Try These Different Variations Of Poker From The Classic Game

Poker variation was not a term I understood in my early poker days. The first poker game I learned to play was 7 card stud. For years more than I care to acknowledge, that was the only poker game (besides blackjack) that I knew how to play. And like anything that you get used to, it got a bit boring. But then I found online gambling and a world of poker variations opened up to me.

If you are stuck in a poker rut, why not try a few new hands? You will not only enjoy learning something new, but you might just find your winning game.

Texas Hold'Em might not be new to you. But if you haven't tried it, you should. It's all the rage in poker games in homes around the country. If you master it, you can win some serious cash, just look at the poker tournaments on television and the incredible pots up for grabs. And the good news is that it's easy to learn.

Texas Hold'Em involves forming the best hand that you can between the two cards in your hand and the five "community cards" on the table. The game has several rounds of betting; the "blinds," which require the two players to the left of the dealer to ante up (other can in certain versions, but these two must), after the hole cards are dealt, after the (the first three of five community cards), after the fourth community card is dealt (sometimes called the turn or fourth street card), and then after the fifth, or river card. The multiple rounds can get a huge pot going and gives you a chance to flex your bluffing skills.

Omaha poker, also called Omaha Hold'Em, is similar to Texas Hold'Em in that you are trying to form the best hand between your hole cards and the community cards. But the poker variation comes in the rules of how the hand is built. First, you get four hole cards instead of two. And second, you must use exactly two of your hole cards and exactly three of the community cards to form your hand. This can be frustrating when you have three of a kind in your hand and no matching card in the community cards!

For example, let's say you have ace, ace, ace, four in your hand. The community cards are two, five, seven, ten, king. Assuming you can't form a flush, your best hand is a pair of aces since you can only use two of your hole cards.

Finally, if there are three of a kind on the board, you must have a pair in your hand to get a full house. For example, if the community cards are jack, jack, jack, five, seven and you have a five and a two, you cannot get a full house. But if you had a pair of anything in your hand, you could. If you had a jack, you could also get four of a kind, since whatever the other card in your hand is would be the fifth card.

Other poker variations worth a try include Pai Gow, where you have to try to make two hands - a five card hand and a two card hand - that will beat the two hands the dealer makes. If you are better on one and the dealer on one, it's a push. You have two win both to win the pot. And just a side note you'll pay a slight commission to the dealer in this game. Or try 3 card poker (also called tri-card poker) where you and the dealer each get three cards and the best hand wins.

It's simple, and it's fast. Whatever poker variation you try, you're certain to find a new poker thrill.