ANACONDA

1. All players are dealt seven cards followed by a betting round.

2. Each player chooses 3 cards to pass to your immediate left, followed by a pass of two cards two spots to the left, and a pass of one card three spots to the left.

3. The high hand and low hand split the pot.

 

BADUGI

   Badugi is a very unusual draw poker variation, unlike any other poker game. The first thing to note is that each player only gets 4 cards, and the second is that it is a poker game played for low, not high hands. The third thing to know is that like triple-draw poker, there are 3 drawing rounds.
   The final and most confusing thing is what makes a winning Badugi hand. The best Badugi hand is Ace-2-3-4 of 4 different suits. In Badugi, straights do NOT count against you for low, but matching suits does. We'll talk more about it when we get to the section on evaluating Badugi hands.
   Lets get started learning Badugi poker rules.

Here's How:

1. Each player is dealt four cards face-down. After each player checks their hand, a round of betting occurs.

2. After the betting is complete, each player is allowed to choose 0-4 cards to discard and draw new cards. In other words, players can exchange either all or none of their cards.

3. After each player has received their new cards, another round of betting occurs. This is followed by a second round where players can draw cards, and a third round of betting. There is then a final round of draw and a final round of betting.

4. Players reveal their hands and a winner is determined.

5. What makes a Badugi Hand?
   The most important thing to remember when playing Badugi is that to make a 4-card Badugi hand you need to have 4 cards of different suits and ranks. In other words, if you have A-2-3-4 but the ace and 2 are both spades, only one of those cards will count -- your final Badugi hand would be just 3 cards: A-3-4. If you have A-A-2-3 of all different suits, the pair still counts against you and you can only use 3 of the cards for your final hand. So your goal is to get the 4 lowest cards of different suits possible. A 4-card hand -- known as a "badugi" -- always beats a 3-card hand, no matter how high the cards are.

6. What beats what in Badugi: Examples

• If both players have four-card hands, the player with the lowest "high" card wins. For example, player one has Ace of hearts, 2 of spades, 3 of clubs, and 10 of diamonds. Player two has 4 of spades, 6 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, and 8 of hearts. In this scenario, player two wins because their highest card is only an 8, while player one has a 10. 

What beats what in Badugi: More Examples

• Scenario 2: Player one has 2 of hearts, 3 of spades, 4 of clubs, and 5 of hearts. Player two has 4 of spades, 6 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, and King of hearts. Player two wins because he has a four-card hand, albeit with a king, because player 1 has two hearts, therefore only has a final 3-card hand.

• Scenario 3: Player one has 2 of hearts, 2 of spades, 4 of clubs, 6 of diamonds. Player two has Ace of spades, 3 of diamonds, 8 of diamonds, 9 of clubs. Both players here have 3-card badugi hands since player one has a pair and player 2 has two of the same suit. But Player one's 3-card hand is lower, since his highest card is a 6 to Player two's 9.

Tips:

1. Remember that getting a four-card hand is better than any three-card hand, so think carefully about trading a high card in a four-card hand in hopes of getting a lower card, especially in later drawing rounds.

2. By "staying pat" and drawing no cards, you will appear to have a "badugi" -- a four-card hand, which is a smart way to bluff opponents.

3. The worst hand that is still a "badugi" is K-Q-J-10 of different suits. The very worst hand of all in Badugi is K-K-K-K.

 

CRAZY PINEAPPLE

1. Just as in Hold'em, the two players to the left post blinds before the deal.

2. Now, the changes begin. In Pineapple Poker, instead of being dealt 2 hole cards as in Texas Hold'em, each player gets 3 hole cards to begin. After the 3 hole cards are dealt, there's a round of betting. 

3. After the betting is complete, the flop is dealt, and another round of betting begins

4. Here's where it gets "Crazy" -- after the second round of betting is done, all players remaining in the hand choose 1 card from their 3 hole cards to discard. So everyone now only has the regular 2 hole cards just like in Texas Hold'em again.

5. From here, the game is identical to Texas Hold'em. The turn is dealt, a round of betting happens, the river is dealt, another betting round, and then there's the showdown. Players can use any combination of the 2 hole cards in their hands and the 5 board or community cards on the table to make the best hand, and the best hand wins the pot.

