are exposed and used by all the players to form their best hands. In addition, nearly any form of poker may be played high-low (also spelled hi-lo) or low (also known as lowball). In high-low the highest-ranking poker hand and the lowest-ranking poker hand divide the pot equally. If there is an odd number of chips, the high hand gets it. If two or more hands tie for high or low, they divide their half of the pot equally. In most games the lowest possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 in two or more suits, but in some games the ace may optionally be treated as the lowest card and thereby make 6-4-3-2-A the lowest hand and a pair of aces the lowest pair.
Draw poker
In straight poker each player is dealt five cards facedown, and the deal is followed by one betting interval, beginning with the player nearest the dealer's left, and then by a showdown. After the 1850s, straight poker was eclipsed by draw poker, which allows each active player, in turn beginning at dealer's left, to discard one or more of his original cards and receive replacements for them from the undealt portion of the pack. (A player who declines to draw cards is said to 'stand pat.') After this process, called the draw, there is a second betting interval, followed by the showdown. Sometimes a minimum hand, such as a pair of jacks, is required in order to make the first bet before the draw.
Draw poker declined in popularity during the second half of the 20th century in favour of stud poker and, especially, various community-card poker games.
Stud poker
Five-card stud
Each player receives one card facedown—his hole card—and one card faceup. The deal is then interrupted for a betting interval. There follow three rounds of dealing, each deal distributing one card faceup to each active player, with a betting interval after each round. There is a showdown in which the hole cards are shown after the fourth and last betting interval. In each betting interval the first bettor is the player with the highest-ranking poker combination in his faceup cards; if two or more players have the same combinations, the 'first' one (nearest the dealer's left) bets first. In the first betting interval the first player must bet at least an established minimum; in any later betting interval he may check.
Few games have lost popularity so fast as regular five-card stud. In the 1920s and into the '30s, it was played in two-thirds of the high-stakes and professional games in the United States, but since the 1950s it has not been played in even one-tenth of them.
Seven-card stud
Each player is dealt two hole cards and a faceup card, and there is a betting interval. Then three more faceup cards and one final facedown card are dealt to each player, each of these four deals being followed by another betting interval. For the showdown each player selects the best five of his seven cards to be his poker hand.
There are six-card and eight-card variants of this game, in each of which a player ultimately selects five of his cards. Seven-card stud is often played high-low or low. In some high-low games, players may vie for both halves of the pot by selecting any five of their cards as a candidate for high hand and any five as a candidate for low hand. In some high-low games, declarations are required: before the showdown each player must announce whether he is trying for high, for low, or for both, and he cannot win unless his entire announcement is fulfilled.
Unlike five-card stud, seven-card stud remains one of the most popular poker variants in homes, poker clubs, and poker tournaments. In particular, the game favours players adept at adjusting their calculations on the basis of the numerous exposed cards.
Oswald JacobyAlbert H. MoreheadCommunity-card poker
Most Popular Forms Of Poker
Speed poker is a relatively new format of the game that has been introduced at a number of online poker sites. It's played primarily using Texas Hold'em or Omaha and be played using either the cash game or tournament format. All the standard rules are basically the same but it's played at a significantly faster pace.
Whenever you fold a hand you're automatically dealt into another one. This works by using a pool of players that are constantly moving tables rather than seating players at a specific table. It's not as complicated as it might sound and it's one of the most exciting ways to play poker online.
Texas Hold'em has earned its title as the world's favorite form of poker. It's easily the most played and featured version played at every online poker site. The majority of the time it's the game of choice for large live tournaments and the biggest cash games too.
A significant reason for the popularity of Texas Hold'em is the simplicity of that are reasonably easy to learn. Mastering the game is much more difficult though, and its challenging nature is also a big part of its appeal too. For more details on Texas Hold'em, including its history, the best places to play online, and an overview of the rules – please see the following pages.
Omaha shares a number of similarities with Texas Hold'em. It's the second most popular online game and it's often favored by players that like the fact it generates a lot of action. There are a few different variations of Omaha with the two most common being Omaha High and Omaha Hi-Lo. It's a good idea to learn the High version before Hi-Lo, because it's definitely the simpler of the two.
You can find more details on these poker variants on the following pages.
Before the popularity of Texas Hold'em spread, Seven Card Stud used to be the most widely played version of poker among serious players and professionals. In this variant you have more information to work with than you do in others and many argue that this means there's more strategy and skill involved, and less left up to chance.
For additional details on Seven Card Stud, please see the following pages.
Although not as popular or as well-known as most of the other poker versions we've covered here, Razz is still enjoyed by many players. It can be confusing when you first play because it's a low-ball game, meaning you want the lowest value hand rather than the highest. Outside of that, though, the rules aren't really too complicated.
You can read the full rules of Razz, along with more information on the game and some additional advice on where to play it, on the following pages.
Five Card Draw is less strategy oriented than many other poker games and it also has very simple rules. These reasons are probably why Five Card Draw is often the first type of poker that people learn how to play. It's still a very popular game to play at home and it can be found at most online poker sites too.
