Poker can be enjoyed in many ways: in tournaments, in recreational games, in clubs, live, online… But what determines first of all the player’s choice is the modality. Different types of poker coexist today and for a long time: Texas Hold’em and Omaha are the best known, but there are also fans of Chinese poker, Caribbean poker, strip poker, 5-Card Stud… and, in turn, different modalities within these variants.
What different types of poker exist?
Let’s start first with the types of poker according to variants:
- Texas Hold’em. This is the most played modality worldwide. The Texas variant is characterized by basing its dynamics on the distribution of two cards per player, with which each of the participants must shape the best hand with the five community cards that will be dealt in different rounds: flop (three cards), turn (one card) and river (one card).
- Omaha poker. Omaha poker shares the same premise as Texas Hold’em, but has the difference that it establishes a certain proportion of poker cards that each player must use to form the hand. While that proportion is free in Texas Hold’em, in Omaha that rule must be fulfilled for the hand to be accepted. Otherwise, no matter how correct the combination of cards is, it will not be accepted.
- Open Face Chinese. Chinese poker is based on the creation of three different hands from 13 cards dealt. These three hands must have a specific number of cards to be admitted: the first hand must have 3 cards, the second 5, and the third 5.
- Caribbean poker. It is, perhaps, the poker variant with the least strategic component according to some purists. In Caribbean poker, players set an initial bet and receive cards that can be exchanged. The winner is the one who manages to form the best hand according to the poker hand ranking.
- Strip Poker. It is a modality based on the game Truth or Garment, except that here the losers are obliged to systematically remove an article of clothing after each round they do not win. It is not a type of poker accepted in casinos and poker rooms, but at a recreational level or with friends, it can be a different alternative to everything else.
- 5-Card Stud. It is the most deeply rooted type of poker in the United States, in spite of being the cradle of Texas Hold’em. The 5-Card Stud, or 5-card rule, is the basis of Street poker. With 4 betting rounds, in this type of game the players receive two cards, one public and one covered that only the player sees. The player with the lowest face card is the one who starts talking, and is obliged to place a mandatory bet depending on the ante. In the next round, the players receive another face-up card. In total, players will have four face cards and one deck.
- 7-Card Stud. Similar to 5-Card Stud, in this mode players are dealt a total of seven cards. The objective is the same: to obtain the highest hand of the seven available. It is a fixed stakes game.
Most popular poker variants
These are the most popular poker variants. But within the poker modalities, Texas Hold’em and Omaha are the most popular ones. However, these modalities are the ones that admit different types of games, depending on the betting limits. For example, in Texas Hold’em games we can find No Limit Hold’em (NLH), or in Omaha poker we can play PLO (Pot Limit Omaha), No Limit Omaha (NLO), or Omaha Hi / Lo games, where not only the highest hand is sought, but also the lowest.
These requirements in some poker game types are a way to add excitement to the game through rules designed to maintain a balance and make all players have an equal chance. In pot limit games, everyone can bet a maximum of the amount currently in the pot. In no-limit games, everyone is free to place the bets they think best.
This allows players who want to play different poker variants of the same modality to have different ways of doing it, preventing them from falling into routine and boredom. In addition, these modalities that exist within the known poker variants allow adjusting the preferences of the participants in terms of the caliber of bets and other aspects related to the game.
