Most popular ways to play online poker

By Leslie Last updated Nov 14, 2022

A go-to for many new and experienced players, poker has always been a favorite. The skill-based nature in combination with the elements of chance makes a great combination. Ever since the birth of online gambling, poker has been one of the most played games in any online casino. There are many variations that you can choose from when looking to play poker so you should look to try as many as possible and maybe you find a new favorite. We created a list of the most popular variations to help you make an informed decision the next time you choose a table.

Contents

Texas Hold’em

Let’s start with the most popular online poker variation of all. Texas Hold’em is the variation that is used by the biggest poker tournament in the world. Hold’em is played with one 52-card deck that a dealer will use to deal 2 cards to each player. During the hand, 5 community cards will be dealt on the table face up, players will use these cards along with the 2 cards they were dealt to make the best 5 card hands. The winner of the hand is the player with the highest ranking 5 card combination.

In Texas Hold’em players place bets during 4 phases of each hand. The first phase is the pre-flop phase after the player’s cards have been dealt but there are no community cards. Phase two is the flop after the first 3 community cards are dealt on the table. The third phase is the turn, this is after the 4th community card is dealt. Finally, the 4th phase is the river, after the 5th community card has been dealt. After the river betting phase, the winner of the hand is chosen by the strength of each hand. The winner of a hand takes all the money in the pot.

Omaha Hi

Another very popular poker variation is Omaha. Just like Hold’em, the objective of the game is to create the best 5-card hand using the cards you are dealt and the community cards dealt face-up on the table. Where Omaha differs from Texas Hold’em is in the cards that are dealt to each player. Here the players receive 4 cards at the beginning of each hand and need to use any 2 of them along with 3 of the community cards to make the best hand. The most popular version of this game is Omaha Hi/Lo.

Omaha Hi/Lo is a version of the game where the pot is split between 2 players of each hand. Here the pot is divided between the best high hand and the best low hand. A high hand is needed to have at least one card higher than 8 whereas a low hand needs to have all 5 cards under 8. In the case that at the end of the hand there is no low hand, the player with the best high hand wins the whole pot. This is referred to as scooping. You will sometimes see Omaha Hi/Lo referred to as Omaha 8.

5 Card Draw

Although not the most popular variation of poker, 5-card draw is a simple and fun variation of the game that uses the same hand ranking as Texas Hold’em. This variation is played with a single deck of 52 cards and is one of the easiest poker variations to learn. At the beginning of the hand, each player is dealt 5 face-down cards, this phase is the first of 3. In the second phase, each player can decide to discard and redraw any number of cards in his hand to create the strongest possible hand. The 3rd phase is the showdown where the players show their cards and the player with the best hand wins the pot.

A difference in hand rankings compared to Hold’em is that in 5 card draw the suits of the cards don’t make a difference. This means that in case of 2 players getting to a showdown with flushes of different suits, the tiebreaker is made by the card rankings. Even with this simplified version of the game, you will find plenty of strategies to apply to your game.

7 Card Stud

This version of poker is the original popular poker variation. The 7 card stud enjoyed the position of most played variation before Texas Hold’em came onto the scene. Some of the big differences are the lack of community cards so there is no flop also. At the start of each hand, players are first dealt 3 cards, 2 face down and 1 face up. During each hand, each player will receive 4 more cards to get to a total of 7 cards. Out of the 7 dealt cards, 3 of them are face down and the other 4 are dealt face up.

Players will need to choose 5 of the 7 cards to make their best 5-card hand. Another thing that is different from other poker variations, is the blinds. In 7 card stud, there are no blinds that certain players must pay, but there is an ante bet that all players that want to participate in the hand must pay before receiving any cards from the dealer. If you want to get into playing 7 card stud it’s important to look for good strategies that can help you win more hands.

Conclusion

When looking for a game of poker to play, remember that you don’t have to only choose Hold’em. Many poker variations are enjoyed by many players around the world. So next time you feel the need to play some hands, search if the casino offers some fun variations that can bring new fun into your poker games. Most poker variations have plenty of strategies you can search for if you want to learn advanced playing tactics.