1. Stud Poker – Stud poker is mainly characterized by the way the cards are dealt to each person: there are cards dealt facing up and cards dealt facing down. There are no community cards. Stud poker has several sub-variations, including Five Card Stud and Seven Card Stud.
2. Draw Poker – The main appeal of Draw poker is that players can exchange up to three cards that have been dealt to them for something else on the deck. Five to seven cards are dealt to each player, face down, and they have the option to discard a card and draw one more, hence the name Draw poker. This game also has several sub-variations, including Five Card Draw and Seven Card Draw.
3. Texas Hold’em – Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant nowadays, played in every major casino in the world and even the variant used in televised tournaments. Hold’em is played with two face down cards per player and five community cards. Players may form their final hands with any number of cards from the deal or the community cards. Highest hand during showdown wins.
4. Omaha High – Omaha Hold’em is very similar to Texas Hold’em, except that each player gets dealt four (instead of two) face down cards, and they are obligated to use two cards from those they were dealt and three cards from the community cards to form their final hand. Highest hand during showdown wins.
5. Lowball Poker – Instead of the typical poker games that play for the high hand during showdown, lowball poker is won by having the lowest possible hand, such as 2 3 4 5 6 7.

1. HORSE Poker – The word “HORSE” is actually an acronym for the five poker variations played in this type of mixed game: Texas Hold’em, Omaha High, Razz Poker, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Eight-High. All five games are played consecutively. The number of times each game is played depends on the number of players participating in the game. If there are 8 players, then there will be eight rounds of H – O – R – S – E. This is probably one of those times when the more does NOT mean the merrier.

SHOE or HOSE Poker – These two types of mixed games can be used interchangeably because they incorporate the same variations. The only difference is the order in which the games are played, because the order follows the acronym. In this type of mixed game, the variations of poker played are:  Texas Hold’em, Omaha High, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Eight-High. The same rules of play apply – the number of rounds is based on number of players participating.

Of the many poker variations the group called stud poker. In this poker variation, the players receive hole cards, some which are faced up while others are faced down. The American Revolutionary war saw the emergence of the three-card poker which was played by the soldiers during their free time. The five-card variation was developed during the American Civil War. The recent decades, the seven-card variation rose to popularity and was played in casinos and homes.

Stud poker is played in different ways. It can be no limit or pot limit if there are less betting rounds. For variations with more betting rounds, the fixed limit or the spread limit is used. Adding the Joker or creating wild cards creates different variations. In the Low hole card wild the lowest downcard of a player is considered his wild card. In Follow the Queen, the card that follows a Queen is considered wild. The most popular in the bunch is the seven-card variation which is widely played today. The list includes the Mississippi stud, Mexican Stud, Blind Stud among others.

After trying all the different variations, we were all tired and happy. Some of us won while others were not so lucky. Maybe next time we’ll try another variation.

With all the poker variations, it is easily get lost among them. Five Card poker has a Lowball variation that got a lot of people into it. The Lowball variation is played like an ordinary five-card poker game. Each player is dealt with five hole cards all face down. After each hand, a betting round occurs and it all ends in a showdown where the winner will be determined. The twist in Lowball is that instead of the highest hand winning, the lowest hand is declared the winner. The combination A-2-3-4-5 is considered the lowest hand. This is a ace to five straight or simply called as the bike or wheel. The lowest hand is sometimes considered as the worst in other games. If that is the case, then the winning combination should be A-2-3-4-6 with different suits.

The rules are simple. With all else being the same, playing will surly be another treat. You’ll just have to make sure that you have the lowest hand in order to win. Agree on how you will determine the lowest hand. Try playing Lowball with your friends as a break from the usual poker that you play. Trying the different variation will educate you and will also help you determine which one is best for you.

The first thing you do when you are seated is to give the Ante which is a forced bet. This usually has the smallest value or a proportion of the bet and is given before the start of a round. Another form of a forced bet is the blind. The Hole cards are the cards that are drawn to every player. A separate community card/s is/are drawn that could be used by any player to form his hand. The first three cards that are dealt face up are collectively called the flop. The players would place a bet which is usually in the form of money or chips that are wagered for a round. The fourth community card dealt is called the turn or fourth street. The final or fifth community card is called the river or the fifth street. After each community card is drawn, except for the river, a betting round follows where the player can call, check, raise or fold.

Calling means matching a bet or a raise. On the other hand, the check means a pass or to not bet anything. A raise increases the bet needed to keep playing.  If you don’t feel that you have the better hand, you can fold which is to let go of your stakes in the pot.

There are thousands of other terms available and it takes time to know all of them. Actually you might not even encounter all of them. Just know the usual and enjoy the game.

The Ace is called a lot of names like Bullet, Spike and Mastercard. Surprisingly, some the terms used for the Queen are quite unpleasant. The Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts and the King of Diamonds are often called the one-eyed royals. One of the AA combination’s many names is Needles since they look like needle. I don’t really get it but that’s how others call it. Brokeback is one of the names given to the KK combination which was inspired from the movie Brokeback Mountain. The QJ or Quack makes it easy to remember since it resembles a bird’s sound.

The A2345 is often called the Bicycle. Three aces are collectively known as the Beatles Reunion. Even the 666 combination has the dark connotation since it is called the Devil or Lucifer. The AA23 channels the inner Star Wars fan in a player since it is called Princess Leia. Elizabeth Taylors 7^th husband Larry Fortensky has his own set of cards with the combination TTTT. The collection of four threes are called the forest.

The long list goes on for these nicknames. Pretty sure that more will be made in the coming years as new players join the bandwagon in the exciting world of poker.

No one knows exactly where the game came from, or who developed it to be such the game that we know of today, for that matter. What is written around is that a popular 90s poker player, Robert turner, was the one who first got casinos to offer the Omaha Hold’Em to their players. At the time it was still called Nugget Hold’Em, and the name Omaha Hold’Em came in later. It has been in casinos ever since, and so it is safe to say that it is one of the newest developments of poker.

What makes this game more difficult than Texas Hold’Em is the fact that you can only use a very specific number of cards from your hand and from the board to form the hand that you will be playing in the game. A player playing Omaha Hold’Em is dealt four hole cards instead of the usual two, and they are not to burn the extra cards, but they are not to use them either: a player must figure out which two he would like to use for the game within the course of the game. The table is then dealt the same number of community cards as in Texas Hold’Em, and what a player needs to do is to be able to form a hand out of exactly two of the four door cards and exactly three of the community cards dealt to the table. This is why if you are not quite a seasoned player, you definitely do not want to make this your first game. If you’re up for a challenge though, then this game is for you.

Poker has always involved bluffing and strategizing, but the very structure of community poker gives it an edge: the players are given more chances to study their opponents, to plot their moves, and to bet wisely. This is because the players are dealt incomplete hands, and to complete the hands, they must rely on the community cards – these are cards that belong to all the players – dealt to the table. The community cards represent equal opportunity, and the cards in each player’s hands represent their edge, which makes it all the more interesting to strategize one’s bluff. The fact that the cards are not dealt all at once also gives the players more chances to observe their opponents and their moves, giving them an idea as to what hands they might go on to play.

The origins of community poker trace itself back to stud poker. Some may even argue that community poker is just one of the variations of stud poker, but this is not a fair argument anymore, as many games now fall under community poker and thus, this variation is recognized as a major variant on its own. What we do know of the game is that it is perhaps the most recent evolution, only beginning in the turn of the twentieth century while the other games began way ahead. Still, community poker offers the players the most popular game right now, the Texas Hold’Em. Expect this game to evolve in the decades to come, just like its predecessors, as poker is continuously evolving with the rest of the world.