Types of Poker Games
The modern card game of Poker has different variations most of them being created in the United States in the mid 1900s. Though the standard order of play is followed, the details with respect to the hand values, the number of betting rounds, the exact cards that are being dealt with and the specific actions that are taken between rounds determine the poker variant. The most popular poker variants in the casinos and the poker rooms worldwide are:
DRAW POKER – In this variety the players deal with a complete hand which is hidden and continuously improve them through replacement. The most popular in this variety is the Five Card Draw.
STUD POKER – This game has multiple betting rounds. Here each player receives a combination of face-up and face-down cards. The popular varieties are the Seven-card stud and the Five-card stud.
COMMUNITY CARD POKER – Here each player has an incomplete hidden hand. They also hold shared face-up cards. The popular varieties are the Texas holdem and Omaha holdem.
Some specific poker variant games are :-
Stud Horse Poker
It is a combination of stud and community card game. There are many variations of this type depending on how many and what kind of cards are dealt in different rounds. Deciding on the betting order becomes an issue here. The game is usually played in High-low Splits.
High Chicago or Low Chicago
These are the two versions of the high stud game. In High Chicago the player who has the highest face-down receives half the pot. Conversely the player with the lowest face-down receives half the pot and if he manages to have both he attains the whole pot.
Follow the Queen
It is a seven card stud game. After the Queen has been dealt or exposed, the card which is immediately dealt face-up is designated as the ‘wild card’. The betting is similar to the regular 7-card stud games.
Billabong (and Shanghai)
This is a mixed stud/community card variety of Texas holdem. Billabong is a mixed version of ‘Manila’. Each player deals two down cards and a single up card. The high card starts the betting and the low up-card stars with a ‘bringin’. Shanghai is the same game with an extra ‘hole card’. When you discard a card immediately it is called ‘pineapple’, and when you discard just before showdown is called ‘Tahoe’.
Indian Poker
This game is a riot to play. There can be two to ten players. Each player holds up his card for every one to see. Then from the left of the dealer, betting begins. When the betting gets over, the winner takes the pot. The deal then rotates to the left for another deck. It in fact can drive you crazy if there is no limit to the pot.
