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List of poker variants
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The card game of poker has many variations, most of them created in the United States in the mid-1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.
three most popular poker variants are spread in casinos and poker rooms worldwide and can be divided into the following groups:
Here are more common rule variations:
- High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot.
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Encyclopedia
The card game of poker has many variations, most of them created in the United States in the mid-1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.
Popular poker variants
The three most popular poker variants are spread in casinos and poker rooms worldwide and can be divided into the following groups:
Here are more common rule variations:
- High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot. Generally there is a qualifier for the low hand. For example, the low hand must have 5 cards with ranks of 8 or less. In most high-low games the usual rank of poker hands is observed, so that an unsuited broken straight (7-5-4-3-2) wins low (see Morehead, Official Rules of Card Games). In a variant, based on Lowball, where only the low hand wins, a straight or a flush does not matter for a low hand. So the best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, suited or not.
- Lowball (poker): The lowest hand wins the pot. There are different rules about whether or not aces count as low, and the effects of straights and flushes. The most common variants are Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw
- Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
- 'Kill game'. When a fixed limit game is played and a player wins two pots in a row, the stakes are doubled. In some split-pot games (e.g., Omaha), a player winning both halves of the pot may also cause a kill.
- Wild cards are added. This can range from simply making deuces wild to the wild 7-stud variant of baseball.
- A twist round in which players can buy another card from the deck. If a player does not like the purchased card, the player can purchase another one by adding money to the pot. This is sometimes called a "Tittle."
- A stripped deck may be used. Poker was first played with only 20 cards. In the spirit of poker history, players will sometimes only play with a stripped deck. A popular poker game in Spain is played with cards 8-A. It is played similar to hold'em, except that one card is dealt at a time and you must use both of your hole cards.
- Each player is dealt a certain number of cards. Then there is usually a number of community cards that all players can use. When forming a poker hand a player may use cards from his hand and the "community cards". Examples of community card poker include Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em.
Mixed poker games
Poker can be played in a mixed game format, for example one half hour of Texas hold 'em followed by one half hour of Seven-card stud. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is H.O.R.S.E poker. H.O.R.S.E is a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, Razz, Seven-card stud and Seven Card Stud Eight-or-better. Each game will usually be played for a fixed number of hands or time and then the players will move on to the next game.
Other mixed games include:
- H.O.S.E - same as H.O.R.S.E, except without Razz.
- H.O.E - same as H.O.R.S.E, except no Razz or Seven-card stud.
- H.O - Texas hold 'em and Omaha high-low
- O.E - Omaha high-low and Seven-card Stud Eight or better.
- H.A - Pot limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
- Omaha High-low Mixed - Fixed limit Omaha and pot limit Omaha high-low
- Holdem Mixed - Fixed limit and no limit Texas hold 'em.
- Eight Game Mix - Fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw, fixed limit Texas hold 'em, fixed limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, fixed limit Seven-card stud, fixed limit Seven-card stud Eight or better, no limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
Specific poker variant games
Some poker games just don't fit neatly into the above categories, and some have features of more than one of these categories. These variants are most often played in home games, usually as part of a dealer's choice format.
Stud Horse poker
Stud Horse poker was banned by California statute Section 330 in 1885, although no definition was given. In 1947, the attorney general of California ruled that stud horse poker was the same game as stud poker, and later the restriction on stud horse poker was removed.
Oxford stud
Though called "stud", this is a combination stud/community card game that was popular at MIT in the 1960s, in which players receive individual downcards, individual upcards, and community cards. Many variations on this are possible by changing what kinds of cards and how many are dealt in various rounds.
One difficulty with such a combination is deciding the betting order: in stud games, the player with the best upcards showing bets first in each round (except sometimes the first, where the worst upcard is forced to begin the betting with a Bring-in). In community card games, each betting round begins with the same player (because there generally are no upcards), making it more positional. Oxford stud chooses to use the players' individual upcards for determining order, which makes it play more like stud.
First, each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard as in seven-card stud, followed by a first betting round. Like stud, the game is usually played with a Bring-in, the lowest upcard being forced to pay it, and betting follows after that. After the first round is complete, two community cards are dealt to the table, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the highest-ranking incomplete poker hand (as in stud) made from his upcard plus the two community cards. For example, if one player has a K upcard, and a second player has a 7 upcard, and the community cards are T-7 (T = 10), the second player bets first (since he has a pair of 7s, and the other player only has K-high). Then a second upcard is dealt to each player, followed by a third betting round, again beginning with the player who can make the best partial hand with his two upcards and the board. Finally, a third community card is dealt to table, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Note that as with Mississippi stud, each player has five cards of his hand exposed at this point (two of his own plus three on the board), so it is possible for a flush or straight to be the high hand for the purpose of first bet. At showdown each player makes the best five-card hand he can from the four cards he is dealt plus the three community cards, in any combination. This game is usually played High-low split.
High Chicago or Low Chicago
Either of these two versions can be played in any stud high game. In High Chicago, or sometimes simply called Chicago, the player with the highest spade face down (referred to as in the hole) receives half the pot. In Low Chicago, the player with the lowest spade in the hole receives half of the pot, with the A? being the lowest. If the player with the highest hand also has the highest/lowest spade in the hole, then that player receives the entire pot - having won both sides of the bet.
Follow the Queen
This 7-card stud game uses a wild-card designated as whichever card is immediately dealt (exposed, or face-up) after any queen previously dealt (exposed). In the event that the final card dealt (exposed) is itself a queen, then all queens are wild. If no queens are dealt (exposed), then there are no wilds for that hand. Betting is the same as in normal 7-card stud games. Follow the Queen is a typical game variant in Dealer's Choice poker games.
Billabong (and Shanghai)
Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold 'em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard. Low upcard starts the betting with a Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card is dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.
Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three downcards and one upcard; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.
Guts
Guts is a family of games that are cousins of poker rather than poker variants. They involve hands of 3 or fewer cards, ranked similarly to hands in poker, and multiple successive rounds of betting each of which consist of the decision to be "in" or "out", and each with its own showdown. The losers of rounds of guts generally match or double the pot, which grows rapidly. For more details, see Guts (card game).
Kuhn poker
Kuhn poker, using a three card deck, is more of game theory problem than an actual game people play, but it can be played by two players.
See also
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