poker games
We have put together a list of poker games for you guys to take a look at and to add to your poker collection. If you ever get tired of playing the same games all the time you should give some of these a shot.
TEXAS HOLD'EM
Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game on the planet right now, and is the style of poker you see all over TV. The game starts of with each player at the table being dealt two cards face down (which are called pocket/hole cards), once the players receive their cards there is a betting round. The dealer then distributes three community cards in the middle of the table face up (in no particular order or pattern), and this is followed by a second betting round. A fourth community card (the turn) is dealt face up beside the previous three cards and then it is followed by a third betting round. A fifth community card (the river) is then dealt and the fourth and final round of betting begins. At showdown, each player plays the best five-card poker hand that can be made using any five cards among the two in your hand and the five that are on the board.
Texas Hold'em poker is typically played with 2 to 10 players, but it can be played with more (theoretically 23, but beyond 12 players the size of the table is the limiting factor). It is very much a positional game, since all betting rounds begin to the left of the dealer.
OMAHA
Omaha poker is a slightly different version of Texas hold'em poker. Omaha is definitely a popular game as it has continued to grow strength in the past couple of years. Briefly, each player is dealt four pocket cards instead of the two that you receive in Hold'em. The betting rounds and the distribution of the community cards are identical. When it comes time for the showdown, each player's poker hand is the best five-card hand that can be made from exactly three of the five cards on the board, plus exactly two of his own cards. Unlike Texas hold'em, a player cannot play only one of their pocket cards with four from the board, nor can he play the board, also you cannot play three from your hand and two from the board, or any other combination. Each player must play exactly two of his own cards with exactly three of the community cards.
OMAHA HIGH (EIGHT OR BETTER)
Omaha poker was originally established to be a game that consisted of high-hands only, but the high-low split style named Omaha 8 or better has become so popular that the simple term Omaha usually now refers to that, while the original poker game is more commonly referred to as Omaha High. Omaha 8 or better plays best with 5 to 10 players. In Omaha 8 or better, or just Omaha 8, each player makes a separate five-card high poker hand and five-card ace-to-five low hand, and the pot is split between the high and low (which may be the same player) hands. In order to have a hand qualify for the low, a player must be able to play an 8-7-6-5-4 hand or lower. You might find that some casinos play with a 9-low qualifier instead, but this is rare. More often than not this style of poker is played at a fixed limit.
When you are playing with high poker hands only, the game is generally called Omaha high to avoid uncertainty. This game plays notably well at pot limit. Another difference is that each player is dealt five cards instead of four. The same rules will apply when the time comes for a showdown: again it is important to understand that each player must use two of his cards with three of the community cards.
PINEAPPLE POKER
Pineapple is similar to the play of Holdem because you are using a three-card flop on the board, a fourth community card, and then a fifth community card. Each player is dealt three pocket cards (instead of the usual two) at the start. One of these cards is discarded before the flop (in regular Pineapple) or after the flop (in Crazy Pineapple, which is the more common version). The betting structures are the same as they are in Holdem. Once it is time for a showdown, a player can use any combination of his remaining two cards and the community cards. A player who still has three cards in his hand at the showdown has a dead hand.
CRAZY PINEAPPLE POKER
This style is structured the same as pineapple poker. The only difference is that the players discard their third card after the second betting round, and before the fourth community card is dealt. This style is best played in a format of high/low split.
CINCINNATI POKER
In Cincinnati Poker, each player is dealt five pocket/hole cards, and there is one community card dealt face up in the middle of the table. After the first betting round, a second community card is then dealt, and this is followed by a second round of betting. This procedure will continue until the fifth and final community card is dealt, and again this is followed by the fifth and final round of betting, and now it's time for the showdown. At the showdown, each player plays the best five-card poker hand that can be made from any combination of the five pocket/hole cards plus the five community cards.
COURCHEVAL POKER
In the game of Courcheval Poker, this is a very popular version of poker in Europe. The difference with this game and Omaha is that instead of betting on the initial four cards and then flopping three community cards for the second betting round, the first community card is dealt before the first betting round, so that each poker player has four private cards and the single community card on his first bet. Then two more community cards are dealt, and poker play proceeds exactly as in an Omaha poker game.
DOUBLE-BOARD HOLD'EM POKER
Double-Board Hold'em poker is a split-pot poker game that can be applied to many poker games (but which is generally only applied to normal hold'em poker games). For Double-Board hold'em poker games, two separate five-card boards are dealt, and whichever player has the highest poker hand using each board takes half of the pot. For example, after the first betting round, three community cards are dealt to each of two separate boards; after the second round, another community card is dealt to each board; and before the final round, a fifth community card is dealt to each board (so there will be in total ten community cards, comprising two separate five-card hold'em boards).
