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The Various Types of Poker Games Played in India

The poker world is booming and blooming, both online & offline. With new platforms and tournaments being added to the already available roster, the game has also branched in many variations. Poker is no longer just the simple five-card draw game. It has diverged into all sorts of games with cards as well as betting system variations. So the next time someone brags about a variation they played last night, you can stun them with your extensive knowledge!

Texas Hold‘em

Due to its high usage in the World Series of Poker, this is the most recognizable of all the versions of Poker. Each player gets dealt two hole cards face down and there are five face-up ‘community’ cards. The first three community cards are called the flop. The fourth one is called the turn and the fifth one is the river. There are betting rounds before the flop, turn and after the river. The player has to combine his cards with the cards on the table. The one, who has the strongest combination, wins the round!

Omaha

This version is similar to Hold‘em only each player gets dealt with four instead of two hole cards. The table has the three community cards and the betting is done in the same way as Hold’em. Most online Poker rooms allow Pot limit Omaha cash games. This means that the player is not allowed to bet more money than there already is in the pot.

Seven card stud

Before Hold’em became famous, this was the most popular version of Poker. At the beginning of every round, each player gets dealt with three cards – Two face-down and one face-up. The betting starts with the player who has the weakest face-up card. The fourth, fifth and sixth cards are dealt face up and the seventh, face-down. There is a round of betting after each of these cards are dealt. The aim, as in Hold’em is to end up with the best five-card combination. However, there are no community cards dealt in this version of the game.

Razz

Like the Seven card stud, Razz is also played with seven cards. In this game, the first two and the seventh card are dealt face down. However, this is a lowball game. This means, that the lowest hand amongst the players will win. You would want to avoid hitting a pair here. The best hand is considered to be A-2-3-4-5 (a wheel). The World Series of Poker also holds a Razz bracelet event.

Five card draw

This version of Poker is played more for fun and less on competitive fronts. It is also one of the simplest versions of the game. Every player gets dealt with five cards face down. All players get the opportunity to draw cards from the top of the deck. They have to take cards off the top of the deck and replace them with the same number below. Bets are placed before and after the draw. The winner is the one with the strongest combination of five cards.

HORSE

This is one of the most complex versions of the game because you need to be adequately good with five versions of poker to be able to play this. HORSE keeps cycling between these five variants –

• H for Hold’em
• O for Omaha Hi-low
• R for Razz
• S for Seven-card stud
• E for Seven for stud Eight

All the five versions are played as limit games. This means that players can only make a predetermined size of the bet.

Chinese Poker

Popular due to its simplicity, Chinese Poker is a card game based on poker hand rankings. The rules are simple – only a basic knowledge of poker hand rankings is needed to get started. Poker professionals play it during their downtime. It is played between 2-4 players and doesn’t require any chips or betting.

These were some of our favourite variations of the poker game in India. What is yours? Do you know of any other variation that we might have missed out on? If yes, then do let us know in our comments section!

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