Variety Of Hold Em
The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How to Think Like One (1987). As with Texas Hold em, players may use both, 1 or none of their hole cards to make their hand. Variation of Countdown Hold'em: Try this variation to introduce a bit of uncertainty into the game. Discard 1 card before the flop, 1 card after the flop and 1 card after the turn. DOUBLE TEXAS HOLD 'EM (High Only).
The card game of poker has many variations, most of which were created in the United States in the mid-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.
Popular poker variants[edit]
The three most popular poker variants are spread in casinos and poker rooms worldwide and can be divided into the following groups:
- Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is five-card draw.
- Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are five-card stud and seven-card stud. These two variants are further played in other different formats.
- Community card poker: Games in which each player's incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these are Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em.
Here are more common rule variations:
- Lowball: The lowest hand wins the pot. There are different rules about whether or not aces count as low, and the effects of straights and flushes. The most common variants are Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw
- High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot. Generally there is a qualifier for the low hand. For example, the low hand must have 5 cards with ranks of 8 or less. In most high-low games the usual rank of poker hands is observed, so that an unsuited broken straight (7-5-4-3-2) wins low (see Morehead, Official Rules of Card Games). In a variant, based on Lowball, where only the low hand wins, a straight or a flush does not matter for a low hand. So the best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, suited or not.
- Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
- Kill game: When a fixed limit game is played and a player wins two pots in a row, the stakes are doubled. In some split-pot games, a player winning both halves of the pot may also cause a kill. In some variants of Lowball, a player may choose to kill by placing a double bet after seeing his first two cards.
- Wild cards are added. This can range from simply making deuces wild to the 7-card stud variant named baseball.
- A twist round in which players can buy another card from the deck. If a player does not like the purchased card, the player can purchase another one by adding money to the pot. This is sometimes called a 'tittle.'
- A stripped deck may be used. Poker was first played with only 20 cards. In the spirit of poker history, players will sometimes only play with a stripped deck. A popular poker game in Spain is played with cards 8-A. It is played similar to hold'em, except that one card is dealt at a time and a player must use both hole cards.
- Roll your own is played in stud games, and allows the player to determine which of his or her cards are turned up and visible to the other players. In a game like Seven-card Stud, the 'roll' action only applies to the first 3 cards, all of which are dealt face down. Each player then determines which card to expose. Play then continues as with regular Seven-card Stud. But a game like Mexican stud applies the roll option throughout the game. Two cards are dealt face down, and the players roll one card up. The game continues just as in Five-card Stud, except the cards are dealt face down, and each player then decides which of the two down cards is exposed.[1]
Mixed poker games[edit]
Poker can be played in a mixed game format, for example one half-hour of Texas hold 'em followed by one half-hour of Seven-card stud. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is H.O.R.S.E. poker. H.O.R.S.E. is a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, Razz, Seven-card stud and Seven-card stud Eight-or-better. Each game will usually be played for a fixed number of hands or time and then the players will move on to the next game.
Other mixed games include:
- H.O.S.E. – same as H.O.R.S.E., except without Razz.
- H.O.E. – same as H.O.R.S.E, except no Razz or Seven-card stud.
- H.O. – Texas hold 'em and Omaha high-low
- O.E. – Omaha high-low and Seven-card Stud Eight or better.
- H.A. – Pot limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
- Omaha High-low Mixed – Fixed limit Omaha and pot limit Omaha high-low
- Holdem Mixed – Fixed limit and no limit Texas hold 'em.
- Eight Game Mix – Fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw, fixed limit Texas hold 'em, fixed limit Omaha Hi-Low Eight or better, Razz, fixed limit Seven-card stud, fixed limit Seven-card stud Hi-Low eight or better, no limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
- Ten Game Mix (introduced at 2011 World Series of Poker) – No limit Hold'em, fixed limit Seven-card Razz, fixed limit Hold'em, fixed limit Badugi, fixed limit Seven-card Stud, no limit 2-7 Single Draw, fixed limit Omaha Hi-Low eight or better, pot limit Omaha, fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw and fixed limit Seven-card stud Hi-Low eight or better (played with 6 players on a table).
Specific poker variant games[edit]
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.
High Chicago or Low Chicago[edit]
Either of these two versions can be played in any stud high game. In High Chicago, or sometimes simply called Chicago, the player with the highest spade face down (referred to as in the hole) receives half the pot. In Low Chicago, the player with the lowest spade in the hole receives half of the pot, with the A♠ being the lowest. If the player with the highest hand also has the highest/lowest spade in the hole, then that player receives the entire pot - having won both sides of the bet.
Follow the Queen[edit]
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.[2][3]
Countdown[edit]
In this 5-card game, the dealer gives each player 5 cards face down. After the first round of betting, each player may choose to replace zero to three cards. A second round of betting follows and then players may opt to replace zero 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. 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. When players purchase cards to replace ones in their hand, they put the cost of the cards in the pot.[4]
This game will only work with 4 players (or fewer) otherwise you will run out of cards.
Billabong and Shanghai[edit]
Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold 'em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two down-cards and one up-card. Low up-card starts the betting with a Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card is dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.
Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three down-cards and one up-card; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.
Guts[edit]
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.