 

DEUCE-TO-SEVEN TRIPLE DRAW

1. As the name implies, instead of each player only drawing once during a hand, each player gets to draw three times.

2. After each round of draws, there is a round of betting

3. The "deuce-to-seven" part of this game means it is played for low. But not the low of razz or or most hi/lo poker games, in deuce-to-seven, you want to make the worst hand possible without making a straight or a flush. In this game, straights and flushes do count against you, and aces are always high. 

4. The best low hand is 2-3-4-5-7, not of the same suit

 

DOUBLE DEAL HOLD'EM

   Double Deal Hold'Em poker is a variation of Texas Hold'em where you deal out two separate boards or community cards. Each player is still dealt out two hold cards to make their hands, but they will get to make two seperate hands to play, one for each set of community cards. 

1. Deal each player their two cards, bet, then deal out two flops.

2. Another round of betting, then deal two turn cards.

3. Bet, then deal two river cards. 

4. In the end, you should have ten cards face-up in two rows of five. Now each player makes his/her best hand for each row and the pot is split between the winning hand for each board. It is possible for one person to win both hands and scoop the whole pot, too. 

 

DOUBLE DRAW

   This game is almost the same as regular five-card draw, except everyone gets to draw new cards twice instead of the usual single draw. There’s also an additional round of betting following the second draw. 

 

ECHO PARK

   This game is played like 5-card stud. 

1. Deal a card facedown to each player.Before dealing a second card to each player, that player decides if they wish to receive that card face-up or face-down. If the player chooses to receive the card face-up, then the dealer flips a card face-up to that player as normal. If the player chooses to receive the card face-down, then that player signals so by flipping his hole card face-up. The dealer makes the same option once reaching himself. Now, each player has one card in the hole and one face-up. Highest card face-up opens the first betting round.

2. The dealer begins dealing a third card to each player. If the player wants the third card face-up, the dealer deals it to him face-up. If the player wants the third card face-down, then he signals so by flipping up his hole card. Another betting round ensues.

3. The same is done with the fourth and fifth cards to each player so that at all times up until the end of the game, each player has one card in the hole and the rest face-up.

 

ENGLISH STUD POKER

   This is dealt as standard seven-card stud with two down, four up, and one down.

1. First two cards down and third card up are dealt, followed by a betting round.

2. Fourth card up, followed by a betting round. 

3. Fifth card is dealt face-up, followed by a "draw", in which each player has the option to discard one card from their hand for a new one from the deck. If the player discards one that was face-down, that player receives the new card face-down. If the player discards one that was face-up, that player receives the new card face-up. The draw is followed by a betting round.

4. Sixth card is dealt face-up, followed by another draw of one card, and another betting round. 

5. Seventh card is dealt face-down, followed by a final draw of one card, followed by the final betting round.

 

FIVE-CARD DOUBLE DRAW HIGH-LOW

   This is played like 5 card draw poker, but each player gets two opportunities to change out their cards. If the cards run out during the second draw, discarded cards are shuffled and reused. 

1. Deal 5 cards facedown to each player.

2. There is a betting round after the initial deal, a second betting round after the first draw and a third betting round after the final draw. 

3. When all betting is done, all players who have not folded lay out their hands and the lowest hand and the highest hand split the pot. Players do not declare high or low, so sometimes a player unexpectedly wins half the pot by having the lowest hand when all were going for high or vice versa.

   When comparing hands for low, aces can count as low and straights and flushes do not count, so the lowest hand is A-2-3-4-5. Note that this same hand could at the same time win high.

 

FIVE CARD DRAW

1. Players ante up (place a small bet in the pot).

2. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, the dealer deals each player five cards, face down.

3. Everyone picks up their cards from the table and checks out what they’ve got.

4. There’s a round of betting, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.

5. When the betting is done, those who are still in the hand get to trade in one, two, or three cards from their hand for new ones. If a player has an ace, he/she can trade in the other four cards in his/her hand, but usually has to show the ace.
   Note: You don’t have to trade any cards – if you’ve already got good hand, you’ll want to “stand pat” and keep the cards you were first dealt. 

6. After everyone receives their new cards, there’s another round of betting, starting to the dealer's left.

7. After the betting is completed, players show their hands and the best hand wins the pot.

 

LOWBALL

   Lowball (sometimes called California Lowball) is just five-card draw where instead of the highest hand winning the pot, the lowest hand wins it. The lowest hand, depending on what game you're playing may be defined two ways. Usually in games with a low hand, straights and flushes don't count against a hand being low, so A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest hand. The ace to five straight is also called "the bike" or "the wheel."

