Popular Online Poker Variants

The game of poker isn’t just all about Texas Hold’em, although admittedly that is the most popular variant of the game. There are actually loads of other different kinds of poker you can play online for real money and we’re about to show you them!

Let’s get Texas Hold’em out of the way first. Texas Hold’em is seen as the standard kind of online poker. There are three series of shared cards dealt in the middle of the table and bet on. You can use any combination of the five shared cards and your own two cards to make the best hand possible.

Omaha Hi

Omaha Hi shares some basics with Texas Hold’em like the betting structure but players get four of their own cards instead of just the two hole cards you have in Texas Hold’em.

Within the Omaha Hi poker game umbrella are standard Omaha and five card and six card Omaha.

Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha Hi/Lo is identical to Omaha Hi, except when it comes to the showdown battle at the end for the pot. Unlike other poker games, the pot is divided between the person with the highest value hand and the person with the lowest qualifying hand.

Not just any old low hand will win you the pot though, the hand has to have five different cards in it with no pairs and no single card above an 8.

Stud Hi

Stud Hi used to be the most popular poker game and if you’ve ever played a game of poker round at a friends house with a pizza and a few beers, then it was probably Stud Hi you were playing.

Also known as 7-Card Stud, this poker variant has more betting rounds than Texas Hold’em. Players can bet in up to five rounds.

Razz

Razz works practically in the same way as Stud poker but the idea is to make the lowest value five card hand you can.

Draw Poker

In Draw Poker you get to swap the cards in your hand for new ones. What makes the game interesting is that you draw the new cards that take the place of the old ones from a facedown deck. That means you can never be quite sure what’s going to come your way.

Mixed Games

Most top online poker rooms for South African players will also have a ‘Mixed Game’ section. These games let you play lots of different types of poker, all at the same table. The most popular mixed game is definitely HORSE, which is a combo of Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Stud Hi and Stud Hi/Lo.