IRON CROSS POKER
In Iron Cross Poker, each player is dealt five pocket/hole cards, and then five community cards are dealt one at a time and each dealt card is followed by a betting round, exactly the same as in Cincinnati poker. The major difference is that each community card is dealt in a cross pattern with a center card (dealt last) and four other cards to its left, right, top, and bottom. Each player plays the best five-card poker hand he can make from his five hole cards plus the three cards from either the vertical arm or the horizontal arm of the cross. A common way to change this poker game up is to make the center card wild, or the center card and cards with the same rank wild.
JOHNSON DRAW POKER
Johnson draw poker is played with one joker that acts as a wild card. It must be played with antes and no blinds. Each poker player is dealt five cards. The first round of betting begins with the player to the dealer's left, and that player may check or open with anything. If any player opens, the poker game continues as traditional five-card draw poker. If the first round is passed out (that is, no one opens), then the player to the dealer's left may now open if he chooses, but the poker game has switched to California Lowball Poker. On the rare occasion that the deal is passed out yet again, players re-ante and deal again.
This poker game plays well in a heads-up format(that is, with only two players). When this poker game is played with a pair of jacks or better required to open on the first high-hand round, the poker game is called Jacks Back.
LAME BRAIN PETE POKER
In Lame Brain Pete Poker, three hole cards are dealt to each poker player, and that is followed by a first round of betting. Then a single community card is dealt, followed by the second betting round. Play continues with a single community card being added to the board followed by a betting round, until there are four community cards, for a total of five betting rounds.
When it is time for the showdown, the lowest-ranking card on the board, and all cards of that same rank either on the board or in players' hole cards, play as wild cards (thus, it is not possible to know exactly which cards will be wild until the end, unless a deuce appears on the board earlier than that). Each poker player makes his best five-card poker hand from his three hole cards plus the four community cards in any combination, with the low board card wild.
MANILA POKER (SEVEN-UP POKER)
Manila Poker is one of the most popular poker games in Australian casinos and it is a different version of Texas Hold'em (also called Seven-Up Poker in some places). It is played with a stripped deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed from the deck (thus leaving 32 cards). Each player is dealt two private cards, with a single community card dealt face up, followed by the first round of betting. A second community card is followed by a second betting round, and a third community card and a third betting round, and fourth community card and a fourth betting round, and finally a fifth community card, fifth betting round, and then it's time for the showdown. On showdown, each poker player makes the best poker hand he can from both of his hole cards with exactly three of the five community cards. Because of the stripped deck, a flush beats a full house. Also, an ace may not be played low for a straight (that is, the hand A-7-8-9-10 is not a straight in Manila Poker). Manila Poker and its variants are rarely played high-low split (in fact, very few stripped deck games are ever played low).
SIX PACK POKER
In Six Pack Poker, upon showdown, each poker player will have two hole cards, and there will be six community cards on the board arranged in a circle (something like the even-hour marks on a clock). The betting rounds go as follows: each player receives two pocket/hole cards, and this is followed by the first round of betting. Then two of the board cards at opposite sides of the circle (call them 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock) are dealt, and this is then followed by the second round of betting. Now there are two more community cards dealt on opposite sides of the circle (2 o'clock and 8 o'clock), and this is followed by a third round of betting. Finally, the 4 o'clock and 10 o'clock cards are dealt and this is followed by the fourth and final betting round, and showdown. At showdown, each player makes a hand by combining their two cards with any three consecutive cards that are on the board. With exactly two hole cards, there are only six possible choices which to play.
TIC TAC POKER
In Tic Tac Toe Poker, each player will have two pocket/hole cards, and there will be a board consisting of nine cards, and these cards are arranged in a 3x3 square. Each player is to make a five-card poker hand from a combination of their two cards plus any consecutive row of three cards that appear on the board, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Variations exist in the number of betting rounds based on which community cards are revealed in what order. The simplest way is to deal each player both of their pocket/hole cards and then deal the three cards across the top of the 3x3 arrangement before the first round of betting. Then deal the three cards across the bottom of the array and then this is followed by a second betting round. Then deal the two cards on the left and right edge of the middle row, followed by a third betting round; and finally deal the center community card followed by a fourth betting round and showdown.
STANDARD FIVE-CARD DRAW
Draw poker is very popular in home poker games but is now quite rare in casino poker and poker tournaments. Play begins with each player being dealt five cards, one at a time and all of the cards are face down. The remaining deck is placed aside, often protected by placing a chip or some other type of marker on it. Players then pick up the cards and hold them in their hands, being careful to keep them from the view of the other players. The first betting round now begins, starting with the player to the dealer's left. If more than one player remains after this round, the draw phase begins.
