One of the most popular poker games that have come up in the recent past is Texas Holdem poker. There are a lot of variations available for this game. A lot of sites have this game on offer and they offer the variations too. A brief outlook into the various variations of the game as well as the betting methods is given in this article.
Texas Holdem Poker Alternative # 1 – Omaha High Poker
Based on similar lines of Texas Holdem, Omaha High is played with a flop, turn and river as well. The only difference in this variation is that four cards are dealt out rather than two as in the original game. When the showdown is one, two cards from your hand must be combined with 3 cards from the deck to give the best poker hand. When you have a total of 4 hole cards with you, it means that there are a total of 6 possible combinations of 2 cards with everyone.
This is what makes Omaha the strongest variation of the original game and it is referred to as the ‘game of the nuts.’ There are various betting forms and the most popular is the one in which the betting limit can be as high as the value of the current pot. As a result, it is called Pot-limit Omaha. There are two other variations which are less popular than Pot-limit and they are known as No-limit and Fixed limit Omaha.
Texas Holdem Alternative # 2 – Omaha Hi-Lo Split
This is another variation in which the community cards are split and each player has 4 hole- cards. The only difference here is that the pot is divided into two equal parts at showdown. The player with the highest poker hand, using 2 cards from the hand and 3 from the board, gets half of the pot and the other half is given to the player with the lowest hand. This means that the player with the lowest hand needs to have 5 different cards with a total of 8 or lower. If this is not possible, then the entire pot is awarded to the best poker hand.
Most players are able to win something or the other in this form because of the loose play involved. A tip to succeed in this form is to have hands which can win on either side of the pot and is known as ‘scooping.’ This variation is more popular when playing Pot-limit or Fixed limit rather than No limit Omaha.
Texas Holdem Alternative # 3 – 7-Card Stud
This is one of the oldest forms of the game and is still going strong on the popularity charts. In this game, each player is dealt 7 cards each where 4 are visible and 3 are face down. The differentiating factor is the number of betting rounds which is 5 as compared to 4 in Holdem. This means that betting amount can go large. This form is occasionally played in the Pot-limit format and there is a restriction on the betting limit structure.
The best way to play this game is to take advantage of the best cards when they are visible, especially when they are folded. Another factor which can be taken into consideration is the way in which the betting stats improve for a player when combined with the visible cards. Always start with the strong cards as otherwise the chances of winning an especially large pot goes down.
Texas Holdem Alternative # 4 – Razz
There are lots of similarities of Razz with 7 Stud. In both the games there are a total of 7 cards which are dealt and four of them are visible. The only difference in this is that the players are trying to get the lowest hand possible. The lowest hand is known as the Wheel which is a combination of Ace-2-3-4-5 since flushes and straights are not possible. The game is exclusively limited to the Fixed limit betting and the best are doubles once the fifth card is dealt.
There needs to be good observation powers when playing Razz and you need to keep a keen eye on the cards which are out even if they are folded. The players need to be smart and have a good knowledge of pot odds and the way the bets are made to be able to win this exciting variation of the original.
Texas Holdem Alternative # 5 – Draw Poker
This is the most common variation of the game and there are 5 cards which are dealt face down. All the players get a single chance to exchange any card which they might think does not fare well for them. This variation offers very limited amount of information and so a good observation of the previous strategies of your opponents is important. This game can be played with no-limit, fixed limit or pot limit and there are a number of types of this game. Sometimes a game is played which include “wild cards.”
