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I think only a few of us from the btctalk series play/know other poker variations... the rest are "only Texas"!
SwC seems to be totally forgotten on this forum, I wonder why...
The best adrenaline and emotions are when playing Texas Holdem because that is the game which is the most popular and the PokerStar series just certifies that.Even in local casinos where I am located now the tournaments that are created and played are all based on Texas Holdem as the most popular poker game.I am sure there are a few individuals who may like more other variants but good luck finding them,I highly doubt you can find a lot of them in this forum while here it is a sure thing that a lot of poker players mostly play Texas Holdem.
Texas is the most popular, and one of the "simple ones", it's easy to learn rules and how to play it! When it comes to adrenaline and emotions other poker variants give the same, if you like the game! But let's make an example between Texas and Omaha (ordinary one, and there are some crazy variations I played, but I didn't quite understand some of them)... in Texas you get two cards, with Omaha it's four cards, your 2 cards and 3 from flop creates a hand! If you have 4 aces you have just one pair and you take 3 from the flop! It can be even more interesting, with 4 cards it's different! Pair or two pairs are nothing, you think you are good with your full house, but another guy with his cards has a higher full house probably, chances for that are pretty high in the Omaha version!
But regarding to the poker variation ? I am not familiar at all about those lol.
It would be a great thread... someone to list all poker variations and a little explanation of how to play it! I guess that would bring many merits to a guy who does that job!
As a follow-up to the comment above, Chinese poker is crazy! I played it maybe 10 times and I can't say I learned much! One of the toughest versions to learn how to play, at least for me!
The PM would be neccessary to give the login info for the site, since it is semi-private there is no public link to create an account.
You wrote "mainly high stakes poker games"... tell us some numbers, what blinds are you playing there?!
Hey good points. Though on the site there is detailed rules for every game, I can give a quick rundown of the main games.
Omaha, like you said, is similar to holdem but you MUST use 2 cards from your hand. Therefore if you have an Ace of spades but no other spade in your hand, and the board comes with 4 spades, you do NOT have a flush, in omaha. In Holdem, in the SAME situation, you would have a flush, because you are allowed to use only the 1 card. But in Omaha you must select 2 cards from your hand and 3 from the board to make the best 5 card poker hand you can.
Stud is a game where you get all your cards, first 2 face down, then 1 up, then as the hand goes on 3 more face up cards, and the final card is face down so only you can see it.
Hi/lo versions of these games split the pot if there is a winning lo that qualifies. A winning lo is a hand that uses 5 cards, 8 or under, unpaired. So, for example, in stud hi/lo, if you have 8877642 you use the 87642 to make your lo. You also use 8877A for your hi. You have a good chance of winning both the hi and the lo, called a scoop. However, you could lose both as well, if people have better hands. The way to rank lo hands is counting down from the highest to lowest card, whoever has the lowest number wins. So, for example, if someone else had 65432KQ, they would have 65432 as low. The number 65,432 is lower than 87,642, so their number is lower than yours. They win the lo. They would also win the high because 65432 is a straight, which is better than 2 pair. So this would be an unfortunate hand example for you.
Badugi is a very simple game, you get 4 cards, you get to draw as many as you want 3 times, and then there is a showdown. Whoever has the lowest hand of 4 different suits, unpaired, wins. So if you have 9 of clubs, 8 of hearts, 3 of diamonds, 2 of spades, you have a 9832 low badugi. However, you would lose if someone has a lower number, for example, 7 of hearts, 6 of clubs, 5 of spades, 4 of diamonds, because 7654 is a lower number than 9832, even though your lowest card is lower, the ranking is counting from the top down. If nobody has a qualifying badugi, it goes to the best 3 card hand. So, for example, if you has 2 of spades, 3 of clubs, 4 of diamonds, and a 4 of hearts, you only have a 3 card ranking hand of 432. But you would still win vs an opponent with something like 8 of diamonds, 7 of diamonds, 6 of spades, 3 of clubs. His ranking would be a 3 card hand of, 763.
2-7 is also simple, you get 5 cards, you get to draw 3 times or 1 time, depending on the version, and it is just the opposite of normal poker rankings. So, in normal poker, the best hand you can have is a royal flush. Well, that's the WORST hand you can have in 2-7. The best possible hand in 2-7 is 75432, as long as they aren't all the same suit, because that would be a flush. So, for example, in 2-7, if you have 76522, a pair of 2s, you would still win if your opponent had 88543, which would be a pair of 8s. Also ace is high only in this version. So you having K7652 would win vs someone with A6543. Because ace is higher and the winner is the one with the lower hand.
A-5 is almost the same except flushes and straights don't matter. You are simply counting your lowest cards. Pairs do matter though. So you having 65432 would win vs an opponent with 7543A even though he has an ace at the bottom, you have a lower number overall. Ace can be low though. The best possible hand is 5432A.
Badeucey is simply a combination of badugi and 2-7, with half the pot going to best 2-7 hand at the end, and half going to the best badugi hand. Note, you have 5 cards total, but you'd make your best badugi from 4 cards. The best possible hand is 2, 3, 4, 5 of all different suits, then a 7 of any suit, since your badugi hand would be 5432, and 2-7 hand would be 75432 (remember, suits dont matter in 2-7, except you can't qualify with a flush of all 5 of the same suit)
Badacey is the same as badeucy, except half goes to the best A-5 hand at the end instead of the best 2-7 hand. So, the best hand would be, A, 2, 3, 4 of different suits, then a 5 of any suit.
Chinese poker is a great version, there are versions with 2-7 in the middle, where you foul if you don't make a Ten low or better, and versions with 2 jokers that can play as any card. Fantasyland is mainly the goal here, you have to qualify with a variety of hands without fouling. You start with 5 cards and then get 3 at a time, discarding 1 and placing 2, until you have 13 cards total placed, 5 in the bottom, 5 in the middle, and 3 on the top. For example, in the jokers version, if you have 65432 to start, and put it on the bottom. Then you get 998, you place the 99 in the middle and discard the 8. Then you get 776, you place the 77 in the middle, discard the 6. Then you get Joker, 2, 3. You place the 2 in the middle, and the joker on top. Then you get AK8. You place the and ace king on the top, and the joker converts to an ace, because you have better hand in middle, two pair, and an even better hand on the bottom, a straight. Congrats, with AA on top, you get to go to fantasyland, and get all your cards the next hand. You can also repeat if you get quads or better on the bottom, or trips or better up top. In our version, we can repeat a maximum of 3 times before having to return to normal play.
I hope this helps clarify these games, and anyone is welcome to come and try, there are low stakes as well, but mainly the high stakes that run are blinds of 1-2 USD and 5-10 USD type of games, of all these varieties. There is also limit stakes of some of them, for example, stud hi/lo is almost always played limit, with the stakes being typically 44/88 USD, that type of level.
