ARTICLES
There's more to poker than Texas Holdem!
Texas holdem is taking over the world, but believe it or not there are many other poker games you can play. Most of them fall into one of three categories:
- Stud Games (for example 7 card stud)
- Draw Games (for example 5 card draw)
- Shared Hand Games (for example Texas Holdem)
There are also some other obscure games that don't fit into these categories, some of the more popular of which are high/low pig, bid poker and guts. In almost all types of poker game the hand rankings are the same, with a very few minor exceptions which have become more or less “home-made” rules.
Here are brief descriptions of some different poker games:
5 Card Draw Poker
Played by 3 - 7 players. Each is dealt five cards and there is a round of betting based on the hands. After the betting players can now put up to three cards back in exchange for new ones. (There's one exception where a player can exchange four cards if he shows the fifth to be an ace).
There's a further round of betting and the best hand wins. Draw poker was once the standard way to play but it has of course been...
Read more
Pot Odds – Your Secret Poker Weapon
Pot odds is one of the most neglected aspects of Texas Holdem poker, especially by the beginner and intermediate player. Some poker beginners have heard the term and a few even have a basic concept of what pot odds are, but very few of these players know how to put them to good use in a poker game.
However knowing how to calculate and use pot odds is one of the crucial weapons that serious poker players have in their armory, one that most definitely separates them from the amateur.
Poker pot odds are often associated with complex mathematical calculations and the less serious player can feel overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling such a subject, but don’t fret, do you really think that to be a serious poker player you need to be a genius at mathematics? Do you think all the poker pros are?
Well of course the answer is that they are most definitely not all geniuses, but what they do have is a method of calculating the odds quickly and easily to see if they are in their favor in any given situation. So let’s look at a simple, basic way of calculating the odds, remember it needs to...
Read more













