Online Poker Games
and Rules

By now, if you own a television, you've probably been exposed to Texas Holdem - the "Cadillac of Poker."

But there are many other fun and exciting poker games available online as well! And at the online poker rooms we recommend on this site, you can play most or all of them for small stakes - or for big money!

Here's a brief rundown of the online poker games you're likely to find at internet casinos - and how to play them.

TEXAS HOLDEM

Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Doyle Brunson - you know all the names. And probably you know them from watching them go toe-to-toe playing no-limit Texas Holdem on TV.

Texas Holdem is probably not the game you grew up playing with your friends - but it has become the most popular form of online poker, as well as the biggest draw at poker rooms worldwide. And that's probably because it's so easy to learn - and at the same time can provide some of the most dramatic moments you can possibly experience.

In Texas holdem, players are trying to make the best possible five-card poker hand from seven cards, two in their hand and five cards shared by the table.

To start, each player receives two cards face down, followed by a round of betting. Three community cards ("the flop") are then dealt to the middle of the table, with another round of betting; that's followed by a fourth community card ("the turn") and a round of betting, and a final community card ("the river) with a final round of betting.

The real challenge, and real thrill in Texas Holdem comes from strategy and the betting. That's because with two hole cards and five community cards, the game seems deceptively simple - but it takes real skill to compute the odds, and to "read" your opponent. And in "no-limit" games, where any player can bet all their chips at any time, even on a complete bluff - it can be the ultimate high!

OMAHA

Omaha poker is similar to Holdem poker, just a bit more complicated. Instead of receiving two "hole" card, each player receives four. And after the five community cards are dealt, each player's five-card poker hand must contain only two of his hole cards, and three of the community cards.

Omaha isn't as popular as Holdem, because it does take more thought and "planning" as the community card are dealt. But since you have the choice of any two of your four hole cards, the hand you're planning to play, and the whole game, can change dramatically as the community cards are dealt.

SEVEN CARD STUD

Seven card stud (and its little brother, five-card stud) has been surpassed in popularity these days. But it's probably one of the games that we were all familiar with as we grew up - and it's still a lot of fun to play.

Once again, the object for each player is to make his best five-card poker hand from a total of seven cards. But there are no community cards in stud poker - each player is dealt three cards, two face down and one face up, followed by betting. Then, for the next three rounds, each player is dealt one face-up card with betting after each card; finally, each player receives one more "down" card with a last round of betting.

HI/LO OMAHA OR STUD

A fun variation on either Omaha or Seven Card Stud is called "Hi/Lo" (or sometimes "8 or better). These games are played exactly the same as above, except that you are actually playing two hands at once - trying to make the best hand and trying to make the worst hand with the same cards! And at the showdown, the best and worst hands split the pot (unless there is no qualifying low hand, in which case the best hand takes the entire pot).

The "low" (or worst hand) is just what it sounds like, with one important qualification. You cannot have any card higher than an 8, in order to win the "low." So, for example, 7-6-5-3-A would beat 8-6-5-3-A, since the 8 is a better card than the 7. A hand of 9-6-5-3-A would not qualify, since there's a card higher than an 8 in it. You might say this is a game for pessimists as well as optimists!

OTHER ONLINE POKER GAMES

There are a number of other "novelty" types of poker games available at some online poker rooms. They range from Pai Gow ("Chinese Poker") where you are dealt 13 cards, and have to make the best three hands (two five-card hands and one three-card hand) from those 13 cards; Guts Poker, where you are dealt two or three cards, decide whether you are "in" or "out" and the high hand wins; and even Big 2 poker, a strange game where you start with 13 cards and in turn, start discarding poker hands with the object being to be the first one to get rid of all your cards. If exotic poker games are your thing, the best online poker room to find them is English Harbour Poker.