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| Popular Poker Variations You Should Consider
Learning |
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Poker is one of the oldest card games around. From Omaha Hi to Texas Hold’em, these are the
most popular variations for beginners to try their hand at.
Poker Variations Beginners Will
Love
If you have ever played a round of poker with your family, you will know how much fun it can be to try and build a winning hand, along with
bluffing and hoping that your next card completes your set.
If you are ready to move on and try something other than the regular five-card draw poker,
the following poker variations are a great place to start. The ease at which you can learn the rules, the strategies required to win, and the fun you can enjoy
along the way make them all great variations for beginners to try.
l Improves cognitive skills
The king of all poker variations, Texas Hold’em has been played in
backrooms and living rooms for the last few decades and is the most popular form of poker around. The no-limit Texas Hold’em is the most well-known, since
it is the most televised and talked about option within the Texas Hold’em variety due to the easy to remember rules.
Nowadays, you can find videos
and blogs dedicated just to no-limit Hold’em strategies, and with plenty of poker tournaments that showcase players playing, it’s easy to watch a few
before playing your own hand to gain some valuable tips and tricks. That said, you are also far more likely to find plenty of amateur players who’ve
turned pro relatively quickly which makes playing against others far trickier, since opponents are likely to also be highly skilled.
l 7-Card Stud
Before Texas Hold’em took the stage as the most
popular poker variety, 7-Card Stud poker used to be the go-to for family games and local casino ones. Unlike other poker varieties which use community cards
for players to base a hand off of, along with hole cards, 7-Card Stud poker relies on players using their own individual hands.
The fun – and
difficulty – of the game comes from players having four of their hands shown face up to all the other players, and three cards in their hands hidden. The
aim of this poker variation is to make the very best 5-card poker hand possible, and the ability to being able to read the other players potential hands from
very early on is a key skill needed to do well.
Due to the complexity of the game play, and fall from mainstream popularity, 7-Card Stud poker is now
played mainly in online and live tournaments, and you are likely to find the odd die-hard family members who enjoy the more complex strategies required.
l Omaha Hi
Nowadays, Omaha Hi (also known as
Pot-Limit Omaha) is the second most popular poker variation available on the market. The Hi part of the name is a direct reference to the fact that the player
with the highest hand will take the full pot available. This variation is usually played as pot-limited game and plays very similar to Texas Hold’em.
That said, one of the main differences between Omaha Hi and Texas Hold’em is that four hold cards are dealt to each player, instead of two. In it,
players must still try their utmost to make a five-card hand to contend with but are required to use two of the four-hole cards dealt to do so. Another
difference is that three of the five community cards must also be used.
Due to these tweaks, the gameplay is far easier for most than Texas
Hold’em is, since the two-hold card combinations increase by six. It’s quite likely you’ll find this poker variation online and on casino
floors, and if you’re already versed in playing by Hold’em rules, you’ll find it much easier to pick up playing Seven Card Stud ones
too.
l 5-Card Draw
The poker variant of
Five-Card Draw is one of the simplest to learn. In it, players need only to make the highest ranked 5-card poker hand which they can. Each player receives
their own individual hand, which is kept secret from the other players. This ensures bluffing can be done easily, though you will also have no idea how strong
your opponent’s hands are.
It’s a poker game you’ll likely have played against family and friends before, since it’s easy to play
and learn, and it’s also shown predominantly in movies where ‘friendly’ games of poker are being played. There is only one draw round which
makes gameplay very easy and the rate of hands per hour is far higher than in other poker variations. However, the inability to gauge how others are playing
their cards makes this a much trickier game in the long run.
l 5-Card Omaha
The ability to create strong hands in Omaha Hi, make 5-Card Omaha a natural choice for
those already familiar with Omaha variation. In this version, players receive five cards as hole cards, instead of four.
Despite the additional card,
players are still required to use two of their hole cards and three of the face up community cards to create the best hand possible. However, the addition of
the extra hole card gives players that slight edge which is needed when trying to build the best hand possible. The money that can be won from these games is
usually well-worth the time spent learning the rules, and the rankings of the numerous poker hands available.
Take some time to
check this site and get familiar with the game play before you start any serious betting. It can be played
quite aggressively online, so ensure you are up to speed on all the intricacies.
l Badugi
One of the hardest poker variations to learn since it is unique when compared to other poker
varieties, Badugi was a poker creation of the 80’s that has fallen very far down the ranking list nowadays. It is usually included only in tournament
levels as a mixed poker event, though you will find the odd online poker room which offers it.
The rules for this game differ in that it uses only four
cards for hand rankings, and the suits play a much more prominent role than in regular poker (as you’ll need to get all 4 cards in different suits if you
are able). Another key difference is that the Ace is always played as a low card. The aim of the game is to make the lowest possible Badugi (4 unpaired cards
in all the suits).
If you have ever played Lowball poker, you will be ahead of the competition when it comes to understanding the rules. |
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