Online Poker

Texas Hold’em is arguably the world’s most popular form of poker, played in local and global tournaments and ranking events. Players are dealt two hole cards and must then wait for up to 5 community cards to be revealed. Betting begins with the small and big blinds, and then 4 additional betting phases occur: once after players receive their hold cards, once after the first three community cards are dealt (the flop), once after a fourth community card is revealed (the turn) and, finally, once after the final card comes into play (the river). The goal is to make the best 5-card hand possible using any combination of your hole cards and the community cards.

Just like Texas Hold’em, the action begins with the small and big blind before any cards are dealt. After this, all players receive 5 cards and betting starts with whoever is seated to the left of the big blind. Players take it in turn to either fold, call or raise and those that remain can attempt to improve their hands by exchanging 0-5 cards. After this takes place there is a final round of betting before all players involved reach the showdown, where the highest-ranked hand wins.

Omaha Hi-Lo is a split pot game, which means at showdown the pot is divided in half, with one half awarded to the best winning hand and the other to the best qualifying low hand. Qualifying low hands are defined as five unpaired cards, all with ranks equal to or less than 8. Aces are considered low for the low hand, whilst flushes and straights are ignored.

In 7-Card Stud, each player is dealt 7 cards, three face-down and four-face up. Again, your objective is to create the best 5-card hand using what you have available. The key difference here is that there are no community cards, each player receives their own hand of which certain cards can be seen by everyone else at the table.

Razz is a form of Stud poker where the gameplay is flipped on its head and players attempt to make the lowest hand possible. Betting continues in several stages, with all remaining players receiving an additional card per round, either face up or face down depending on the stage of the game. Once the final card is dealt, and the final betting round concludes, showdown is reached and the player with the lowest hand wins.

Instead of being a separate version, HORSE is a game that includes 5 different poker variants – Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud (Stud Hi) and Eight-or-Better (Stud Hi-Lo). This is most often played in high-stakes tournaments such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) but is often available at top poker sites. You’ll play through each game type in order until cycling back to the start to begin the sequence again. It’s also worth noting that all game types are played as fixed limit, with the same stake/structure used across each variant.

Not to be confused with Pai Gow, a Chinese dominoes game, Pai Gow Poker is a seven-card variant where the goal is to create the two best poker hands using standard rankings – a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. If both of your hands are better than the dealer’s, you’ll receive your bet plus even money back. If only one hand is better, the round will push, and if both of your hands are equal to or worse than the dealer’s you will lose your stake – tied hands are not pushed according to Pai Gow Poker rules.

Like many casino table games, Caribbean Stud is played against a dealer. It’s effectively a streamlined version of poker, insofar that everyone at the table, including the dealer, receives 5 cards. There is one key difference, however: the dealer must qualify to compete, which means their hand must include at least Ace-King. One of the game’s key attractions though is that it often offers a progressive jackpot side bet – hit a royal flush and you could be walking away with a massive payout!

Just like Texas Hold’em, the main objective of Casino Hold’em is to create the best possible five-card hand using a combination of two hole cards and five community cards. However, you’re not competing against other players here, instead, it’s you versus the dealer. The game begins with the player placing an ante bet, along with any optional side bets. You and the dealer are then dealt two cards each, along with a further three community cards. At this point, all side bets are resolved. Afterwards, you must decide whether to fold your hand or keep playing. To continue, you must make a call bet which is double the stake of your original ante, and after doing so two more community cards are dealt. It’s at this point that the hands are compared and the highest-ranked hand is determined as the winner.

Video poker is more of an RNG-based subgenre of the game, rather than its own variant. Playable at both online and land-based casinos, you’ll often find multiple versions such as Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild, in both single-hand and multi-hand formats. Irrespective of which you play, the idea is that you choose how many coins to wager per hand, and you’ll earn respective payouts for each ranking hand as per the game’s paytable.