Poker is a family of card games that more or less share the same rules with slight differences. The basic difference of the various poker games is the way cards are dealt. In most modern poker games or online poker games the first round of bets starts off with a shape of forced bets. Each and every poker player can either match the bet, raise the bet or increase the bet. One particular betting round ends when all players have matched the last bet or folded. If all players besides one fold on one round; the remaining player collects the pot without having to show his hand. If there is more than one player(s) still in after the final betting round, hands are shown and the winning hand will take away the pot. This is what makes poker different from other poker games and that’s what categorizes it to not be 100% gambling. There is a minor exception of initial forced bets which means that money is placed in the pot at each individual’s good will. Although the outcome of any poker hand relies on luck the long run outcome of the games is clearly dependant to the game pattern of the player and his psychology.
Poker comes in different variations, all following a similar philosophy and a similar pattern in general. There is a hand raking hierarchy which is the base of the game, that from where everything begins to follow a certain pattern. We have listed the top card rooms offering quality online poker games where you can easily sign up and enjoy internet poker at its very best. The table represents columns which present the amount of sign up bonus; flags noted with a faded flag do not accept players from the U.S. If you live in the USA you should visit the US poker rooms section where we list exclusive poker bonus deals for US players solely.
| Card Room | Poker Bonus | US Players | Bonus Code | In Depth Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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$600
|
 |
STARS600 | Poker Stars |
 |
$400
|
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Auto | Lucky Ace Poker |
 |
$1100
|
|
LUCKYROOMUB | Ultimate Bet |
 |
$600
|
|
LUCKYROOM | Full Tilt Poker |
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$600
|
|
Auto | Titan Poker |
 |
$500
|
|
Embedded | Bwin Poker |
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$500
|
|
LUCKYROOM | Party Poker |
 |
$600
|
|
LUCKYROOM | Cake Poker |
 |
$600
|
|
Embedded | William Hill Poker |
A deck of cards has to be one of the most versatile playing implements ever invented, out of one simple deck of 52 cards with 2 Jokers, more games have been invented than the Nevada desserts grains of sand. One book alone list 200 different poker games and this is Ernest, Foglio & Selinker’s “Dealer’s Choice”. Whatever game of poker you choose, there is something for everyone and if it is Texas Holdem or Five Card Stud, once you have mastered these games. There are still a lot more for you to learn and they can all be found in online poker rooms and casinos. Games such as Omaha, and even Crazy Pineapple are both variation of poker and there are many more, so you will find one you feel most at home with. Having all these choices allows you to vary your game and this is stimulating. Although there are certain parallels between poker games they are all different, and strategies which can be used in one game, may help you win in another online version. If Omaha is your strongest poker game, playing Texas Holdem may improve your strategy skills and vice versa. Learning the rules of different variants give you a look at the game from a slightly different angle. It is for this reason that poker is called the thinking mans (or woman’s) game. When you download games from the more reputable poker sites, most of these are real money games. But some will allow you to play for free until you have hang of it, and this helps too.
Texas Holdem of all poker played throughout the world, whether on or offline, Texas Holdem is certainly the most popular. Players are each dealt 2 hole cards and a hand of 5 community cards are dealt to the board. Four rounds of betting takes place and in the case of a showdown the prize pot goes to the highest hand. Texas poker games are the most popular and if a person talks about poker they are generally referring to Texas poker.
Omaha second only in popularity to Texas Holdem is Omaha, this is a popular poker variant and plays out along similar lines to Holdem. The most significant differences are that four hole cards are dealt and two of these have to be used together with 3 community cards to form a five card poker hand. This game is played mostly with a pot limit or fixed pot.
Omaha High/Low As another variation of Omaha, High/Low splits the prize pot, half to the lowest hand and half to the highest. The lowest hand possible in this game is A2345, and flushes as well as straights are ignored. The low hand is also not allowed to contain cards over the number 8 and for this reason the game is often referred to as being “eight-or-better. In the case of no low hand the highest hand will win the entire prize pot.
Seven Card Stud Poker In the North American continent, Seven Card Stud is the most traditional game of poker played. This is the game which is played most frequently at the kitchen table and most likely to be taught by parents and grandparents. One open card and two concealed cards are dealt, then each player successively receives another three open cards and a final face down card. This game has five betting rounds.
Seven Card Stud High/Low The concept of high/low is the same in this game as it is in Omaha and again the lowest hand attainable is the A2345 combination. The eight is also the qualifier for the low hand and the pot is shared 50/50 between the high and low hand winners. If no low hand is available the highest hand gets the prize.
Razz is essentially just Seven Card Stud and this is the colloquial name of the game. It is played the same only the lowest hand is the winner and it takes all. There are no high hands in this game so there is also no 8 as a qualifier for a low hand. Play this variation of poker online and you will find it is a real money game.
