There has been a lot in the news about the fate of certain poker sites in the US and the one thing this will have also done, is actually attract more players to this game. It isn’t unusually to find that negative publicity does more good than harm. If you are thinking about playing poker online it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to join Poker Stars, Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet or Full Tilt, but there are many more European facing sites, that are happily picking up the slack for these sites right now; just make sure you know all the basics first.
Not all poker-sounding games are actually true poker, for example – video poker, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride and Pai Gow. These forms of poker are played against the house and are called casino poker. The true mark of poker is playing against other players for the prize pot and not against the house. There are various games of poker however and one of the most popular games is one you must have heard of, it is called Texas Hold ‘em.
Texas hold ‘em is a community poker game, this means the dealer gives each player two pocket or hole cards, and the five card poker hand is made up of a stack of five cards in the centre of the table. The game is often shortened to just “Holdem” and just about anyone can learn to play in only a few minutes. This game can be played in different ways too with a No-limit, Pot-limit and Limit game format. Each format has a special strategy to play, so master one way first before you get too confused. The player who stays in this game till the end, might be the last man standing, but they are also the winner.
Omaha Hold ‘em is a similar game, it also makes use of community cards and each player is dealt four personal cards while five are in the centre for communal use. This particular type of poker is most often played on a high low split or as eight-or-better. It may also be played in a Limit, Pot Limit or (rarely) No Limit format.
Pineapple Holdem or Crazy Pineapple is a hybrid of Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha stands Pineapple. Each player is dealt three cards and these are also combined with the community cards to make up a poker hand. The big difference in this game is that one player card must be discarded, and this takes place after the flop for Crazy Pineapple and before the flop in a Pineapple game. Why is it called pineapple? We have no idea – but Pineapple is also sometimes called “Watermelon”…go figure!?
Stud Poker has many ways to play – there is the Seven Card Stud variety however and this is the most popular version. When playing in a tournament, Seven Card Stud High-Low is the most popular version and this is the version of poker you will find is played in most home games. There are many other varieties of stud and other poker games – enjoy exploring them all.