Please see the following pages for more on Five Card Draw.
In mixed game formats you play multiple poker variants at the same time. The version played rotates every few hands and many consider this format to represent the ultimate test of poker playing skill. You obviously need to be competent in several different forms of poker to be successful and they aren't really suitable for beginners or relatively inexperienced players.
Poker has three main branches. In draw poker each player's full hand remains concealed until the showdown, in stud poker some but not all of a player's cards are dealt faceup, and in community-card poker some cards are exposed and used by all the players to form their best hands. In addition, nearly any form of poker may be played high-low (also spelled hi-lo) or low (also known as lowball). In high-low the highest-ranking poker hand and the lowest-ranking poker hand divide the pot equally. If there is an odd number of chips, the high hand gets it. If two or more hands tie for high or low, they divide their half of the pot equally. In most games the lowest possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 in two or more suits, but in some games the ace may optionally be treated as the lowest card and thereby make 6-4-3-2-A the lowest hand and a pair of aces the lowest pair.
Draw poker
In straight poker each player is dealt five cards facedown, and the deal is followed by one betting interval, beginning with the player nearest the dealer's left, and then by a showdown. After the 1850s, straight poker was eclipsed by draw poker, which allows each active player, in turn beginning at dealer's left, to discard one or more of his original cards and receive replacements for them from the undealt portion of the pack. (A player who declines to draw cards is said to 'stand pat.') After this process, called the draw, there is a second betting interval, followed by the showdown. Sometimes a minimum hand, such as a pair of jacks, is required in order to make the first bet before the draw.
Draw poker declined in popularity during the second half of the 20th century in favour of stud poker and, especially, various community-card poker games.
Stud poker
Five-card stud
Each player receives one card facedown—his hole card—and one card faceup. The deal is then interrupted for a betting interval. There follow three rounds of dealing, each deal distributing one card faceup to each active player, with a betting interval after each round. There is a showdown in which the hole cards are shown after the fourth and last betting interval. In each betting interval the first bettor is the player with the highest-ranking poker combination in his faceup cards; if two or more players have the same combinations, the 'first' one (nearest the dealer's left) bets first. In the first betting interval the first player must bet at least an established minimum; in any later betting interval he may check.
Few games have lost popularity so fast as regular five-card stud. In the 1920s and into the '30s, it was played in two-thirds of the high-stakes and professional games in the United States, but since the 1950s it has not been played in even one-tenth of them.
Seven-card stud
Each player is dealt two hole cards and a faceup card, and there is a betting interval. Then three more faceup cards and one final facedown card are dealt to each player, each of these four deals being followed by another betting interval. For the showdown each player selects the best five of his seven cards to be his poker hand.
There are six-card and eight-card variants of this game, in each of which a player ultimately selects five of his cards. Seven-card stud is often played high-low or low. In some high-low games, players may vie for both halves of the pot by selecting any five of their cards as a candidate for high hand and any five as a candidate for low hand. In some high-low games, declarations are required: before the showdown each player must announce whether he is trying for high, for low, or for both, and he cannot win unless his entire announcement is fulfilled.
Unlike five-card stud, seven-card stud remains one of the most popular poker variants in homes, poker clubs, and poker tournaments. In particular, the game favours players adept at adjusting their calculations on the basis of the numerous exposed cards.
Oswald JacobyAlbert H. MoreheadCommunity-card poker
Texas hold'em
The most popular game of the modern era is Texas hold'em, which world champion poker player Doyle ('Texas Dolly') Brunson once called the 'Cadillac of poker games.' This is a studlike game in which players share five cards (community cards) dealt faceup on the table in order to form their best hands. The game is usually played with a fixed limit or pot limit in home and casino play. However, Texas hold'em tournaments almost always use table stakes (hence the often-heard expression 'all in') in order to determine the winner more quickly by a process of elimination.
Rather than a traditional ante from each player before the deal, in Texas hold'em only two players are forced to bet blind before seeing their cards. The position to the dealer's left is called the small blind because the player in that seat must make a small bet (typically one-half the minimum bet), and the position to the left of the small blind is called the big blind because that player must raise by placing twice as many chips in the pot. Every player is then dealt two cards facedown, and the player to the left of the big blind is the first to act (fold, call the big blind, or raise); if no player raises the big blind, the big blind may check or raise his own bet to continue the betting. Next the dealer 'burns' one card from the top of the deck (deals it facedown to the table) and then deals the first three community cards (the 'flop') faceup to the table. The small blind (or the player to his left still in the hand) acts first in this and every succeeding round by folding, checking, or making a bet. After all bets have been called or every active player has checked, another card is burned, and a fourth common card (called 'fourth street' or 'the turn') is dealt faceup. There is another round of betting. Then another card is burned, and the fifth common card (called 'fifth street' or 'the river') is dealt faceup, followed by the last round of betting. Each remaining player then makes his best hand from the shared community cards and his two hole cards to determine the winner.
