The online poker industry has grown so much in recent years. From Virtual Reality poker games to online sit & go tournaments, there’s a wealth of choices available to today’s online gamer.
Alongside the ever-growing list of poker gaming experiences that are available online, more and more operators are choosing to produce games that follow the rules of different poker variants. Texas Holdem is no longer the main poker game on the block, nowadays, there are a lot more variants that players can access.
In this article, we’ll be looking at three of the most popular online poker variants that are available to play on platforms and mobile gaming apps right across the globe.
Texas Holdem
The variant that’s played in all the major marquee poker events, Texas Holdem is also the world’s most popular form of online poker. Log in to any regulated online platform and you will see that most of the poker games they offer are based on Texas Holdem rules. Being such a ubiquitous variant, there’s also a wide selection of Texas Holdem games with varying stakes, ranging from freeroll poker to pro-level events.
Widely known as the “Cadillac of Poker” Texas Holdem is also one of the easiest variants for beginners to get to grips with. To begin the game, all players at the table are dealt two cards. Then, throughout four betting rounds, they need to use the five community cards to either wager, bluff, or check their way to the top.
Holdem’s relative simplicity also makes it a game that you can easily get better at the more you play. Plus, the sheer amount of resources that are now available, which focus on everything from the basic elements right the way through to advanced strategy make it a game that anyone with the slightest bit of interest in poker will be able to play.
7- Card Stud
Before Texas Holdem came along and bumped it from the number one position, 7 Card Stud poker used to be the most common variation played throughout the globe. It may not be in as high demand as it once was, but this granddaddy of poker games is still widely available to play online.
Stud poker differs quite a bit from Holdem; instead of using hole cards and community cards to make a winning hand, in stud poker players receive their individual hands. Some of these cards are dealt face down, while some are dealt face-up. The objective of the game is still the same, to create the unbeatable 5-card hand, but how players get there follows a different process to Holdem.
Stud poker is a great variant for anyone with a knack for reading their opponents since you can only see a limited number of your opponents’ cards.
Omaha Hi
Widely regarded as the most second popular poker variant in the online realm, Omaha Hi is almost the same as Texas Holdem, except for one small difference: instead of 2 hole cards, 4 cards are dealt to each player.
This means it’s a variant that’s not just easy for poker novices to learn, but it’s also a good one for more experienced players to take a break with by playing. The skills that you build up by playing Omaha Hi directly translate to your abilities on the Holdem table – and vice versa – so it’s a popular variant to mix things up with.