Five-O poker[edit]
Variety Of Hold'em Crossword
Five-O Poker is a heads-up poker variant in which both players must play five hands of five cards simultaneously. Four of the five cards in each hand are face-up. Once all five hands are down, there is a single round of betting. The winner is determined by matching each hand to the corresponding hand of the opponent. The player with the stronger poker hand in three (or more) out of the five columns, wins, unless a player folds on a bet that was made. If a player beats their opponent with all five hands, this is called a “Five-O” win.
Chinese poker[edit]
Chinese poker is a 2-4 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.
Kuhn poker[edit]
Kuhn poker, using a three card deck, is more of game theory problem than an actual game people play, but it can be played by two players.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Pagat.com: Roll Your Own
- ^Pokernews.com: Fun Home Poker Game Rules - Follow the Queen
- ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Follow the Queen
- ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Countdown Poker
- ^'A Parameterized Family of Equilibrium Profiles for Three-Player Kuhn Poker'(PDF).
With so many different options of games available to play at, it is sometimes difficult to find what you want to play. Every poker website offers players with numerous Texas Hold’em play varieties that play differently from any other sort and finding one you like, or even one to play at any given moment, can be difficult. There are merits to each and every type in addition to downsides. Finding the best poker game at the right moment can take some thought but there are certain things that should be understood about each type.
Online Texas Holdem Cash Games
The first and arguably most popular game type for Texas Holdem is the cash game. This is where a number of players ranging from 2 to 9 sit around a table and play. At a cash game table, the blinds do not go up and players are playing for the cash that is in front of them. If you rake a five-dollar pot, you just won five dollars and if you were to leave right then you would have five dollars more in your account (minus whatever cash in the pot was yours). The pace of cash games can vary wildly as can the action and you can get up and find a new table at any time without any penalty whatsoever. This is the easiest, most popular, and most lucrative (usually) option for Texas Holdem.
Variety Of Hold'em
While the texas holdem poker cash games are technically a single method of playing Texas Holdem poker, there are a variety of ways that the hold’em poker cash games can be played. These different variations of Texas Holdem Poker pertain to how a player may bet. Betting in Texas holdem poker can be predetermined, without limits, or somewhere in between. The types of online Texas Holdem betting structures are as follows:
Fixed Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games
Limit is probably the easiest of the three different types of online Texas Holdem games to play. In fixed limit holdem, players have a certain amount of chips that they can wager at any given point and a certain number of reraises before the pot can no longer be raised. In structured limit holdem, you do not have to factor in extensive betting strategy like you do in pot limit and no limit so there is one less factor for you to pay attention to. In addition, because the amount that the pot can be raised is limited or predetermined, the number of hands that are playable opens up considerably and more players are bound to see the flop and people fold less often.
Pot Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games
Pot limit Texas Holdem poker is halfway between limit and no limit. In pot limit, the amount that players can raise the pot is capped at the size of the pot. This adds some elements of betting strategy to the mix as opposed to limit holdem but the ultra aggressive betting that can be found in no limit is lacking. It is a good intermediate step because it helps to limit the amount of leverage that the bigger stacks at the table have over the small stacks. Forcing smaller stacks to risk all of their chips on any given decision is much less common in pot limit and that is a good thing for newer and players learning the game.
No Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games
No limit is the big daddy of all of the online Texas Holdem varieties. There are no limits (hence the name) on what you can do in terms of betting. You can be the biggest stack at the table and push all in pre flop without even looking at your cards if you want to. The ability to bet any amount that you want adds a whole additional layer of strategy to the already complex game. Additionally, the importance of the size of your stack is extremely important because having a short stack can put you at an immense disadvantage against other players at the table. Being able to juggle the complexities of betting structure and strategy in no limit in addition to the rest of the rules and nuance to the game makes it the most difficult of the three to play and the coupe de grace of the three. Overall, understanding and learning the three different styles of online Texas Holdem poker – limit, pot limit, and no limit is essential to any person looking to play poker at a competitive level. Additionally, learning them in the increasing order of difficulty will help you naturally and smoothly transition from one to the other without complications.
Online Texas Holdem Poker Tournament Games
Another type of poker game online is the traditional tournament. These tournaments have a buy-in which is where you pay X amount of dollars to get into the tournament. These tournaments usually have quite a few people, sometimes into the many thousands, and can take quite a long time. It is not uncommon for tournaments to take ten or more hours to complete so when you are sitting down to play a tournament; you are making a serious commitment. In a tournament, the blinds go up as play continues and the amount of chips you have in front of you does not reflect the amount of money you can take out. In fact, you only win money if you finish in a certain place and the amount of money you get is dependent on the place in which you finish.
Sit and Go Texas Holdem On Line Games
A variation on the traditional tournament is something called a sit-and-go tournament, which is found almost exclusively online. A sit-and-go tournament is a tournament with very few people (usually 10) where as soon as that number of players sit down, the tournament starts, hence the name. These tournaments are much faster than the much larger tournaments and are popular because of this fact. All the same rules apply to these tournaments as regular tournaments, they are just much smaller and complete much more quickly.
Choosing a type of game that you want to play, whether it is a large tournament, a sit-and-go, a cash game, or one of the many other options that are available, all depends on your mood and how you like to play. There is no wrong answer to what game it play and playing a variety is great to develop yourself as a poker player.