Texas holdem is taking over the world, but believe it or not
there are many other poker games you can play. Most of them fall
into one of three categories:
- Stud Games (for example 7 card stud) - Draw Games (for
example 5 card draw) - Shared Hand Games (for example Texas
Holdem)
There are also some other obscure games that don’t fit into
these categories, some of the more popular of which are high/low
pig, bid poker and guts. In almost all types of poker game the
hand rankings are the same, with a very few minor exceptions
which have become more or less “home-made” rules.
Here are brief descriptions of some different poker games:
5 Card Draw Poker Played by 3 - 7 players. Each is dealt five
cards and there is a round of betting based on the hands. After
the betting players can now put up to three cards back in
exchange for new ones. (There’s one exception where a player can
exchange four cards if he shows the fifth to be an ace). There’s
a further round of betting and the best hand wins. Draw poker
was once the standard way to play but it has of course been
overtaken by Texas Holdem.
7 Card Stud Poker Played by 3 - 10 players. Players are dealt
two cards face down and one face up and there is a round of
betting. Cards 4, 5 and six are then dealt face up with betting
on each round. The final card is dealt face down and there is
another round of betting before the showdown. 7 Card Stud Poker
is still a popular game and is probably second at the moment to
Texas Holdem.
Caribbean Poker This is a poker game played in a casino between
the player and the dealer. Each gets five cards and the player
has to decide whether his card is worth betting on after seeing
the dealer’s first card. If the player has a better hand than
the dealer he is paid out in a fixed odds system depending on
the strength of his hand. The fixed odds range from evens for a
pair or high card to 100-1 for a royal flush.
Pai Gow Poker Pai Gow is a fairly complicated casino game played
between the dealer and up to seven players. It is played with a
joker which counts as either an ace or any card required to
complete a flush or straight. There are two variations in hand
ranks compared to standard poker rankings, the highest hand is
five Aces and the straight A2345 is ranked second to AKQJT. The
players and dealer are dealt seven cards each which they split
into two hands of five and two. The five card hand must be
better than the two card hand. The dealer then shows his cards
and plays against each player, the dealer’s five card hand
against the player’s five card hand and the dealer’s two card
hand against the player’s two card hand.
If the dealer wins both hands he wins. If the player wins both
hands he wins. If each player wins one hand there’s a “push”
which means no money changes hands. If any hand is tied the
dealer wins it, so: Dealer/Tie - dealer wins. Player/Tie - push.
Tie/Tie - dealer wins.
Texas Holdem By far the most popular poker game in the world
today, probably because it is very simple to learn but extremely
difficult to master. Two cards are dealt to each player, then
three face up on the table (the flop), another face up on the
table (the turn), then a final card face up on the table known
as the river. Players use their own two (hole) cards and any
three from the table to make the best five card hand. There is a
round of betting before the flop then before the turn and river,
and finally after the river card is dealt.
