Poker variants: Stud Poker In Stud Poker games, each player is dealt a hand in which some cards are face down and some face up, and there is normally a betting interval after each round of face up cards is dealt. Basic Five Card Stud, also known originally as Open Poker, dates from the 19th century.

If you are a fan of one of the most popular casino offerings, poker, here are 8 of the most popular variants that you absolutely must learn and try – especially if you like the idea of increasing your opportunity of winning loads of cash.

These different varieties of poker are each unique. Hence, these games come with their own set of rules which only add to the excitement of playing them. Trying them out will enable you to discover which poker games you prefer focusing on and spending your time and hard-earned cash on.

Below we have outlined eight of the most popular and fun poker games to play which are guaranteed to provide you with endless hours of excitement and enjoyment!

Texas Hold’em

One of the most popular poker games you will ever come across, Texas Hold’em is pretty easy and fun to learn. Fans of poker games who wish to play it at really skilled levels will however find that it takes loads of dedication in order to become really good at it.

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1. Other hold’em poker games. There are plenty of other fun poker variants. We’ve listed the rules for our favourites below. Each one plays the same as Texas Hold’em except for the changes we’ve noted. Speed River Runs Wild has the rule variation that a four card straight is considered a hand.
2. When people think of poker, Texas Hold’em is probably the first version they have in mind. This is certainly the most popular form of poker at the moment, but there are several other variants of the game that shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Draw to name just a few.

It is considered as a high poker game since it is the player with the highest-ranking card, at the end of it who wins the pot. However, more than one player might end up with a similar card, resulting in a tie.

One of the characteristics which makes it different from other poker games is the fact that each player receives two hole cards at the very beginning. The game is also played clockwise around the table and five community cards are provided at the center. It’s up to the players to make use of them with their hole cards and come up with the best possible combination of a 5-card poker hand.

There are four rounds of betting in Texas Hold’em and the first of these is referred to as the pre-flop stage. Three cards are then dealt and the flop stage follows. Once players have each had the opportunity to make a decision, a fourth card appears introducing the next stage, referred to as Turn. The final stage is referred to as River which is initiated when the fifth card of the same name is dealt.

The most exciting part of the entire game comes last of all. It is referred to as the showdown and players reveal their cards. The luckiest and most skilled of them who has the highest combination gets to keep the pot.

Omaha, 7 Stud Poker

If there is one game which is pretty similar to the most popular and glamorous of poker games, known as Texas Hold’em, it is certainly Omaha.

Fans of this poker variant will find the game as easy to learn and fun to play as the more televised version. A few points, however, make Omaha fundamentally different from Texas Hold’em.

This poker game starts with four hole cards rather than the two in the latter. And only two of those four cards may be used for players’ five card poker hand. The other three cards required for the hand must come from the five community cards which are provided during the four stages of the game.

7 Stud Poker on the other hand was the poker game of choice until Texas Hold’em came along. However, it still enjoys considerable status in the world of online poker. The main difference between this poker veteran and comparative newcomers – Texas Hold’em and Omaha – is the fact that it is played as a limit game.

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Players also start out with three cards which are dealt to them, with two being concealed hole cards and one which is visible. Following that, they receive three more exposed cards which must each be followed by a betting round before receiving a final seventh card which is hidden. This seventh card is also followed by a bet and then by showdown.

Players then sequentially expose their hands and the lucky one with the highest hand is awarded the jackpot.

2-7 Triple Draw

Like a few other popular poker games currently ruling the cyberspace, this game is also known by another name: Deuce to Seven Triple Draw. If you are fond of low games, i.e. games which require the lowest combination as opposed to the highest, you will love this game which comes with a set of rules which are all its own.

Each player starts out with five cards which are all hidden. Next, they all have to place bets and have the options of calling, raising or folding. And then it’s time to get rid of any cards they don’t want. This is known as drawing. Players who don’t want to get rid of any of their cards can opt out of doing so.

Alternatively, players also have the option of getting rid of all the cards in their possession. There are ultimately four betting rounds and three drawing rounds after which it’s time for showdown. The player with the lowest combination wins the pot.

A few points which make this variant different from other poker games is the fact that straights (five cards in numerical order) and flushes (five cards which all belong to the same suit but aren’t in numerical order), count against your hand.

Chinese Poker

One thing that certainly sets this version apart from other different poker games is the wide range of names it is known by. These include Pepito (Hawaii), Russian Poker (the United States) and Pusoy (the Philippines).

This variant which is also one of the world’s most popular poker games can only be played by four participants at the most. The reason for this is the fact that each of them is dealt a total of thirteen cards which is also another name this version of poker goes by.

Chinese poker comes with a whole different set of rules which makes it one of the most fun poker games to play.

