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Games
We're playing a lot more "real poker" than we used to. About half our
hands are no-limit Texas hold 'em with pot-limit Omaha/8 and spread-limit seven-card
stud making up most of the rest. With a short table, we will occasionally play a
round or two of five-card draw. Below are quick-and-dirty explanations of the games.
Texas Hold 'em:
Prior to the deal, the two players to the left of the dealer (or
"button") must each post a blind bet prior to receiving cards.
These "blinds" are to start the action and get some money into
the pot. The player immediately to the left of the dealer posts the small blind and the player to the small blind's left posts
the big blind, which is usually 2x the small blind. The blinds are live
and the players posting those blinds have the opportunity to raise when
the action gets back around to them.
Each
player then receives two hole cards face-down. This is followed by a round of
betting. The player immediately to the left of the big blind is "under the
gun" (UTG) and must match the big blind, fold, or
raise. Action continues around the table in a clockwise manner. If there are no
raises, the big blind acts last and may check or raise.
The dealer then places three cards face-up on the table (the flop).
  
These are
community cards and are part of everyone's hand. There is another betting round,
beginning with the active player closest to the left of the dealer. The dealer
places two more cards (the turn, or fourth street and the river, or fifth street) face-up on the table with a
betting round following each one.
The player who can make the best five-card
hand from the seven available cards wins the pot.
Omaha/8:
This is a high-low split game with a 8-or-better qualifier for low. Game play
and betting are exactly as in hold 'em, except Each player receives four hole
cards face down. At showdown, players make the best five card hand for high
and/or low by using exactly three cards from the board and exactly
two from their hand
for each. A player can win half the pot, all of the pot or, with ties, one
fourth, or even one sixth of the pot.
A-2-3-4-5 is a perfect low, and a straight for high. With 3-4-5-J-K on the
board, a player holding A-2-6-7 would play A-2 for the best possible (nut) low and 6-7 for
high (straight to the seven). Because
of the qualifier, sometimes a low hand is not possible, as with a board of
8-8-A-K-9.
Seven-Card Stud:
Rather than antes, we generally play stud with a forced bet called a
bring-in.
Each player receives three cards, two down,
and one up.
 
The low card showing (except in Razz) must
bring it in. Unlike a blind, the bring-in is not live. However, the player
with the bring-in has the option of opening for a full bet. The betting
round continues from the bring-in's left. After the first betting round, players receive three more up cards and one
down, with betting after each card. Betting on subsequent rounds begins with the high hand showing.
Initial Deal |
4th Street |
5th Street |
6th Street |
River |
Stud/8:
Another high-low split game with 8-or-better qualifier for low. A-2-3-4-5 is a perfect
low and a straight for high. Otherwise, it is
played like regular seven-card stud.
Razz:
Seven-card stud lowball. As in Stud/8, A-2-3-4-5 is a perfect low. Played as
regular seven-card stud above, except the low hand showing begins each betting
round and the high card brings it in.
Five-Card Draw:
Essentially the same game you played as a kid, though we usually play with
blinds as in hold 'em rather than antes. Each player is dealt five cards down. Deal is followed by
a betting round. Players, beginning with the one closest to the dealer's left,
may discard three cards (four if the player has an ace) and have them
replaced by cards from the deck. After the draw, there is another betting
round, followed by the showdown.
For more information on how things like blinds or bring-ins work, visit
our casino play page.
The Crazy Stuff
These games have become all but extinct at our table in the last several
months. I can't go into detail about all of the variants, as there
are hundreds, and many of them can be found on other sites. I will mention
a few exceptions to the more "established" versions.
Anaconda - Cards are not rolled unless the dealer calls it prior
to dealing.
Rolling is usually done Mexican sweat style instead of one at a time. In addition, the last pass of one card is usually omitted.
Anaconda High-Low - Aces are high or low. There is no declare, and
a scoop is possible.
Baseball - The extra card received on a four is dealt face down and does not
carry a penalty. A three up usually only carries a penalty of two small bets.
Mexican Sweat - This is not the five card stud version but the
seven card no-peek version.
Other Variations:
Spit (Spit in the Ocean): Originally a variation on five card draw, we have
played this with seven card stud, Mexican sweat, and anaconda as well. It's most
often called when we have eight players for a seven card game.
Follow the Queen: Any upcard immediately following a queen, and all other cards
of that rank, are wild. A second (or third, or fourth) queen followed by an
upcard will replace the previous wild cards. We've done this with Mexican sweat
as well which pretty much makes the game a crap shoot.
Wild Cards: Some of the shorthand
names for wild card games we play include:
Oldsmobile: Nines
and Eights
Dr. Pepper: Tens, Twos, and Fours
Woolworth's: Fives and Tens
Heinz: Fives and Sevens
Touchies: Consecutive cards of the same suit. A2s does not count.
You need five aces to win this one. Even then, you'll likely be splitting
the pot two or three ways.
Casino Games
For those of you (like me) who try to pretend like we're practicing for a trip
to Vegas, here are the "real" poker games being played in casinos around the
country.
Texas Hold-em - The game played at the main event in World Series of Poker. Far and away the most popular game. Every casino that
offers poker spreads at least one hold-em game and, in some places, it's about
all you'll find. It can be played lowball, but it's rare.
Seven-Card Stud - Still quite common though it has lost much ground
to hold-em in the last 25 years or so. Most card rooms have it but, outside
of Vegas, your table selection may be severely limited. $1-5 spread
seems to a common limit.
Omaha 8 - Originally played mainly in the Midwest and South, this game has
become very popular in the last five years.
Omaha (High Only) - Another game popular in the Midwest, but it can now
be found in most Vegas casinos as well. especially on weekends.
Seven-Card Stud/8 - Fairly common in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Most large casinos will offer this game on weekends.
The following poker games can also be found in casinos, but are much less
common:
Razz (Seven-Card Stud Lowball) - A-5 lowball. Rare in casino play outside of Nevada and California
but reasonably common in tournaments.
Super-8/Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, Lazy Pineapple - Seem to be limited mostly to the Gulf Coast
area and cruise ships, though Lazy Pineapple (sometimes called Tahoe) can be found
in a few casinos in the Southwest.
Five Card Stud - While quite popular 50 years ago, it's now very difficult to find.
Five Card Draw - The game of choice in California cardrooms for nearly a
century, it's now rare. Sometimes played with a 53 card deck in which the
joker is a bug rather than a true wild card.
Five Card Draw Lowball - I've only seen a couple of recent mentions of
this game, both had two draws. Triple draw tournaments can still be found.
Kansas City Lowball (2-7) - Most references to this game that I have seen are at
least a decade old, so it might be all but extinct in regular casino play. You
can still find it in tournaments.
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