Types of Poker Games – From Texas Hold’em to Razz

Types of Poker Games

Poker is card game which was once a major force behind the get together of friends on weekends is now a multi-billion industry. But poker has evolved a lot and there are now different types of poker games that someone can play.

These games are available in land based casinos as well as online casinos and poker sites.

For a layman, poker is just a single game but in reality many different types of poker games are available today. In majority of these variants, the game play is based on classic poker rules but there is a difference between the hand values, number of cards dealt and number of betting rounds which make these variants unique.

Many casino games have different variants or types but the main difference is that the different types of poker have different rules and are actually different games. In live blackjack or live roulette for example the rules of the game are the same regardless which variant your play.

In most of the cases people tend to start their poker career with games like Stud Poker or Draw Poker. The other most popular favorite variant of poker for newbies is Texas Hold’em. This game got its recognition due to its massive exposure in both Hollywood movies and television soap operas. Majority of the different types of poker games can be classified as

Stud Poker Games
Draw Poker Games
Community Poker Games

In this article we will go through all of the names of poker gfames favored by millions of players from all over the world.

List of Types of Poker Games by Popularity

Texas Hold’em: This type of poker game is played with standard deck of cards. The game deals with two hole cards and five community cards with face side up in three rounds known as “The Flop”, “The Turn” and the “The River”. In order to win this game, a player is required to form a best five card hand using both community cards as well as hole cards. Aces have the highest value in this game.

Omaha High: This variant of poker is also known as Omaha Hold’em or Omaha. It is quite similar to Texas Hold’em and is played with a standard deck of cards with Aces having the highest value.

Players are dealt with a total of four cards and winning hand must have two of them in combination with three of the community cards.

types of poker games and chip stack

Seven Card Stud: In this poker game type players are dealt with a total of seven cards, three hole cards and four face side up. The objective of this game is to form a best hand using the initial seven cards.

The game starts with each player dealing with two hole cards and one face up card. The player with lowest face up card starts the “Bring In” and then betting starts.

Omaha Hi-Lo: Omaha Hi Lo Poker is quite popular due to the frequency of large pots used in this game. The game play includes dealing of four private cards commonly known as “Hole Cards” to the players.

Five community cards are dealt “Face Up” on the board. Players are required to use two cards from their Hole Cards in combination with three cards from the board to generate a best poker hand.

In Omaha Hi-Lo, the pot gets divided between two players who attain the best hand for high and the best hand for low poker hand combination. A player can use different combinations of at least two hole cards in order to attain a high or low hand. It is compulsory to use two cards from player’s hand and three from the board.

Seven Card Stud Poker: This type of poker game can be played by two to eight players. The biggest difference in this game and the other variants of Poker such as Texas Hold’em or Omaha is the absence of “flop” and “community cards”.

type of poker game: three card poker

The idea behind Seven Card Stud involves creating the best five card combination from the seven cards dealt by the dealer.

The hand rankings are similar to that of Texas Hold’em and Omaha. The best possible combination created by the player is the Royal Flush while the least one is the High Card hand.

Razz Poker: Razz Poker can be classified as a “Low” variant of Seven Card Stud Poker. In order to win in this game, a player must form the lowest possible combination by using five cards from the hand of seven cards dealt to the player.

This game can be played with two to eight players. Just like low ball poker, ace to five are considered as the lowest denomination cards.

These are all types of poker games that are popular and are played at casinos in Las Vegas or elsewhere as well as in online casinos. There are a few more variations that someone can play but are not so popular nowadays and are not available in most casinos.

History of Poker

Before the advent of different types of poker variants which we have today, there was only one classic form of poker. As far as has the history of Poker is concerned there are many views regarding its origin. The only thing which seems feasible is that Poker may have evolved in the last ten centuries from different types of card and domino games. The central motive of these games was to make a bluff or deceive the other participants. The one thing which is quite sure and relates to the history of poker is the fact that this game came into existence after first deck of card appeared in thirteenth century.