Each player specifies how many of his cards he wishes to replace, and discards that many from his poker hand. The remaining deck is retrieved and, after a burn card is dealt, each player in turn is dealt the same number of cards that was discarded, so that each player again has five cards. The second betting round occurs after the draw phase and this is followed by a showdown if more than one player is still remaining.
A common house rule in some places is that a player may not replace more than three cards, unless he draws four cards while keeping an ace (or wild card). This rule is only needed for low-limit social poker games where many players will stay for the draw, and helps to avoid depletion of the remaining deck. In more serious poker games such as those played in casinos, it is unnecessary and generally not used.
A rule that is commonly used in casinos is that a player is not allowed to draw five consecutive cards from the deck. If a player wishes to replace all five of their cards, they are given four of them in turn, the other players are given their draws, and then the dealer returns to that player to give him his fifth replacement card (if no later player drew, it is necessary to deal a burn card first).
GARDENA JACKPOTS DRAW POKER
Gardena Jackpots draw poker is played as five card draw with standard poker hand values, and with a single joker in the deck acting as a wild card. This game is always played with an ante and no blinds. On the first betting round, no player is allowed to open the betting unless their hand already contains a pair of jacks or better. For those players who had checked on the first round may call or raise if someone else opens.
If no player opens, a new deal begins and everyone antes again into the same pot. The player who opened the betting keeps the discarded cards near him on the table so that he can prove, if necessary, that he had a sufficient opening poker hand. For example, a player with the K, J, 9, and 7 of clubs and the J of hearts has a pair of jacks and may open. That player may wish to break openers in this case by discarding the jack of hearts in an attempt to make the club flush, so the player keeps the discarded jack set aside to prove that he was entitled to open.
In home poker games, it is common that when a deal is passed out (that is, when no one opens), the players re-ante and the qualifier to open is raised to a pair of queens. If that deal is passed out, the qualifier is raised to kings, and finally to aces. This is called progressive jackpots.
CALIFORNIA LOW DRAW POKER
This game is played as a standard draw poker game, using ace-to-five low hand values with one joker in the deck. This game is always played with blinds rather than antes, so poker players may not check on the first betting round (but may on the second round). A player with a 7-high hand or better who checks after the draw forfeits his right to win any money placed in the pot after the draw. (In other words, you may not check a "seven" unless you intend to fold when someone else bets).
CALIFORNIA HIGH/LOW SPLIT DRAW POKER
California High / Low Split draw poker is played as a standard draw poker game with a single joker, this is used as a wild card. High hand and low hand (using the ace-to-five low values) split the pot. An 8-high or better low is required for you to win the low. If there is no poker hand that can qualify for the low, then the high hand takes the pot. Because ace-to-five low values are used, a poker hand such as a low straight or a flush can win both the high and the low, and this is called scooping or hogging the pot.
PASS THE TRASH DRAW POKER
In Pass the Trash Draw Poker (also called Anaconda poker) seven cards are dealt to each player. Before the first round of betting, each player examines their hand, and then removes exactly three cards from their hand and places them on the table to their left. After each player has discarded, each player then picks up the cards that have been discarded by the neighbor to the right of them and places them into their hand. It is important that each player discards before looking at the cards they are to receive.
After the first pass, there is a round of betting. Then a second pass occurs, each player passes two cards to the right. A second round of betting is then followed by a third pass, and this time each player passes one card to the left. The final round of betting begins and then a showdown, at which time the player with the best five-card high hand (that can be made out of the seven cards in the hand) wins the pot.
SHOTGUN POKER
Shotgun Poker is a brand of draw poker that plays much like a stud poker game. The first five cards are dealt to each player, and this is followed by a betting round, and a draw. Now, instead of having a second round of betting and a showdown, a rollout phase takes place. The rollout phase begins with the players arranging their five cards in any chosen order and placing them face down. Each player's top card is revealed, and this is followed by a round of betting. Each player reveals their next card, followed by a betting round. Then a third card is revealed, followed by a betting round, a fourth card, a betting round follows, and finally a showdown. Players may not change the order of their cards at any time during the rollout phase of the poker game.
SPIT IN THE OCEAN DRAW POKER
On the initial deal, each player is dealt four cards, and then a single card is dealt to the center of the table face up. The face up card plays as if it were the fifth card in every player's poker hand. It is also a wild card, and every other card of its rank is also wild. The first round of betting is then played, and is then followed by a draw in which case each player replaces cards from their hand with an equal number, so that each player still has only four cards in their hand. A final round of betting occurs, and then a showdown occurs. High-hand values are used.
