Online Poker - Poker Games

Texas Hold 'em

One of the fastest and most exciting games of poker is Texas Hold 'em, and is probably the most popular. It can have up to 10 players per round, which is more than most of the other poker games, and usually operates the lowest limit games in a card room.

The dealer deals two hole cards to each player one after the other then he/she deals five community cards in the middle. Then each player needs to make a combination of five cards from the possible seven that is available to them. The player with the highest hand wins.

The games are a lot less complex than what they first appear, especially when using the community cards. Always remember that everyone on the table can use the 5 community cards, and their two hole cards may be better than yours.

The way to practise Texas Hold 'Em is to deal out 5 community cards, and see what the best possible hand is, and then work backwards to lower hands. Then add two hole cards and repeat the process, this will get you used to looking at possible variations.

Omaha High Poker

Omaha is a community card game, similar in style to Hold 'em, but there are differences in play and strategy.

In Omaha High (or Omaha four card), each player receives four cards on the initial deal as opposed to two cards in Hold 'em, and the community cards stay at five. To make a five card poker hand the player must use two of their four cards with three of the five community cards. "Two from the pocket and three from the board" The method of play is similar to Hold 'em.

Omaha High/Low Poker

Another popular version of Omaha is Omaha High/Low. In this game, the highest hand and the lowest hand get half of the pot each. The low hand must contain an 8 or better, and no pairs. The player can use different cards for the two hands, and it is possible to win both the high and the low pot. If there is no qualifying low hand, then the high hand wins the whole pot.

As in Omaha, the player must use two cards from your hand and three from the board, but they can use a different cards for high and low hands but it must still contain two cards from their hand and three from the table.

Seven Card Stud Poker

The most popular of the stud games is probably Seven Card Stud Poker. It can result in high pots, and each player has the opportunity to evaluate the other player's possible hands. There are no community cards, and each player has four of his seven cards exposed to the other players. There are five rounds of betting in Seven Card Stud, as opposed to the four rounds in Hold 'em and Omaha.

Five Card Stud Poker

Five card stud is similar to Seven card stud, but obviously you only get 5 cards. It is one of the oldest forms of poker, and is featured in most poker related films. There are no community cards, each player will end up with one card face down and four cards face up and at the end of the game the player with the best hand wins the pot.