Crazy Pineapple In recent years, playing Crazy Pineapple has become increasingly popular. Three hole cards are dealt to each player and after the flop bet has been placed, each player may discard 1 card. After that the game is played in precisely the same way as Texas Holdem.
5 Stud or Five Card Stud poker sees each player receiving 1 face-down card, and one face-up or open card. Three cards are then dealt successively and openly and betting takes place in a total of 4 rounds. The highest hand is the winner of the prize pot in this game.
Five Card Draw This game is classic poker at its best, this is how purists describe or what they expect of a game of poker. Five cards are dealt to each player, face down and after the first round of betting, players may discard any number of cards. They then draw the same amount from the pack to make a poker hand. The last bet then takes place and then the showdown.
2-7 triple Draw This game enjoys huge popularity amongst professional poker player who play for high stakes. It is similar to 5 Card Draw however each player may draw new cards three times instead of only the once. The lowest hand in this game is the winner again and Aces are high. The lowest hand attainable in 2-7 Triple
Draw is 2-3-4-5-7, hence the name of the game.
A-5 Lowball This game of poker is similar to the abovementioned 2-7 Triple Draw, only this time Aces are low. Cards are all dealt concealed and five cards are used, they are also able to be exchanged three times in all before the showdown. In A-5 Lowball the lowest winning hand is A-2-3-4-5, which again shows us how the name is derived.
HORSE, SHOE, RASH, HO, HA, 8-game This is a mish-mash of poker games, and professional poker players agree they are the best of the best. This is a 8-game specialty and is famous for being played during Poker Stars. They are basically named after the abbreviations for the games as in H = Holdem, R = Razz, O = Omaha and so on. You probably get the picture, and during one seven mixed game event, someone came up with a really funny and very appropriate acronym for the event and called it “HOTARSE”!!
Straight When an all around complete hand is dealt to each player and players in return bet in one round with raising; and re-raising permitted. This is considered to be the oldest variations of all the games and it is also known as Primero. A game that evolved during the American Revultionary War as a primary gentleman’s game.
Stud On a Stud game cards are dealt in a preorganized philosophy of face-down and face-up rounds or “streets”, with a round of betting following each. Stud is the next oldest family of all the poker games; As poker has changed over time and it has evolved to be one of the most ever changing card game Stud changed from three to five card hands, dealt either face-down or face-up, with a betting round between each. The most popular of all the stud variants today, Seven-card stud, deals two extra cards to each player (three facedown, four faceup) from which they must make the best possible 5-card hand.
Draw A complete hand is dealt to each and every poker player, face-down. After betting, poker players are allowed to try to change their hand (with the object of improving it) by dumping unwanted cards and being dealt new ones. Five-card draw is the most famous variation in this family.
Community This is a clear variation of Stud. Poker players are dealt an incomplete hand of face-down cards, and then a number of face-up – community cards are dealt to the center of the table, of which each card can be used by one or more of the poker players to make a 5-card hand. Texas hold-em and Omaha are two well-known variants of the Community family.
Video Poker Other poker games that use poker hand rankings may likewise be referred to as “poker” games. Video poker is one of them; the game itself is a single-player computer game that operates much like a slot machine; most video poker machines play draw poker, where the player bets, a hand is dealt, and the player can discard and replace cards. Payout is dependent on the hand resulting after the draw and the player’s initial bet.
Strip poker This is really a traditional poker game variation where players remove clothing when they lose bets. Since it really depends only on the basic mechanic of betting in rounds, strip poker can be played with any form of poker; however, it is usually based on simple variants with few betting rounds, like five card draw.
Poker Games have found their place on the World Wide Web for good. The terms internet poker games or www poker games com is becoming more and more popular lately with the big poker rooms of the world like pokerstars seeing their online poker community getting larger and larger with more than 200,000 players online at any given time; Typically it is a breeze to download poker games to a PC so if you are new to the game simply click on the “Download” button and follow the prompts, which means clicking on the “Yes” answer a couple of times. The files of these games are not inordinately large and they will never infect your computer with viruses or spy-ware. Under each respective poker room review we have included an explanation process on how to download when we think that you might get a bit confused, so you can follow the guide and ensure smooth operation. Most poker pundits recommend that you should be an avid poker bonus hunter, so this may mean the download of a number of sites over the years, and this is simple to clean up; when you have got stuck with 15 different poker softwares on your PC making it more or less impossible for the PC to start up smoothly in the first place. Simply un-install the software by accessing “control panel” ‘add and remove” and instruct your pc to delete the files you no longer want. If you have more than one poker room downloaded, it may also be good idea to write down the usernames and passwords, but keep them safe, you don’t want another player or worse yet your teenageer son cleaning out your bankroll.