7 Types of Poker You Can Play for Free at Sweepstakes Casinos Right Now

Hold’em is the most popular poker variant online. The game is played with a 52-card deck, and each player is dealt two hole cards visible only to them, with five community cards spread face up on the table over three streets.

There are many ways to play Hold’em. You can force others to fold or match. There’s also an option to bet between each street. The goal is to construct a five-card poker hand from the seven you’re dealt (two initial cards and five community cards). You can choose to use one whole card or even none at all.

The game begins at the pre-flop stage and progresses to flop, turn, and then river. After the last social betting round, all cards will be turned face-up for the showdown. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. You can win before the showdown if other players fold.

Regarded as the second most popular poker game after Texas Hold’em, Omaha has a few similarities with Hold’em. Here, you must combine hole cards and community cards to create the best 5-card hand.

Unlike Texas Hold’em, Omaha players are dealt four-hole cards. You must use two out of it to get your 5-card hand.

Like in Texas Hold’em, the minimum social bet amount you’re allowed to have is equal to the big blind. For context, if you’re playing a $1/$2 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), the minimum would be $2. Simply put, social betting is limited by the pot size, just as the name implies.

This poker variant entails players receiving four cards as their initial hand. However, each player must use a specified combination of five cards. These include any two out of their hand and three from the community cards to form the best five-card low hand and five-card poker hand.

Omaha Hi-Lo is usually played with a qualifier for the low hand. This means that for a low hand to qualify, it must have five non-paired cards lower than a specified rank. If the low hand qualifies (Eight or Better), the coin pot will be won by only the best high hand.

In Omaha Hi-Lo, each player can compete for and win the Hi and the Lo hands. You can use the same cards from your hand for Hi and Lo hands. There’s also an option to use a different card to form the two different hands.

Stud poker is a bit different from Hold’em and Omaha. Here, you don’t play with community cards. Players are dealt seven individual cards during the hand. Three of these cards are visible to other players, while four will be hidden.

Stud poker, popularly called Seven Card Stud, is played with a deck of 52 cards. After the seven cards have been dealt, you need to form the best possible five-card hand.

Each stud player will post an ante worth about 5% of the bet. This differs from Omaha and Texas Hold’em, where two players on the left side post blinds. Winning hands follow the same rankings as other poker variations, from royal flush down to the lowest pair. The player with the best ranking hand will win the round.

Playing Stud Hi-Lo is simple. The best low hand wins half of the virtual coin pot, while the best high hand wins the other half. However, before you can win with a low hand, you must qualify with a minimum of five cards below 8.

Stud Hi-Lo uses the A-to-5 lowball rankings for low hands. Simply put, flushes and straights don’t count against your hand. Note that you can win the low and high parts of the pit in this game. This is called scooping. For context, the best high hand will scoop the entire pot if there’s no qualifying low hand (five cards below 8).

You’ll get three cards in Stud Hi-Lo, including one face-up door card and two face-hole cards.

2-7 Single draw poker is played in mixed cash games. The hand starts with each player receiving five cards, all face down. This poker variant uses the big blind, small blind, or button system. You’ll know this system if you’re a fan of Pot-Limit Omaha or No-Limit Hold’em.

The first betting round will start once each player has been dealt five cards. Each player will get the chance to fold, raise, or bet, depending on what the previous action is.

After the first betting round, the remaining players will start the drawing round and declare the number of cards they want to replace with new cards or discard. You can also stand pat and keep all your five original cards without discarding any of them. There’s also an option to discard all five cards. The last round follows, and if there are two or more players after the last round, the hand goes to showdown. Finally, the pot will go to the player with the best five-card poker hand after all cards have been turned up.

Often, when people hear the word poker, they usually think about Hold’em. However, many poker fans are exploring other variants. Mixed game poker is a collection of other variations played in rotation in one session or tournament.

These poker games combine various formats, promoting versatility. Some poker games you’ll find in this variant include Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Stud Eight or Better, No-Limit Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Omaha.