It actually consists of three main sessions. The first of these is referred to as the deal during which players receive their cards. Depending on the number of participants involved in the game, they may receive one or two hands. However, in case of the latter, which would occur when just two players are involved, only the hand which is being played, may be viewed by each participant.

The 13-card hand must be divided into three cards of varying strengths ranging from the weakest, the Top, to the strongest, the Bottom, with the Middle falling between the two in terms of strength.
The weakest hand, the Top, must also only have three cards while the other two must have five. Next, the players compare their Top hands with stronger hands winning points and weaker hands losing points. The Middle and the Bottom are also played similarly although for the former, the hand with the lowest value wins.

The distribution of points depends on pre-set rules and additional options may be made available to players to lessen the effect of their losses.

Razz

One of Razz’s claims to fame is its similarity to Seven Stud Poker. However, unlike the highest five card hand required to win the former, it is the lowest five card hand which wins in this variant. Hence players must aim to get the lowest combination from the total of seven cards they will be dealt during the game.

Like most popular poker games, a number of hole cards are dealt at the beginning – two in this case. A third card which is visible and known as the door card is also dealt. The player with the highest value must then place a portion of the bet (bringing it in) or all of it (completing it) and then betting occurs clockwise round the table. This part of the game is referred to as Third Street.

It is followed by Fourth Street during which each player is dealt another card and the player with the lowest value must check or bet. Cards are dealt similarly to the Seventh Street, also known as river, which is followed by the showdown during which the player with the lowest hand is revealed. If there is a tie, the suits of the cards are used to select the winner. The value of the lowest suit to the highest runs from spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.

Five Card Draw

This is probably the form of draw poker you are most likely to encounter. A fun fact: it’s one of the poker games video poker is based on. To play it, all you have to do is log on to your favorite casino and follow the guidelines provided. Another thing which is so great about it is the fact that it is actually considered one of the simplest variants to learn.

Five Card Draw Poker consists of just two rounds before showdown, unlike certain popular poker variants which may consist of as many as four rounds.

Another distinguishing feature of the game is the number of hole cards dealt at the start of the game. They are five in number and are all hidden. Play proceeds clockwise around the table completing the game’s first round.

After this part of the game, each player has to decide what card they want eliminated from their collection. This process is referred to as the draw and it is a decisive part of the game. It is then followed by the second round and then showdown. During this final stage of the game, the player with the best five card hand is revealed and they are subsequently awarded the pot, bringing the game to an end.

Omaha Hi-Lo

If there is one poker variant which does things with a twist, it’s certainly Omaha Hi-Lo. As opposed to other versions of poker which award the pot to the player with either the lowest or highest hand, Omaha Hi-Lo follows a more egalitarian set of rules and awards half to the player with the lowest, and half to the player who has the highest.

There are however, limits to such equitable conduct and players lucky enough to have the highest hand in the absence of a corresponding low hand champion have been known to have the whole pot all to themselves. That is because low hands are required to be unduplicated and eight or better. This requirement also gives the game another of its names, Eight or Better. High hands, however, simply have no such restrictions.

If you like the thought of sharing or rather the increased opportunity for walking away from an exciting game with your pockets filled, you will find Omaha Hi-Lo one of the most fun and unique poker games to play. Especially if you are really good at Omaha. In fact, it is a good idea to brush up your skills in the former before taking on Omaha Hi-Lo, to enhance your chances of winning.

HORSE

Out of the variants of fun poker games to play, HORSE is one which is actually a combination of other versions. As a result, its name is an acronym: Hold’em, Omaha Hi, Razz, Stud and Eight-or-better.
Each of these games is played one after the other and is fixed limit.

If you are a fan of high stakes games which rely more on skill than luck, you will love this multi-tiered option which allows you to experience various versions of poker at one go. What’s more, it is also a great way of improving your poker skills since it involves so many fun variants. There is also the fact that you are likely to run into players who are skilled in certain games but struggle with other versions.

As is expected, once you are in, you would have to, in most cases, commit to playing each variant in each round. Picking and choosing those rounds which contain your favorite rounds is often disallowed.

Although it only came onto the scene in 2002 at the WSOP, HORSE is now a firm favorite. It is also a great opportunity for really skilled players to face off against each other and walk away with impressive sums of cash and a stellar reputation.

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:

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1. 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
2. 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.
3. Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
4. 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.
5. Wild cards are added. This can range from simply making deuces wild to the 7-card stud variant named baseball.
6. 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.'
7. 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.
8. 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.

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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]

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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]

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]

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See also[edit]

References[edit]

Fun Poker Variants List

1. ^Pagat.com: Roll Your Own
2. ^Pokernews.com: Fun Home Poker Game Rules - Follow the Queen
3. ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Follow the Queen
4. ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Countdown Poker
5. ^'A Parameterized Family of Equilibrium Profiles for Three-Player Kuhn Poker'(PDF).