Poker Versions

[Alix Stocking]

Thecard game of poker has many variations, most of which were created in the United States in the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.

Poker can be played in a mixed game format in which each variant will usually be played for a fixed number of hands or time and then the players will move on to the next game. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is HORSE poker, a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, razz, seven-card stud and seven-card stud eight-or-better.

Some poker games don't fit neatly into the above categories, and some have features of more than one of these categories. These variants are most often played in home games, usually as part of a dealer's choice format.

This 7-card stud game uses a wild-card designated as whichever card is immediately dealt (exposed, or face-up) after any queen previously dealt (exposed). In the event that the final card dealt (exposed) is itself a queen, then all queens are wild. If no queens are dealt (exposed), then there are no wilds for that hand. Betting is the same as in normal 7-card stud games. Follow the Queen is a typical game variant in Dealer's Choice poker games.[1][2]

A variant of 5-card draw with four rounds of betting. After the first round of betting, each player may choose to replace up to three cards. A second round of betting follows and then players may opt to replace up to two cards. Upon completing another round of betting, each player may replace one card of the cards in their hand. After a final round of betting, any remaining players show their hands, and the highest 5 card hand wins. When players draw cards to replace ones in their hand, they add the cost of the cards in the pot. The cost of cards doubles each round. For example, if the dealer says each replacement card costs $10 in the first round, then each card costs $20 in the second round, and $40 in the final round.[3]

Guts is a family of games that are cousins of poker rather than poker variants. They usually involve hands of 3 or fewer cards, ranked similarly to hands in poker, and multiple successive rounds of betting each of which consist of the decision to be "in" or "out", and each with its own showdown. The losers of rounds of guts generally match or double the pot, which grows rapidly.

Chinese poker is a 2- to 4-player poker game with thirteen cards. The idea is to make three poker hands with increasing rank: two with five cards and one with three cards. If one of the hands does not adhere to increasing rank (i.e. is mis-set), the hand is declared dead and results in some sort of penalty.

Cons: Bluffing is a less prominent part of the game because players might be either trying to make the highest hand OR the lowest hand (or both). As such, more players will stick around until showdown than in other poker variants. Therefore, more emphasis is placed on hand selection (to make both low and high card hands simultaneously) than is placed on trying to make well-timed bluffs.

After the betting round concludes, remaining players are dealt another face-up card. Now, the player with the highest value of exposed cards is first to act and must make a bet of the smaller increment if they choose to bet. Fifth Street and Sixth Street (and their corresponding betting rounds) both ensue afterwards, with one additional face-up card being dealt per street. The player with the highest combined value of exposed cards acts first after both streets, and in both these betting rounds, the larger of the betting increments is used.

Cons: With a limit betting structure typically used for stud, profits that one can make each hand are usually capped. The value of gaining an additional big bet (versus losing one) carries much more significance than otherwise.

If you like the thrill of being able to make strong hands easily in Omaha Hi, then be sure to check out the action that 5-card Omaha brings to the felts! Instead of being dealt 4 hole cards, each player receives 5 to begin each hand. Still, players must use exactly 2 of their hole cards and 3 of the community cards to try and make the best hand. But, because they have that one more hole card dealt to them than in regular Omaha, there are now even more possibilities for making stronger hands!

Cons: Because of the naturally more aggressive nature of Omaha (and with hands of higher strengths being able to be achieved more frequently), the swings will be much greater. As such, you not only have to have a bigger bankroll to be able to play, but also a strong mental attitude to be unaffected through the knee-buckling variance.

Any 3-card hand would lose to any Badugi, but it would still beat any two- or one-card hands, in addition to some three-card, as well.In this game, the best possible hand would be A-2-3-4 in different suits, making the worst hand K-K-K-K.

Razz is a form of Stud Poker where players try to make the lowest hand possible. In the ranking system for this game, straights and flushes do not count against a low hand being made. Additionally, Aces count as low in this game, meaning the lowest/best hand possible would be A-2-3-4-5.

Remaining players are then dealt another face-up card. The player with the lowest (strongest) combination of exposed cards is first to act and can check or make a bet of the smaller increment used in the game. After this betting round concludes, Fifth Street and Sixth Street both ensue, with one additional face-up card being dealt per street. The player with the lowest/best exposed cards acts first in both of these betting rounds.

Additionally, the betting increment used during these later streets is the larger one used in the game. For the seventh and ultimate street, each player receives one last card face-down, at which point they can determine their lowest 5-card hand. After a final betting round, showdown is reached and the player with the lowest hand wins.

During these betting rounds, action starts with first remaining player seated to the left of the button. If, after the final betting round, there are multiple players remaining, a showdown is reached and the player with the highest hand wins the pot. Note that Short Deck is usually played as a no-limit game, meaning players can go all-in at any point in time.

While the betting rounds and betting streets in the two poker card games are the same, PLO players must always use two hole cards and three community cards to make their hands instead of any combination of them.

Omaha Hi/Lo is played in both limit and pot limit formats. Most often, Omaha8 is played as part of mixed games, although you will find some cash games or tournaments in this game type on poker sites like PokerStars.

The best high hand is the best hand in accordance with the standardized poker hand rankings. On the other hand, the best low hand is the lowest possible sequence of cards containing and in which all cards are lower than an eight.

The best possible low hand is A2345, the popular "wheel." Note that every hand of Omaha8 must have a high hand winner but does not have to have a low hand winner if no one can make an eligible low hand combination.

Omaha Hi/Lo has been a popular poker variation for many years, but the game of Big O is certainly newer. This game is derived from Five Card Omaha, a variation of PLO in which each player is dealt five instead of four hole cards.

If you hate folding cards preflop, Big O will give you a chance to play quite a few hands, but as you learn a proper strategy, you will learn that you must be careful with your hand selection in Big O as well.

Another major change to the rules in this poker version is the fact flushes beat full houses, as they are harder to make, and that Aces can be used as the lowest cards for 9-high straight (instead of a 5).

In classic Pineapple, you discard your third card immediately, but there are also other versions, such as Crazy Pineapple and Lazy Pineapple, in which you discard your third card after the flop or after the river.

Players take turns betting, raising, and calling before further cards are dealt, one at a time. The goal is to make the best five-card hand from the seven cards available to you or make every other player fold their cards before the showdown.

The great thing about Badugi and its variations is that it is a game that will be new to most of your group, which means you can all start on the same level and learn the game together. If you want to play online, be prepared for tougher competition and some capable Badugi players waiting for you.

There are many versions of poker. Some players stick to just one version; others like to play many different variants. This page provides a classified index of poker variations whose rules are available on pagat.com. The columns indicate the type of variant - some belong to several categories. The table includes many invented poker variants, which may be known only to a few players, and have in most cases been contributed by the people or groups who invented them: these are listed in italics.

Poker variants are traditionally classified as draw games, stud games and shared card (community card) games, mainly according to the way the cards are dealt . However, there are variants that fall into more than one of these categories or none of them, and there are other useful but overlapping categories. The table on this page uses the following categories and shows which ones each variant belongs to.

Many home poker players like to be creative and invent their own variants. Some of these new games catch on and become widely known, while most probably continue to be played only by their originators and maybe a few other groups. Since poker variants are continually being created and going in and out of fashion, it is difficult to distinguish between "traditional" poker variants and "invented" variants, some of which may eventually turn out to be as interesting as the traditional ones, if not more so. In the table, invented poker variants, many of which were contributed by their inventors, are listed in italics.

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