There are recorded historical evidences which clearly indicate that card games existed in the thirteenth century. The most prominent one is the documents from a Swiss monk. In his memoirs he had mentioned a card game being played by using a deck of fifty two cards. He even recorded that the value of cards ranged from one to ten. So going by this substantiation we can say that poker may have evolved in the late thirteenth or in the beginning of the fourteenth century.

Chinese Impact on History of Poker

The proponents of poker being a Chinese game usually believe that this game was first played in year 969 A.D. According to them this game was first played between a Chinese emperor and his wife on a new year’s eve. The only thing which does not meet with this theory is the fact that Chinese deck of card at that time did not have fifty two cards. There is no doubt that Chinese invented playing cards and they were playing card games in the late ninth century but they invented poker seems to be very far fetched.

Egyptian Impact on History of Poker

Egyptian gentry of twelfth and thirteenth century were known to play card games. So does the Persians in the sixteenth century. Persians used 96 card deck to play what they call “Ganjifa” which was a sort of betting game. They were also known to play a game called “As Nas” which was played by using 25 cards. This game like poker also used several rounds of betting and hand rankings.

French and German Connection with History of Poker

French and German people were playing games like Poque and Pochen respectively in seventeenth century. The most interesting thing is that these two games were derived from a Spanish card game known as “Primero”! This game involved dealing of three cards to each player and game play consisted of bluffing and betting, the two salient features of modern day poker. French modernized this game to “Poque” and it became their national card game. The French pioneers when reached the shores of America they shared this game with the local population thus sowing the seeds of the modern day’s poker variants.

There can be many other claims to the origin of poker and its history but one thing is sure that popularity of this game is touching new heights with each passing year. With the availability of wealth of information on internet there is now a growing trend of people learning and participating in this game. With online casinos and poker sites players can now indulge in their favorite poker variant at any time of the day or night without getting out from the safety of their own home.

How to Play 3 Card Poker

The 3 card poker can be classified as casino table game rather than one of the variants of the classic poker. As compared to the other types of poker games this form of poker is more profitable to the player. 3 card poker was developed by Derek Webb in 1994 in order to amalgamate the excitement related to the poker to speed required for a casino table game. The rules of this game are quite simple and payouts can be large enough depending upon the betting done by the player himself. As per the data collected regarding the wins generated by the player in comparison to the casino, this game comes out to be heavily on the side of the player.

Game Play of 3 Card Poker

The main reason behind the rising popularity of 3 card poker can be attributed to the fact that it is not only easy to play but comes with the required fun quotient. The objective of the game is to generate the best poker hand from only three cards dealt to the player. The game starts with a player making an ante wager along with/or pair plus wager, betting on the outcome that there will be a hand of at least a pair or better than that. Three cards are dealt face down for the player and for himself by the dealer. The player can check his cards but cannot check dealer’s cards. By taking a look into his cards, the player takes a decision whether to pit his cards against that of the dealer or not. The outcomes related to the action taken by the player can result in following ways.

If the player opts to fold is hand, the ante wager and if there is pair plus wager goes to the dealer.
If the player places the play wager, the cards get turned to determine whether the player’s hand is stronger than that of the dealer.
If the dealer’s hand is lower than the jack high the player is awarded with the play wager.
If the dealer comes with queen high or better which is higher than the player’s hand, the dealer gets paid.
If the player’s hand is stronger than that of the dealer, the player wins.
If there is a tie, then both ante and play bets gets split.
If the player’s hand is straight or better, he or she is rewarded with ante bonus regardless of the quality of the dealer’s hand.

How to Play 3 Card Poker Online

There are many online casino and gaming sites which are currently providing 3 card poker to their clients. If you want to play this game online then you can get membership of any of these online gambling sites and you are ready to rock and roll. While opting for any of the online casinos always go for the one which provides the best bonus offers. There are some casinos which are providing free slot games or hundreds of Pounds as additional bonuses. Before joining an online casino, you must check whether it is authorised by your local gambling authorities or commissions or not.