 

MEXICAN STUD (ROLL YOUR OWN)

   The theme of this game is that each player chooses which of their cards they will show to the rest of the table, while maintaining the format of three cards face-down and four face-up. 

 

1. Each player is dealt three cards face-down.

2. On the count of three, each player chooses which of the three cards they will turn face-up to the rest of the table. This is followed by a betting round, opened by the player with the highest card showing.

3. Another card is dealt face-down to each player, and each player again must turn one of them face-up on the count of three. 

4. After another betting round opened by the player with the best hand showing, this continues until each player has been dealt a total of six cards and there have been four betting rounds. At this point, each player has two cards face-down and four cards face-up. 

5. The seventh and final card is dealt face-down, and the final betting round is again opened by the player with the best hand showing. Best hand wins.

 

OH, SHOOT (DOUBLE DEAL OMAHA)

   In this variation of Omaha five cards are dealt to each person with ten cards dealt face down on the table (community cards).  The game is played Hi/Lo. In Low hands, Aces are low and straights and flushes have no significance, so that the wheel A-2-3-4-5 is the best Low hand. Low hands have to be eight-high or better to qualify to win part of the pot.

 

1. Deal each player their four cards, bet, then deal out two flops. 

2. Another round of betting, then deal two turn cards.

3. Bet, then deal two river cards. 

4. In the end, you should have ten cards face-up in two rows of five. Now each player makes his/her best hand for each row.  Players must use exactly two cards from their hand together with exactly three community cards, all from the same row, to make their high or low hand. The pot is split between the winning hands for each board. It is possible for one person to win both boards and scoop the whole pot, too. 

 

PASS 'EM POKER

1. Deal three cards face down to each player.

2. Each player must then give one card from his hand face down to the player on his left. These cards are passed simultaneously: they are picked up only after each player has passed on his "gift" to the next player. After all have received their card there is a round of betting.

3. After this three shared cards are placed one at a time face up in the middle and a new of round of betting takes place after each new card is revealed. 

4. At the showdown a player may use either two cards from his hand and all three from the table or all three from his hand plus two from the middle to make the best 5-card hand.

 

PAI GOW

   This is not actually a Stud poker game, but is hard to classify anywhere else. Seven cards are immediately dealt face-down to each player. Each player divides their hand into one five-card hand and one two-card hand.  
   The five-card hand will play as a regular poker hand, but the two-card hand will play as a Two-Card Guts hand, consisting of either a pair, or a high card. The stipulation, however, is that the five-card hand must be of equal or better value than the two-card hand. For example, if the two-card hand consists of a pair of Jacks, then the five-card hand must consist of at least a pair of Jacks or better.
   A betting round is made immediately after the deal. At the same time, all players reveal their two-card hands face-up. This is followed by a second betting round. All players then reveal their five-card hand. The best two-card hand collects half of the pot, the other half going to the player with the best five-card hand.

 

SAME'EM

1. Three cards are dealt to each player and there is a round of betting.

2. A three-card flop is dealt, followed by a second round of betting.

3. A fourth card is dealt to each player and a fourth card (the turn) to the table, and there is a third round of betting.

4. A fifth card is dealt to each player and a fifth card (the river) to the table, and there is a fourth and final round of betting.

5. Each player in the showdown makes the best possible 5 card poker hand out of the 10 available cards (five in hand and five on the table).

 

SEVEN-CARD STUD

1. All players put in an ante. 

2. Starting to his/her left, the dealer deals each player two cards down (called hole or pocket cards) and one card face-up.

3. Everyone looks at their hole cards.

4. The player with the lowest card showing face-up has to put in a small bet called a "bring in." Then betting continues to that low-card player's left. Each player can call, raise, or fold their cards.
   After the betting is completed, another card is dealt to each player face-up. This card is also known as "fourth street" or "the turn."

5. Another round of betting occurs, starting now with the player with the highest cards showing. From fourth street on, the player with the highest cards showing will continue to be the first to bet. 

6. After betting is complete, the fifth card (fifth street or the river) is dealth face-up. More betting occurs, then the sixth card is dealth face up. More betting. 

