VARIETIES OF POKER The majority of new online poker players will choose Texas Hold’em because it is the best known game and it’s fast and furious. More experienced players will also play Omaha on occasion as it results in bigger and better hands. It’s slightly more demanding but has a character all of its own. However, the more traditional Seven Card Stud, is very much out of favour for some reason in the twenty first century. Never the less almost all of the big online poker sites run well attended games of Seven Card and it’s a game well worth trying if you like variety. For the benefit of young players among you who aren’t familiar with the game I thought I’d set out the basic differences which set Seven Card apart from its cousins.
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SEVEN CARD STUD There are no community cards in Seven Card Stud. Prior to the deal, each player places a small compulsory bet known as the “ante” (rather like the “blinds” in Texas Hold’em only in this case all players have to place an ante). The cards are then dealt until all players each have three cards in front of them. Two cards are dealt face down (hole cards) and the third card is dealt face up. The player with the highest face up card begins the betting which then progresses around the table with the player on his or her left reacting by “passing” (folding), calling (equalling the initial bet) raising or re-raising until all bets have been made. Of the four cards remaining to be dealt to each player still in the hand, the next three cards will be dealt face up and only the final and seventh card will be dealt face down. Each new card creates a new betting round with the object of the game being to form the best five card poker hand from the seven cards eventually made available. Seven Card Stud defines itself by the fact that the seventh card is dealt to each remaining player face down. It’s a great game and well worth trying and you can take a full, free tutorial before placing a single bet.
FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS Video poker is certainly the simplest and easiest form of poker you can find online. The trick with the game is to know when to re-draw, break or hold. You can practice this in freeplay until you get a handle on it. Basically you want to hold anything from two pair upwards. In ascending order that would be Three-of-a-kind, Full House (Three-of-a-kind plus a pair) Four-of-a-kind, a straight, flush, straight flush (a run of same suited cards) and naturally a Royal Flush. Good hands are worth gambling on for a bigger payout. Go for drawing hands that look realistically capable of being completed. If you have nothing obvious then draw five completely new cards. Don’t hold on to any sub-standard possibilities.