STUD POKER
Stud poker refers to a number of poker game variants, where each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards with multiple rounds of betting. Stud poker games are generally non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first in each round may change from round to round (it is usually the player whose face-up cards make the best hand for the poker game being played).
SEVEN CARD STUD
Seven-Card Stud is one of the most popular forms of poker today. There is a table at virtually every poker venue you will go to. The game begins with each player putting in their ante. Each player is then dealt three cards, with the first two cards being dealt face-down and the last of the three cards is face-up. This is then followed by a round of betting. The fourth, fifth, and sixth cards are dealt face-up and a round of betting occurs after each card is dealt. The seventh and final card is dealt face-down to each remaining player. Then another round of betting occurs and a winner is determined.
BASEBALL POKER
Each player is dealt nine cards, and it is best to play with five players. Every player needs to begin with an ante. The dealer then distributes nine cards face down to each player. Player's cannot turn over a card until it is their turn. If a player happens to turn over a card when it is not their turn, they need to match whatever the current pot is. The person to the left of the dealer begins by turning the first card over and begins the betting. Everybody must match the bet to stay in the game. The next player then turns over a card and will have to continue to turn cards over until a card beats the previous player's hand. When the player can beat the previous player a bet is put down and everyone will have to match it to stay in the game. This continues around the table for the rest of the game. If a player turns over all of their cards before they can beat the person before them, they are eliminated from the game. Threes and nines are wild throughout the game. However, these cards cost money to make them wild. For example, if the first player turns over a ten, and the second player turns over a seven, then a nine. That player will pay the pot to make that nine wild (the price is determined by the players before the game) and now that player has a pair of sevens. If that player doesn't pay at that time, he cannot change his mind later in the game. Also, if you turn over a four, you can receive an extra card. But this will cost you. You cannot look at this card when you receive it, but you can place this card anywhere in your hand that you would like.
CHICAGO STUD POKER
This particular game of stud poker is a seven-card stud poker game in which the player with the high poker hand splits the pot with the player who has the highest-ranking spade in the hole (among his down cards).
COWPIE STUD POKER
Cowpie stud poker is played as a seven-card stud poker game until after the seventh-street bet. All the players that are still remaining will then split their hands into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card poker hand must outrank the two-card poker hand, and the two-card hand must contain at least one down card. After the split, there is one more betting round and then showdown. Upon showdown, the highest five-card poker hand and the highest two-card poker hand split the pot.
HIGH/LOW STUD EIGHT OR BETTER
Eight or Better stud poker, also known as seven eight or stud eight poker, is the most common form of high-low split stud poker. This game is played as seven-card stud poker, but the pot is split between the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand (using the ace-to-five low values). You need to have an 8-high poker hand or lower to win low. The procedure for betting is the same as if you were playing standard high-hand stud poker. That is, the low card pays the bring-in, if any, on the first round, and subsequent rounds start the betting with the highest showing poker hand. There is no declaration for high and low hand. Each player may choose a different subset of five cards to play for the high and the low hand.
KENTREL STUD POKER
Kentrel stud poker is a seven-card stud poker variation that starts with each player receiving four cards, all of which are face-down. Each player is required to discard one of their cards and then they need to choose one of the remaining three cards to turn face up (leaving two down and one up as normal). Then the players proceed in the same way as if you were playing eight-or-better high-low stud poker.
MISSISSIPPI STUD POKER
Mississippi stud poker was created to make seven-card stud play better at no limit and pot limit, and is slowly becoming popular for that reason. It is also often played with a betting structure that is commonly used in Texas Hold'em. There are fixed betting limits, the last two rounds double the limit of the first two rounds. The bring-in should be less than the first-round limit.
The initial deal is the same as standard seven-card stud poker. After the first round of betting, there are two cards dealt face-up to each player, so that gives each player two down cards and three up cards (so unlike standard stud there is no betting on "fourth street"). A second round of betting is followed by one more face-up card and a third betting round. Finally, the last card is dealt face up, so each player ends up having two down cards and five up cards. Because each player has five up cards on the last round, straights, flushes, and full houses count as high hand exposed for the purpose of determining who must bet first. After the seventh street bet, there is a normal showdown.
RAZZ STUD POKER
Razz stud poker is seven-card stud poker played with ace-to-five low hand values. It is usually played with a bring-in that is paid by the player who has the highest-ranking up card on the initial deal (aces are always low cards in Razz poker, even for the purpose of assigning the bring-in). On the second and subsequent rounds, the player with the lowest exposed hand begins the betting.
casino games
We've also created a list of Casino Games for you to read about. Please visit our Casino Games section to learn more.
