Call That Bluff: 5 Awesome Poker Varieties to Play Online

poker varieties

Poker is the world’s best-known card game and in recent years has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. The poker boom of the 2000s saw the game broadcast on television and played by millions in lounge rooms, casinos, and online. However, poker is not a single game but rather several similar card games.

Poker Varieties

You’re probably familiar with Texas Hold’em, you’ve seen it on TV, and probably played it with your friends or even online. But there are many other poker varieties that you may not be so familiar with that are worth checking.

Here are five awesome poker varieties you can play online today.

1. Texas Hold’Em

Popularized by the World Series of Poker, Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variety by a long way and has seen the game transition from a casino game to mainstream favorite.

Texas Hold’em is the flagship game of the world series and is where the celebrities of the game earn millions and where the world’s celebrities love to join the action.

Texas Hold’em is easy to learn, all players need to do is make the best 5 card hand from their two cards and the 5 community cards. Each player is dealt 2 cards (hole cards), the two players to the left of the dealer post blinds (forced bets to keep the game moving), and then each player can take action, bet, raise or fold.

If two or more players remain after the first round of action, the dealer will deal the first three community cards. Betting action continues in this manner for two more rounds, with one more community card dealt each round.

The hand ends either with one player winning, by holding the best hand at the end of the fourth round of betting, or by forcing all other players to fold, or in a tie, where both players have the same hand and the pot is split. Players can use, both, one or none of their hole cards in making their best possible hand. If you are new to poker you’ll want to learn the poker hand rankings.

Texas Hold’em is a great place to start for beginners, it is easy to learn and its popularity means there are plenty of resources to help you learn. If you want to try Texas Hold’em for free you can with the betmgm bonus code.

2. Pot-Limit Omaha

Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is the second favorite of the play poker varieties and is known for being high action. Pot-Limit Omaha is similar to Texas Hold’em with a few important differences.

PLO uses the same blinds, community cards and betting rounds as hold’em. The biggest difference is that each player gets four hole cards, not two. And in PLO, each player has to use exactly two of their hole cards with three of the community cards to make their best possible 5 cards.

As a pot-limit game, players are only allowed to bet what is in the pot. This means that if there is a pot of $100 the maximum bet is $100. After such a bet the pot becomes $200 and the maximum bet is the $200.

Although the game is very similar to Hold’em, these changes do necessitate a modified strategy.

3. Seven-Card Stud

Seven-card stud was once upon a time America’s most popular poker variation. As a member of the stud family, it is quite different to Hold’em and PLO. Stud games see players dealt cards both face-up and face down.

All players have to pay an ante into the pot to play poker. Each player is then dealt two face-down cards (hole cards) and one face-up card (the door card). Five rounds of betting follow, where players can call, raise, or fold. At the beginning of each round, another card is dealt with each remaining player. The first three cards are face-up, with the final card being dealt face-down.

The game is won either by forcing all other players to fold or in a showdown where the winner is the player who has made the best five-card hand from their available cards.

Seven-card stud is generally considered to be one of the slower, less exciting poker varieties, however, it is a great play poker for beginners because betting limits are usually fixed, it works slower and if you have a good memory there is plenty of information on the table.

4. Five-Card Draw

If you can recall playing poker with your granddad as a kid, it is likely you were playing five-card draw. The draw variation of poker, are games where players can choose to replace cards they are dealt with new cards (drawn cards). And five-card draw is the most popular of the draw poker varieties.

All players are dealt five cards, all facedown. players are then given the choice to stick with their five cards or draw new cards. Players can draw any number of cards from just one to all five.

Five-card draw requires the two players to the left of the dealer to post blinds, and there are two rounds of betting, the first after the first five cards are dealt, the second after the draw. Players win either in a showdown, holding the best five-card hand or by forcing all other players to fold.

Five-Card Draw is very simple to learn, however, many consider the strategy very difficult to master. As players have the option to discard and draw cards it adds another layer of decision making, and because there are no community cards players only have information about their hand mind games can play a big role in this poker variation.

5. Razz

Razz is very similar to the seven-card stud variety but is a lowball game. This means the hand rankings are flipped, meaning the worst hand wins. If you can remember the rules to seven-card stud, you’ll pick up Razz quickly.

Players are aiming to make the worst hand possible. In Razz aces are low and flushes and straights do not count. The best (lowest) possible hand is 5 to aces. Razz follows the same format and betting patterns as seven-card stud.

Like seven-card stud, Razz is easy to learn, and whilst it is a little slower the game has many fans who love it.

Your Game

Poker is one of the most popular card games on the planet because there are so many excellent poker varieties. If you are a first-time player, you have to become familiar with Texas Hold’em, but if you want to ease your way in something like Seven-Card Stud is a great option. More experienced players will enjoy mixing their poker up and trying a few different games.

If you enjoyed this article on poker, check out more our blog posts today!