There are different poker versions and specific variations such as Kansas City Lowball, Follow the Queen, and community card poker.
Poker is a popular game with gamblers and has different variations for every skill level and taste. The three main types that you can try are community card, draw, and stud but there are also variations like Chinese, Countdown, Follow the Queen, and Five-o-Poker.
Popular Games
Draw poker is one variety whereby all players get a complete hand and then draw or replace cards at later rounds. Other draw games that you can try are Baduci, Badugi, and Kansas City Lowball. Another variant is Stud poker for which players are dealt both face-down and face-up cards. The game takes place in multiple betting rounds and has two variants – seven-card and five-card. The third variety that can try is community card poker in which players get shared face-up cards in addition to incomplete hidden hands. The two versions of the game are Omaha and Texas Hold’em, the latter of which is one of the most popular card games. It also has variants such as Irish Poker, Greek Hold’em, Double Board Hold’em, Pineapple, and others. Pineapple poker, in particular, is a combination between Omaha and Texas Hold’em which is popular in South America and Australia. Players first get three cards and then can discard one at showdown, post-flop, or pre-flop. There are some regional variants as well whereby players get five cards and have the option to discard one after river, turn, or flop. The main varieties that you will come across are Tahoe and Crazy Pineapple.
As there are different versions, there are also rule variations such as roll your own, lowball, wild cards, and high-low split.
Specific Variants
Like other games such as bingo, sagaming, and keno, some poker games have additional rules and don’t fall neatly in any category. Examples are Guts, Countdown, and Follow the Queen. The latter is a type of a stud game with seven cards and a wild-card. All cards will be queens in case that the final card that is exposed or dealt is also a queen. Countdown is another variety whereby all players are dealt 5 cards and have the option to replace 0 to 3 of them. During the second betting round, they can discard and replace 0 to 2. Then a third betting round follows, with players discarding 1 card only. At the completion of each round, cards double in price.
Guts is yet another game that have some similarities with poker, including how cards rank. Players get up to 3 cards and are allowed to be out or in during each betting round. The losers have two options – to double or match the pot after each round. Other varieties that are played in different parts of the world include Five-o-Poker, Kuhn and Chinese Poker, and Billabong and Shanghai.