Poker is a renowned game. It is played worldwide as it keeps players captivated. Compared to other cash card games, Poker has numerous variants that have captivated casino players’ attention worldwide.
In this segment, Texas Hold’em gets the title of the most popular poker game. However, this is not the only poker variant you can play in the casinos.
There are other poker variants with limit and no-limit games that offer numerous opportunities for players to enhance their logical skills and brains limits.
So, if you are eager to know different types of poker variations, you are reading the right article. This article will discuss the most popular different poker variants, played online and offline. Read this post to gather complete information here in a simplified manner. Let’s dive in…
Different Types of Poker Games
Here are some of the most popular Poker games for you. Read on!
1) Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular poker games out there. It has become a beloved poker variant among players. Here are some of the details you need to know about this game:
Rules
- A minimum of two players plays this game, and it can have a maximum of 9 players at a time.
- Each player is dealt with hole cards (face down) and community cards (face up) in this game.
- This game is played in four rounds, including preflop, flop, turn, and river.
- The player who shows the best possible five poker hands can grab the pot amount. But, sometimes, this game does not reach the showdown when one player raises a bet and other players fold. In this case, the player who bets and does not fold becomes a winner.
Objective
The game’s goal is to make the highest ranking five poker hands with a combination of three community cards and two hole cards.
2) Omaha Hi
Another popular Poker variant is Omaha Hi. This mind-boggling game will keep you thrilled longer than you can imagine.
The interesting thing about this game is that its rules are very close to the Texas Hold’em but with a slight difference. Plus, it is played with a pot limit. Therefore, you can also call it a pot-limit Omaha game.
Rules
- The positions of players in Omaha Hi are the same as in the Texas Hold’em game.
- Essentially, there are two mandatory bets, including big and small blinds.
- Players deal with 4 hole cards instead of 2 in this game.
Objective
The game’s objective is to make the highest-ranked five-hand cards, i.e., the combination of two-hole cards and three community cards.
3) Omaha Hi-Lo
The next variant is Omaha Hi-Lo. Omaha Hi-Lo comes with a twist to the poker game. This is because the amount of the pot is split between 50-50 during showdown.
In this unique poker variant, both the low-hand and the high-hand players can grab 50-50 poker money.
Rules
- The positioning in this game remains the same as that of Texas Hold’em, with two mandatory bets: small blinds and big blinds.
- Its hand combination differs from other poker game variants.
- In this game, players need to make two combinations: high-hand and low-hand combinations. For the high hand, the Royal Flush is the best one. But, for the low hand, the eight lowest cards are chosen. The best possible low hand can be 5-4-3-2-1.
Objective
The object of this game is to make the best five-card high hand and/or best five-card low hand,
4) 7–Card Stud
The next very popular Poker variant is 7–Card Stud. Its popularity is no less than that of Texas Hold’em. Until Texas Hold ’em was introduced, the 7-card stud game was the most-played poker variant.
Rules
- 2 – 8 players can play this game.
- It differs from all the other poker variants as it does not include community cards.
- It does not also have a major betting round, i.e., flop to raise, call, and fold.
- In this game, the player deals with a total of seven cards.
- Each player deals with three face-down cards and four face-up card games.
- The betting also goes on in a clockwise direction. Ultimately, the player with the lowest face-up card comes first.
Objective
The objective of this game is to win the pot by either having the best five-card poker hand at the showdown or by forcing all other players to fold before the showdown.
5) 2-7 Triple Draw
The next popular poker variant is the 2-7 triple draw. 2-7 Triple Draw, a lowball poker variant, is a famous five-card lowball draw poker variant. Here are the rules of this classic poker game:
Rules
- The game typically uses a small blind and a big blind, similar to Texas Hold’em.
- Each player is dealt five cards face down.
- Players get three draw attempts to make the lowest five-card hand.
- It is played in four betting rounds. Players can bet, check, call, raise, or fold during each round.
- The aces remain high in this game.
- After the final round, the remaining players reveal their hands. The player with the best low hand wins the pot.
- Remember that straights and flushes can count against you because your goal is to make the lowest possible hand.
Objective
The objective of this Poker variant is to make the best “low” hand, where the lowest hand wins the pot.
6) 5-Card Draw
5-Card Draw is yet another type of Poker variant. There was a time when the 5-card draw was the dominating betting game.
Even today, this is one of the most favorite classic poker variants. It is similar to Texas Hold’em but with a twist and turn. Here are the rules:
Rules
- Each player is dealt with 5 cards face down.
- The betting round begin after the cards are dealt. The first round of betting begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
- The players draw the new cards and replace them with those they don’t want to keep. Then, they call, raise, or fold.
- Just like Texas Hold’em, the one who makes the best possible poker hand wins the pot money. Alternatively, if all else folds, the player who does not fold wins the bet and pot.
Objective
The objective of a 5-Card Draw poker game is to form the best possible five-card hand and win the pot.
7) Badugi
Do you want to take your experience of playing the game to an advanced level? If so, you should play the Badugi game. It is believed that this poker variant originated in the 1980s in Canada.
At that time, players would play it under the name “Off Suit Lowball.” But, later on, its popularity grew and became a crucial part of the cash card poker game. Take a look at rules:
Rules
- This is a four-card lowball poker variant in which players have to make the hand of four cards.
- The game typically uses a small blind and a big blind, similar to Texas Hold’em.
- Each player is dealt four cards face down. All four cards have to be of different rank (value) or suit.
- Players play this game with a dealer button and two blinds.
- It is played in four rounds. Players can bet, check, call, raise, or fold during each round.
- Players need to take part in the betting round before the first draw. In this round, they usually decide which cards they want to discard between the standing pat or zero and four cards. Discarded cards are usually kept separately.
Objective
The objective of Badugi is to make the best “Badugi” hand consisting of four cards of different suits and ranks
8) HORSE
Last but not least is HORSE. HORSE poker is not a home poker game. Often, this is played in poker tournaments and casinos for the high stakes.
This is basically a combination of five poker games i.e. Texas Holde’m, Omaha Hi, Razz, 7-Card Stud, and Eight-or-Better Stud Hi-Lo, thus the name HORSE.
Essentially, all these five games are played in rotation. Plus, this game does not follow any pot limit or game limit.
Objective
The objective of the HORSE poker game is to test a player’s skill across all five major poker variants.
Summing It Up
So, these are the top 8 types of Poker variations. Poker is one of the favorite cash card games played in tournaments, high-stakes tables of casinos, and more. But, playing poker games is daunting for first-time gamers because of its high-risk features.
However, if you get accustomed to the rules and regulations of Poker games, you will be able to devise strategies and mitigate risk. Plus, you can increase your potential to win the pot.
Hopefully, this article has been informative for you and helped you understand the different variants of Poker games. Almost all the variants are available both offline and online.
Happy Gaming… 😊 😊
