Ever since the start of the 21st century, Texas Hold’em established itself as the most famous version of different poker game variations. The advent of mass media such as television and Internet did nothing but contribute to its popularity. But it is exactly because of this popularity that many players have grown tired of it. And the more popular something becomes the more challenging it is to remain on the sharp side of the edge. This in turn makes it harder to be on the winning side as much as one would want. That’s why we made this list of 3 poker game alternatives that may be, although not better, potentially slightly more profitable.
Pot Limit Omaha High Poker Game
The Pot Limit Omaha High is the first one to consider, because it has least differences to Texas Hold’em. It’s also the second most popular version of the game out there, particularly in Europe. One could even argue that it’s on a way to surpass it. What makes it good alternative to Texas Hold’em is the fact that you don’t have to start from scratch to learn the rules. But there are subtle differences which earned this game a title of most “action-packed” among poker game variations. Let’s dive into them.
How to Play
Unlike Texas Hold’em, when you play Omaha you start with four hole cards instead of two. And to form a hand you must combine two of your hole cards with three community ones. This allows for a much wider range of hands. That’s the reason why hand values also tend to be much higher in Omaha than in Texas Hold’em. And going on the “nuts” with higher hands occurs more frequently. The more cards that are dealt also make the game more analytical. This certainly helps if counting possibilities is your better side. The rules regarding betting can lead to very high pots, making it the most appealing aspect of game.
Pot Limit
The term “Pot-Limit” restricts your betting to the maximum size of the pot, so you can’t overbet it. That means you can’t move “all-in” like in Texas Hold’em but you build your hands incrementally. And while this may seem to slow down betting at first glance, it encourages the post-flop swelling of the pot. This in turn gives you confidence in preflop rounds because you know the “all-in” bets typical of Texas Hold’em won’t be coming.
The High in the title of the game refers to the fact that the best possible hand receives the entirety of the pot at showdown. And the way that the pot limit rule is structured gives you a better opportunity to control the pot size. Using good strategy, you can more easily minimize or maximize the pot in accordance with the strength of your hand. But if you’re still perfecting strategy then the low version of the game may be better option for you. That option being our second pick.
Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Game
After you familiarize yourself with Pot-Limit Omaha, understanding Omaha Hi-Lo shouldn’t be much of a problem. It also uses four cards, followed by four betting rounds with flop, turn and river. But unlike the High version, here the pot is split between the best high and the best low hand.
With the Omaha Hi/Lo poker, each player makes high and low hand using two hole and three community cards. This means that there can be two different winners that split the pot or one winner that gets both the best high hand and the best low hand. But for the low hand to qualify, the high card cannot be greater than eight. That’s why some people may also refer to Omaha Hi/Lo as Omaha 8 or better.
There can also be no low hands available. In case the community cards don’t contain at least three cards that have value of eight or lower, it won’t be possible for any player to make a low hand. In this case, the one with the high hand gets the pot. The other way one can get the whole pot is to have both the best high and low hand simultaneously. We call this “scooping”.
This may sound a bit confusing, but all it takes is a little practice to get a hang of it. And when you do, the wide array of possibilities that come with this format combined with the high stakes will surely make your play as enjoyable as possible.
7 Card Stud Poker Game
The last to make it to our list is the Seven-Card Stud. A poker game variation which stood at the forefront of most popular poker games decades before Texas Hold’em took hold. But that fading popularity is what brought it to this list. Because most people who play are taking break from Texas Hold’em and are less likely to be familiar with rules.
How to Play
You may have a little trouble with the basics if Hold’em is the only game you played. There are no community cards, and it is almost always played with betting limits.
Each player gets an individual hand, in which some cards will be face-down and the others face-up for the rest of the opponents to see. After every betting round an additional card is dealt until each player ends up with three cards down and four face-up. Using the seven cards available to them, the goal is to form the best possible five-card poker hand.
Strategy
The best strategy you should use when playing seven-card stud is to employ your mathematical skills. Because you know the value both of your cards, and the value of face-up cards of your opponents. With that information you can make educated guesses of your opponents’ hands and determine odds of having a winning hand.
Conclusion
With all of the above stated in place, if Texas Hold’em still does it best for you, instant withdrawal Yabby casino provides you with a whole array of this version you can enjoy too. And keep in mind that the mentioned skills apply both to it and to all other instances such as video poker.
