Poker is one of the most popular casino games you can play. Created in America in the 1800s, based on an old French game called Poque, it’s a game that involves strategy, skill, and knowledge.
While most people stick to the classic Texas Hold’em version of poker, there are many different varieties of the game to try out. If you play casino games at FanDuel Casino, you’ll notice that we have most of the other versions to play.
This gives you the perfect opportunity to try new variants of the game. However, before you can think about playing the different versions of poker, you need to understand what they’re about and how they differ from classic poker.
Therefore, in this post, we’re going to show you 5 poker variants you should check out. Stick around if you want to learn more!
-
Texas Hold-em
We’ll start with the most popular variant of poker which is Texas Hold-em. Texas Hold’em can be found in almost every online and physical casino so there’s a very good chance it’s the first type of poker you ever played.
No Limit Texas Hold’em has also been the most heavily advertised and televised poker variant, so you ought to try it.
The perfect starting point if you’re new to the game, Texas Hold’em plays out in the following stages:
- Pre-Flop– Every player is dealt two cards face down. These cards are known as the ‘hole’ cards.
- The Flop – The dealer then deals three ‘community’ cards face up.
- The Turn– A fourth community card is then dealt.
- The River– A fifth community card is dealt.
Players place bets after each step. They can call, raise, or fold depending on how confident they are with their hand. The aim is to make the best five-card hand from the seven cards available.
Texas Hold’em is a fairly straightforward game to pick up so give it a try!
-
2-7 Draw
2-7 Draw is generally considered to be a more exciting and fast-paced form of poker. It differs a lot from the classic Texas Hold’em variant in terms of how players win but you still need good knowledge when it comes to low and high-scoring hands.
In this game, players are given an individual 5-card hand. No other players are shown this hand and no cards are placed face-up.
In this low-ball poker variant, players have three opportunities to draw the best cards to make a low hand. The winner is simply the player that has the lowest hand at the end.
How this low-hand variant differs from other forms of low-ball poker is that straights and flushes don’t count against making a low hand. The aces are always high in this game too.
-
Omaha
The next poker variant we have for you is Omaha. Omaha is very similar to Texas Hold’em but with a twist.
In this game, players are dealt four ‘hole’ cards instead of the two they’re dealt in Texas Hold’em. Players can only use two of the cards they’re dealt with with the three community cards. Interestingly, in Omaha, everyone plays to the end too.
Omaha has five community cards and includes a flop, turn, and river. The betting is the same as in Texas Hold’em and the player with the best hand at showdown wins.
It might be worth noting that unlike in a 2-7 Draw, it’s the high hand that wins in Omaha.
-
Seven-Card Stud
Despite its popularity, Texas Hold’em poker came after Seven-Card Stud which is considered to be a variant of poker that requires more skill. This version of poker has a little bit more to it, making it a better choice for players that have experience playing poker before.
In a game of Seven-Card Stud, there are two to eight players and there are no community cards or flop. Instead, this poker variant begins with two cards face down, and one card facing up. These cards are referred to as the hole cards and door cards.
Players have seven cards, four face up and three face down, and they choose their best five-card combination. Players must show some of their cards each hand, and everyone reveals their hand once the last round of betting has finished.
Whoever holds the best five-card hand wins.
-
Five-Card Draw
The final poker variant on our list is Five-Card Draw. This is an easier version of poker you can play if you’re not yet up to speed fully with the strategy of the game.
Five-Card Draw is mainly about the cards you’re dealt. The main goal of the game is to make the best five-card hand.
To begin, the dealer gives every player five cards, and betting starts. You can place your bet and exchange up to three cards before the game moves on to the next round. After the next round of betting, whoever has the best hand wins?
As you can probably tell, this is a super simple version of poker, perfect for beginners.
Final Thoughts
Now you’ve made your way through our list, you should know what to expect from the different variants of poker. There are more poker variants you can play but these are arguably the best.
All you have to do now is check each variant out and see what you think.
