Only Poker Online

Some Poker Variants.

onlypokeronline — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:34:03 +0000

Texas Hold’em

Amongst all the poker games, the Texas Hold’em is the most popular form played across the globe. Easy and exciting to play and watch, this poker variant is a big craze both online and in casinos. The game can be played with as few as two players extending up to 10 players. The idea is to achieve the highest five-card poker to be declared as the winner. Each player gets two cards faced down, known as hole cards. Further, there will be five community cards face-up in the center of the table to be shared by all the players. The game is played in four betting rounds. To add on, Texas Hold’em is the game that decides the World Series of Poker winner each year.

Omaha Hi

A variation of the Texas Hold’wm, Omaha Hi, too, is gaining rapid popularity across the world. The number of players can range from two to ten. The game constitutes of four betting rounds, where each player receives four cards (hole cards) face down, while five community cards are dealt face-up in the table center to be shared by all. To play the game, each player must use two of their hole cards with three community cards to form the best possible high five-card poker hand. Omaha 8 or Omaha Hi-Li is another variant of Omaha Hi, wherein the player has to aim towards making the best low five-card poker.

Seven Card Stud

7-card stud was the most popular poker game until Texas Hold’em took over. This game is played with two players and can extend up to eight players. The betting includes an initial gamble followed by five betting rounds. Each player gets 3 face-down cards and 4 face-up cards. The objective of the game is to create the best five-hand poker using the given seven cards. Stud 8, or Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, is a variation of Seven Card Stud wherein the players aim towards making either the highest valued or lowest valued poker hand, using any of the 5 cards out of the given 7 cards.

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud is different from the rest of the poker games as all the games involve betting against other players. However, in this poker variant, the players play against the casino, acting as a bank (dealer). As such, any bet won by a player is paid off by the casino. Thus, the players have to beat the dealer’s hand to win the bet and not compete against other players.

Razz Poker

Similar to Seven Stud, Razer Poker aims at making the best low-hand poker to win the game. This game is played between two to eight players. Each player is dealt with seven cards, the first two face down, the next four face up, and the final card face down. Each player is required to make the best five-card low hand using any combination from the seven cards. As such, aces are considered the lowest, while straights and flushes do not affect the low value. The lowest possible hand is A2345.

The basics.

onlypokeronline — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:27:45 +0000

1. Understand the cards and their values
Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards (except for Ross Perot Poker, which is played with less than a full deck). The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Aces are ALWAYS high. Aces are worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into four suits. The suits are:

Clubs:
Spades:
Hearts:
Diamonds:

Each player is dealt five cards. The object of the game is to end up with the highest-valued hand. From best to worst, hands are ranked in the following order:

Straight Flush

Four of a Kind

Full House

Flush

Straight

Three of a Kind

Two Pair

One Pair

High Card

Royal Flush
This is the most valuable hand in all of poker. A Royal Flush is composed of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit. It’s the toughest hand to get.

Straight Flush
A Straight Flush is comprised of five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit. It’s not allowed to “wrap around,” such as Q-K-A-2-3. This is also very rare. If you get two of these in a row, you are cheating. If there are two Straight Flushes at the table, then whichever hand’s Straight Flush reaches the highest card value wins. So in the examples below, Hand 2 (which has a King) would beat Hand 1 (which only goes up to 8).

Four of a Kind

Four cards of the same numerical rank and another random card. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the highest-ranking Four of a Kind wins. In the examples below, Hand 2 would beat Hand 1.

Full House
Of the five cards in your hand, three have the same numerical rank, and the two remaining card also have the same numerical rank. Ties are broken first by the Three of a Kind, then the Pair. So Q-Q-Q-3-3 beats J-J-J-A-A, which beats J-J-J-2-2.

Flush
A Flush is comprised of five cards of the same suit, regardless of their numerical rank. In a tie, whoever has the highest ranking card wins. In the example below, Hand 1 (with a King) beats Hand 2 (with a Queen).

Straight
Five cards in numerical order, regardless of their suits. Just like with the Straight Flush, a Straight cannot “wrap around.” In a tie, whoever’s Straight goes to a higher ranking card wins (so in the examples below, Hand 1 beats Hand 2).

Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same numerical rank, and two random cards that are not a pair.

Two Pair
Two sets of pairs, and another random card.

One Pair
One pair and three random cards. If more than one person has a One Pair, then the person with the highest ranking pair wins.

High Card
If none of the players have anything of value, the player holding the highest-valued card wins, with the 2 as the lowest card, and the Ace as the highest. In the case of a tie, you move to the next highest card, and continue.

Getting started

onlypokeronline — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:50:04 +0000

First you’ll need to download the FREE game software (available for Windows and Mac). Then you need to set up an account, and after that you’re ready to play. To help get you started fast, there’s a series of tutorial videos, e-books and other resources just for you, with professionals as your guide.