Responsible Gambling

All of the gambling site operators, gaming software providers and the associated service providers are required to provide some basic standards which adhere to responsible gambling. It is a concept which ensures that all the online casinos and gaming sites provide fair gaming experience to their clients. It also requires protection for vulnerable players. Responsible gambling also ensures that the gaming site providers make certain that the players are safe from the adverse impacts of online gambling.

Majority of the codes and rules associated with responsible gambling are quite similar for online as well as land based casinos. These guidelines make sure that all the gambling facilities are provided in a responsible way while covering the following conditions for the players.

Protection of vulnerable players.
Prevention of underage gambling.
Protection against frauds and cyber offenses.
Protection of personal data of customers.
Prompt and accurate payments.
Ethical advertisement and responsible marketing.
Clean and fair gaming environment.

Protection of Vulnerable Players

This is probably the most important area in association with responsible gambling. This deals with protection of vulnerable players from becoming addicted to online gambling. Making sure that a player is participating in gambling activities for entertainment purposes only also helps in ensuring socioeconomic welfare of that particular person. The programs sponsored by gambling industry to help such players include

Self exclusion programs.
Limits on time and money spent on the site.

Prevention of Underage Gambling

This aspect of responsible gambling ensures that only persons of legal age can participate in online gambling. The legal age for a person varies from country to country. It is the duty of the online site to make sure that none of the minors can participate in any type of gambling. Online operators follow certain steps during the registration process to ensure that the applicant is not a minor.

Protection against Frauds and Cyber Offenses

As common with all online sites, online casinos and gaming sites are also vulnerable to cyber attacks. These attacks takes place for stealing personal as well as commercial and financial data of the players. Online hackers organize such attacks by using malicious software which attacks the vulnerable files of the online sites. In order to protect the personal data of the players and discourage cyber frauds, majority of the online casinos use different types of firewall programs. There are also some software programs in use by such casinos for detecting money laundering activities.

Prompt and Accurate Payments

Online gambling operators must ensure that all the financial transactions to and from their customer’s account take place in orderly and formal process with proper documentation. This ensures the accurate and prompt payments to the players. In order to do so, all of the online casinos keep their customers’ fund segregated from their own. This ensures sufficient liquidity for paying out all the wins and outstanding balances of their clients.

Ethical Advertisement and Responsible Marketing

Online gambling sites should follow advertising regulations and codes of practice as per the law of the host country. Majority of the countries ensures that the online gaming sites do not target underage or vulnerable players. It is also expected from online gaming operators that they provide clean and fair gaming environment to their clients. Responsible marketing also requires that the permission of a client should be taken before making any direct marketing calls. Permission of the clients should also be sought before using their personal data in any way.

Video Poker Rules and Game Play

Video poker was introduced in the late 70s to provide a new form of gambling opportunity for the poker players.

This game was designed to cater those players who want to play a game that involves skill; has comparatively lower house edge and capacity to provide big wins.

The other thing that video poker provided to its players is the ability to play alone. The same way you sit and play froutakia (this means slots in Greek, I m just showing off the fact that I know how to say a few gambling words in different languages) you can sit down and play video poker online or at a machine at your local casino

This not only provided the desired anonymity to the player but also increased the number of games which can be played in a measured period of time.

Video poker might not be a different type of poker game but its still a popular choice for players.

In contrast to the slot games, video poker provides its players with a chance to make certain choices which can have an impact on the outcome of the game.

This means that players are provided with a control over the hands they like to or desist to play. There are many variants of video poker currently available in land based as well as online poker/casino sites. Some of the most popular variants include the following.

Jacks or Better
Deuces Wild
Joker’s Wild

These are three different variants of video poker but follow somewhat same set of principles for their functioning.

Basic Rules for Video Poker Variants

Some of the basic principles or rules which guide majority of the video poker variants include the following.

