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Texas Hold’em Poker

Make the best five-card hand, using the 2 you’re dealt & 3 community cards

In Texas Hold’em, each player is dealt two cards face-down – these are known as the ‘pocket’ or ‘hole’ cards. The dealer then progressively reveals five community cards, interspersed with rounds of betting. Once all cards are revealed and all bets are placed, the best five-card hand wins. Texas Hold’em is the world’ most popular online poker game.

To master Texas Hold’em poker, start by understanding the deal & wagering process:

• Each player is dealt two cards, face down
• Round of betting 1
• The dealer reveals the first three community cards. This is known as the “flop”.
• Round of betting 2
• The dealer reveals the fourth community card. This is known as the “turn”.
• Round of betting 3
• The dealer reveals the fifth and final community card. This is known as the “river.”
• Final round of betting.

Once all bets are finalized, each player reveals their face-down cards, and the best hand wins the prize pool (known as the “pot”).

While No-Limit Hold’em is the most popular variation of Texas Holdem, Limit and Pot-Limit are two other popular variations of Hold’em Poker.

Limit Texas Hold’em

In limit Hold’em, the bet size is determined before the start of the game, and wager sizes increase in the final two rounds. For example, in a $10/$20 fixed-limit Texas Hold’em game, you can wager in multiples of $10 after receiving your cards and the “flop”, but bets increase to $20 following the “turn” and the “river”.

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

In Pot Limit Hold’em, the size of wagers is limited to whatever the size of the “pot” (the prize pool) is. For example, if there’s $50 in the “pot”, the maximum wager would be $50.

Read our full guide to Texas Hold’em poker to learn more.

Omaha Poker

Make the best five-card hand using 2 of the 4 cards you’re dealt & 3 community cards

Omaha poker is similar to Texas Hold’em, and follows the flop, turn & river format of that game type. The key difference is that each player is dealt 4 cards, and must construct their hand by using exactly 2 of these, plus 3 community cards.

Once the rounds of dealing and wagering are complete, players reveal their face-down cards, and the best five-card hand wins. In the event of a tie, the pot is equally divided among the players with the leading hands.

Most games online follow one of three wagering formats: Pot Limit, No Limit, or Fixed Limit. Each of these three game types follow the same rules, with some slight variation.

Pot Limit Omaha Poker

The most popular version, in Pot Limit, wager size is limited to however much is in the pot (e.g. if the pot total is $100, maximum bet size would be $100.)

The minimum bet in Pot Limit, at most poker sites, is the same as the size of the big blind.

No Limit Omaha Poker

In No Limit, as the name suggests, there are no limits to the bet sizes – players can wager the total amount of chips they have available.

Fixed Limit Omaha Poker

In Fixed Limit, bet sizes & amounts are structured and pre-determined. Similar to Fixed-Limit Texas Holdem, bets & raises are the same amount as the big blind pre-flop and on the flop itself (e.g. if the big blind is $25, bet sizes are $25.)

After the flop – the turn & the river – the bet/raise size doubles (e.g. if the big blind is $25, bet sizes are $50.)

In this game type, players are allowed a maximum of four bets per betting round.

Omaha Hi-Lo Poker

The pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand

Omaha Hi-Lo games follow the same dealing and wagering system – flop, turn, river – as Omaha Poker, with a significant change to the rules. In Hi/Lo poker, each pot is split between two winning hands – the best ‘high’ hand, and the best ‘low’ hand.

While rules and variations may different slightly between each casino, the majority of Omaha Hi/Lo games use an 8-or-better qualifier. This means that, to win the ‘low’ hand, your hand must be comprised of five different cards that are all less than 8. Cards 8-or-better contribute to the ‘high’ hand.

Note that Aces always count as low in a low hand, meaning the best possible low hand would be 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace.

Omaha Hi-Lo Poker games usually follow one of three wagering formats: Limit, Pot Limit, or No Limit.

Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker

In Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker, bet sizes & amounts are structured and pre-determined. Similar to Fixed-Limit Texas Hold’em, bets & raises are the same amount as the big blind pre-flop and on the flop itself (e.g. if the big blind is $25, bet sizes are $25.)

After the flop – the turn & the river – the bet/raise size doubles (e.g. if the big blind is $25, bet sizes are $50.)

In this game type, players are allowed a four bet maximum per betting round.

Pot Limit Hi/Lo Poker

The most popular form of online Omaha Hi/Lo poker, in Pot Limit, wager size is limited to however much is in the pot (e.g. if the pot total is $100, maximum bet size would be $100.)

The minimum bet in Pot Limit, at most poker sites, is the same as the size of the big blind.

No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker

In No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker, as the name suggests, there are no limits to the bet sizes – players can wager the total amount of chips they have available.

Stud Poker

A variation in which players receive a combination of face-up and face-down cards

One of the earliest online poker variants, stud refers to a poker variation in which players are dealt a combination of both face-up and face-down cards. The most popular variation is by far 7-card stud.

Seven-Card Stud

In 7-card stud, players are dealt a total of – you guessed it – seven cards of the course of each game. The cards are dealt sporadically, with rounds of betting in between each.

At the beginning of the game, each player will be dealt three cards – two face down, and one face up. The player showing the lowest face-up card is nominated as the first player to go, and a betting round commences. This step is known as third street.

