Popular poker variations

Poker is an endlessly fascinating game, with twists and turns and plots and subplots to rival the best thriller. Part of its appeal are the many different variations of the game. Here’s a look at some of the best versions to try out at your next poker night.

Firstly lets outline the three key types of poker games. Stud poker is the game at its most basic. Players are dealt cards and use these original cards to make their best hand.

Draw poker involves players choosing to trade some of their cards they are dealt to try and improve their hand.

Community games see players dealt their own cards known only to them – usually two. They then make use of the community cards – so called because these are dealt face up and any of the other players can play off them to make a hand.

Texas Hold ‘Em

The king of the poker tables, Texas Hold ‘Em is currently the most popular version of the game. Each player is dealt two cards – the “hole” or “pocket” cards. They then wait for the first three community cards to be dealt – the “flop”. Another round of betting takes place and then the fourth community card – the “turn”, is dealt before a further round of betting. The fifth and final common card – the “river” – is then placed face up and a last round of betting takes place.

Omaha

In this version Hold ‘Em, each player is dealt four hole cards and unlike the Texas variety the five community cards are revealed immediately. The aim is to create the best five-card hand from two of your hole cards and three of the community cards.

Five card draw

A classic for years and years, five card draw is hard to beat. Players are dealt five cards face down and one round of betting starts before the first draw. You then discard unwanted cards and draw from the deck, usually no more than three. There’s then another round of betting before the showdown.

High/Low Chicago

This is a stud game more often found in casinos than in garage games and can be played for the highest hand or the lowest.

In both the high and low versions the pot is split. In High Chicago the player dealt the highest spade face-down wins half of the pot. In the Low game it’s the lowest value spade that wins. The other half of the pot is won, like normal stud games, by the person with the best hand.