In all these variants standard poker hands are used to determine the win.
Five starting cards are dealt to the player.
A player can keep or discard any or all of the dealt cards.
All discarded cards are replaced with a random draw.
If the remaining hand of the player matches any of the qualifying hands, a corresponding winning amount is provided to the player.

Game Play of the Video Poker

Once you have opted for a variant of game you can straight away start playing. The game play starts with the player being dealt with five cards randomly as provided by the gaming software. You can opt to keep or discard some or all of these cards by tapping buttons provided on the screen.

After discarding the unwanted cards you can hit the “Draw” button which will provide the replacements for the discarded cards.

Once the final cards are dealt then you can claim a win if they are in the sequence of traditional poker hands such as flush, two pair, straight and so on. The size of wins depends on the pay table and the amount of bet opted by the player.

Learning How to Play Video Poker

Each of the video poker variant comes with its own pay-table and sets of rules. For example the strategy of the Deuces Wild will be totally different from Jacks or Better.

Even the same variant on different machines can have different pay-tables and playing strategies, so it depends upon a player what type of game he or she wants to play. Learning all of these variants can be quite tiresome, so it is recommended that you should start with the game which suits your taste and gaming style. There are many online sites which provide free video poker games.

You can play these games to hone your skills and once you are quite sure of your gaming potential only then opt to play with the real money.

How to Play Open-Face Chinese Poker

Open-Face Chinese poker can be classified as a variant of regular Chinese poker. In case if you are not familiar with latter even then you can learn this game quite easily. The one thing which can help a new player to learn how to play Open-Face Chinese poker more efficiently is familiarity with poker hands.

Like any type of poker game, Open-Face Chinese poker is played with a standard deck of cards. Each player is required to form best possible hands from the cards distributed to him by the dealer. The only major difference lies in the fact that unlike other poker variants, this game does not require any bets to be placed during the game itself. All players play with ‘per point’ system. The player who is able to garner highest points is declared winner.

Once card distribution of thirteen cards for each player is complete, the players of Open-Face poker are then required to arrange these cards into three hands known as the top, the middle and the bottom.

Each player’s hand is compared to his or her opponent by comparing the top hand with top hand, the middle hand with middle hand and the bottom hand with bottom hand. A player is declared winner depending upon how his or her hand measure ups in the comparison with other players.

Game Play of Open-Face Chinese poker

Most of the games are played between two to four players. Starting with the player sitting on the left side of dealer, each player is dealt with five cards in the first phase of the game. The players then set these cards face up in any of the three hands. It should be noted that once a hand is set, the turn is deemed to be concluded and no changes can be made afterwards.

After the distribution of the first five cards to all the players, each player is again provided with one card. This continues till all the players have a total of thirteen cards each. Once the last card is served, the players then compare their hands and scores are provided. The player with highest score is declared as winner.

Scoring in Open-Face Chinese Poker

As mentioned earlier, the scoring in Open-Face Chinese poker is done through points. Usually in a £1 game, each point is worth £1. The scoring is done in the following way.

Each player gets one point for each hand he or she wins.
If a player wins in all three hands then he or she gets three points.
On surrender of a hand, a player is required to pay two points to each player.
In case of a foul, the player charged for committing the foul must pay six points to each player.

All the points are provided as per the showdown which involves comparisons of the hands. In the Open-Face Chinese poker, the player sitting left to the dealer is compared first and this comparison goes on clockwise till hands of all players get compared.

Royalties in Open-Face Chinese Poker

Royalties are bonus points awarded to players if they make certain hands. Bonuses are paid generously in this game as hands tend to get weaker as compared to other variants of poker. All hands are valued as per the hands score in poker for example Royal Flush being the top ranking hand while Straight is considered the least valued hand.

Royalties are paid to the players during the comparison of hands. It should be noted that these royalties are paid irrespective of the fact whether the player wins that hand or not. These royalties also cancel out each other. For example if two players hit two straights, they will negate each other and no bonus gets paid.

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