Variations of Poker

Over the years poker has evolved into many different variants including; Stud Poker, Omaha, Five Card Draw, Chicago and the most popular of poker games, Texas Hold 'Em. All poker games follow a similar pattern of play generally using the same hand hierarchy but differing in how the cards are dealt and bets are placed. You will find explanations of how many of these poker games are played below.

Texas Hold 'Em

This is the most popular of all poker games played. During a game of Texas Hold 'Em poker each player is dealt two hole cards (cards dealt face down to players) followed by a round of betting. Five community cards (cards dealt face up which all players can use to make hands) are then dealt in three rounds known as the flop (three cards), the turn (one card) and the river (one card) with betting taking place after each round. The aim for players is to make the best five card hand using any combination of their two hole cards and the community cards.

Stud Poker

Players are dealt either one or two cards face down and then one card faced up for all other players to see. Once the first cards are dealt a round of betting begins then further cards are dealt face up and more betting takes place. In seven card stud poker your final card is dealt face down and a final round of betting follows. There are a few variations of stud poker normally named after the number of cards dealt, for example five card stud poker where up to five cards are dealt to each player.

Omaha

When playing Omaha poker each player is dealt four hole cards (cards dealt face down to players) and a round of betting takes place. Five community cards (cards dealt face up which all players can use to make hands) are then dealt in three rounds known as the flop (three cards), the turn (one card) and the river (one card) with betting taking place after each round. The aim for players is to make the best five card hand using two of their hole cards and three of the community cards.

Five Card Draw

During a game of five card draw poker a complete hand is dealt to each player face-down and after the first round of betting, players are allowed to attempt to change their hand (with the object of improving it) by discarding unwanted cards and being dealt new ones. This is followed by another round of betting. Often no more than three cards may be replaced at one time. The aim is to make the best hand that you can from your five cards.

Chicago

In a game of Chicago poker players are initially dealt three cards, two face down and one face up followed by a round of betting. Then three more cards are dealt face up with a round of betting after each deal. The seventh and final card is dealt face down followed by the last round of betting. The aim is to make the best hand that you can from your seven cards. The player with the best hand wins HALF of the pot with the other half of the pot being paid to the player with the highest spade face down in the hole.

English Stud

English stud poker is played as seven card stud, but only six cards are dealt. Just before the sixth card is dealt players have the opportunity to swap one of their cards. These cards are swapped on a like-for-like basis, so an up-card is exchanged for another up-card and a down-card for a down-card. Swapping a card is never compulsory. When the sixth card has been dealt to all players, they have one more chance (though not an obligation) to swap a card. A final round of betting takes place and the player with the best five-card hand wins.

Let it Ride

Let It Ride is not exactly poker, per se, but casinos generally describe this game as "Let It Ride Poker" so it warrants a mention here. In this game players place three stakes of equal size. Three cards are then dealt to each player and the dealer (which is always the casino itself) is dealt two cards face down. Players may then look at their own cards and take back one of their stakes if they want to do so. At this point one of the dealer's two cards is revealed and players may take another one of their original three stakes if they wish to do so.

The second dealer card is revealed and remaining stakes are lost if a player does not have a pair of tens or better using their own three cards and the two dealer cards. A pair of tens or better wins and players are paid out according to the odds of their hand and the stakes they have left in the game.