After the betting round commences, each player receives another face-up card, which is called fourth street. After this deal, the first player to go is the one whose two face-up cards have the highest value.

This process of dealing and betting continues until each player has seven total cards, at which point the remaining players show down, and the best five-card poker hand wins.

Read our guide to seven-card stud poker to learn more and find where to play.

3-Card Poker

Poker meets blackjack in this speedy online poker variant

3-card, sometimes known as tri-card, is an online poker game in which the dealer is your only opponent. Once both the dealer and the player ante up, three cards are dealt to each. If the player chooses to “play” (as opposed to folding), wagers are made, the hands are revealed, and the best 3-card hand wins the pot.

3 card poker seems – and is – relatively simple, there are further layers that can complicate the game, and all of which are worth learning. There are three primary points we recommend keeping in mind if you’re considering 3 card poker:

• If a player wants to “play”, they must place a bet, and this bet must be equal to the ante
• For a dealer to qualify for play, they must have Queen-high or better. If they do not, and the player made a “play” wager, the player wins.
• Depending on the casino, some additional wagering options are present, such as Pairs Plus, or Ante Bonus. Make sure you know the rules of your game type before you start wagering.

To learn more about bet types, how to master the game, and where to play, read our guide to 3 card poker.

Draw Poker

Make the best five-card hand by drawing (exchanging) your cards

While there are several variations of draw poker available online, 5-card draw is by far the most well-known variant and one of the most popular. In 5-card draw, players are each dealt five cards, all of which are face down. There is a round of betting, followed by each player’s opportunity to exchange as many of their cards as they’d like, followed by one more betting round. After this final betting round, the cards are revealed and the best hand wins the pot.

Five-Card Draw Poker

As we said above, five-card draw is a simple & classic game. Read our five card poker guide in order to learn winning hands, strategy, and where to play.

2-7 Triple Draw Poker

A slightly more complicated version of draw poker, three drawing rounds give you additional betting opportunities. This is what’s known as a ‘lowball’ variant of poker, in which the winning hand has the lowest five unique cards.

2-7 Single Draw Poker

Another variant of 2-7, single draw is played in a no-limit betting format, rather than fixed limit. Single draw only has – you guessed it – one round of drawing, meaning bet sizes play a huge role in strategy.

Badugi Poker

This is a quirky draw game. The idea is to make a ‘Badugi’ – four cards of different suits. The lowest hand wins, meaning A-2-3-4 of different suits is the best possible hand.

HORSE Poker

A combination of five different poker variants, played one after another

HORSE is an acronym for a mixed game with the five different variations of poker: Hold’em, Omaha, Razz (a form of Stud poker), Seven Card Stud, and Eights or Better (Stud Hi/Lo). Before playing HORSE, you should familiarize yourself with all five of these variants.

Fixed limits and hole cards are consistent throughout all five games, but things like community cards, high hand rankings, and blinds will vary depending on which round or game you’re on.

In a typical game of HORSE, each player deals one round of Hold’em before moving on to Omaha. If there are six people playing, you’ll play six rounds of Hold’em before moving on, then six rounds of Omaha, and so on. In Live Dealer HORSE, the dealer will call out when the game switches, and in online casino HORSE the top of the screen will show which round and game you’re on.

Be sure to study the five types of poker in HORSE before playing! Being unfamiliar with any of them is a surefire way to lose your bankroll.

To learn more tips and tricks, check out our full guide to learn more about HORSE poker.

Follow the Queen

A variant full of twists and turns that make use of wild cards

If you like being kept on your toes, Follow the Queen might be the right game for you. This game is a variant of 7-card stud that makes use of wild cards.

To begin, every player must bet. The dealer will deal two cards face down and one card face up, and the player with the highest face-up card begins the betting round. The dealer deals another card face up and repeats the process until everyone has four cards face up and two cards face down. The 7th card can either be dealt face-up or face down, but it’s best to get it face down. While the cards are being dealt, if a Queen is dealt face-up, the Queen and whichever card follows are wild.

For example: If player 1 is dealt a Queen and player 2 is dealt a 10, both Queens and 10s become wild cards and can represent any card value. Only one card other than Queen can be wild at a time, so in the following round if player 2 is dealt a Queen and player 3 is dealt a 4, Queen and 4 become the new wild cards, and all 10s are no longer wild.

If no Queens are dealt face-up, only the Queens that are face down will be considered wild. If a Queen is the last card to be dealt, there will be no wild cards. Any previous wild cards will no longer be wild, and Queens won’t be wild either.

The winner is whoever can make the best 5 card hand in the end.

Jacks or Better

Someone must be dealt a pair of Jacks, or better, to begin

To start, every player has to bet, and the dealer will give everyone five cards face down. A player can only open the betting round if they have a pair of Jacks or better, hence the name. If no players have a pair of Jacks, everyone has to fold, ante again, and will be dealt five new cards.

If anyone is able to open with a pair of Jacks or better, the hand will be played as 5 card draw. The player with the best 5-card hand wins. The next round is played as Queens or better.

This version can be played in a few different ways. To get the game going faster if nobody has a pair of Jacks, you can play the hand as lowball and resume with Queens or better on the next round. You can also add “legs”, which makes it so a player has to win X number of hands before they can take the pot.