7. The 7th and final card is dealt face-down to the players remaining in the hand. A final round of betting occurs.

8. The players show their hands at the showdown. The player who can make the best five-card hand from the seven they were dealt, wins.

 

 

SEVEN-CARD STUD HI-LO - 8 OR BETTER

1. The dealer deals each player two cards down (called hole or pocket cards) and one card face-up. This is known as the "door" card.

2. The betting begins with the player with the highest card showing face-up.

3. After the betting is completed, another card is dealt to each player face-up, followed by another betting round. This card is also known as "fourth street" or "the turn.” 

4. After betting is complete, the fifth card (fifth street) is dealth face-up. More betting occurs, then the sixth card is dealth face up. More betting. 

5. The 7th and final card is dealt face-down to the players remaining in the hand. A final round of betting occurs.

6. The players show their hands at the showdown. The player who can make the best high five-card hand from the seven they were dealt wins one half of the pot, and the player with the best low five-card poker hand wins the other half.  The low hand cannot have a card higher than 8 in it. In other words, if you have Ace-2-4-6-9-10-10 as your final 7-card hand, you don't have a low, because the best low hand you can make is Ace-2-4-6-9. There may not be a qualifying low hand, in which case the high hand "scoops" or wins the whole pot. 

7. The most important thing to remember when beginning to learn this game is that you get 7 cards to pick from to make your final 5 card hand, and you can use two different sets of five cards to make a high hand and a low hand. In other words, if your final seven cards are Ace-Ace-2-3-4-6-6, you would have a high hand of two pair: Aces & 6s, and a low hand of Ace-2-3-4-6. 

 

 

SEVEN-CARD STUD LOW OR "RAZZ"

   Razz is a seven-card stud poker game where instead of the highest hand winning, the lowest or worst hand wins the pot. The lowest hand in Razz is A-2-3-4-5, because straights and flushes don't count against a hand being low, and aces are counted as low. The ace to five straight is also called "the bike" or "the wheel," and is the best possible low hand.
      Almost all 7-card stud games are played "8 or better" which means the low hand cannot have a card higher than 8 in it. Unlike split-pot hi-lo games like Omaha, Razz doesn't have an "eight or better" component to it's play. In an hi-lo eight-or-better game, the winning low hand cannot have a card higher than 8 in it to count as a low hand -- but since Razz is a game with only a low hand winning, any hand can win, including hands with low pairs. However, while this is possible, it's highly unlikely, and most winning Razz hands will not have a pair in them.

1. Starting to his/her left, the dealer deals each player two cards down (called hole or pocket cards) and one card face-up. This is known as the "door" card.

2. Everyone looks at their hole cards.

3. The player with the lowest card showing face-up has to put in a small bet called a "bring in." Then betting continues to that low-card player's left. Each player can call, raise, or fold their cards.

4. After the betting is completed, another card is dealt to each player face-up. This card is also known as "fourth street" or "the turn."

5. Another round of betting occurs, starting now with the player with the highest cards showing. From fourth street on, the player with the highest cards showing will continue to be the first to bet. 

6. After betting is complete, the fifth card (fifth street) is dealth face-up. More betting occurs, then the sixth card is dealth face up. More betting. 

7. The 7th and final card is dealt face-down to the players remaining in the hand. A final round of betting occurs.

8. The players show their hands at the showdown. The player who can make the best high five-card hand from the seven they were dealt wins one half of the pot, and the player with the best low five-card poker hand wins the other half.
   If the game is played "8 or better" (see step 11) there may not be a qualifying low hand, in which case the high hand "scoops" or wins the whole pot. 

9. The most important thing to remember when beginning to learn this game is that you get 7 cards to pick from to make your final 5 card hand, and you can use two different sets of five cards to make a high hand and a low hand. In other words, if your final seven cards are Ace-Ace-2-3-4-6-6, you would have a high hand of two pair: Aces & 6s, and a low hand of Ace-2-3-4-6. 

10. If a hi/lo game is played eight or better, your low hand cannot have a card higher than 8 in it. In other words, if you have Ace-2-4-6-9-10-10 as your final 7-card hand, you don't have a low, because the best low hand you can make is Ace-2-4-6-9. 

11. Another important thing to know about the low hands in eight or better games is that straights and flushes don't count against you. If you have the Ace-2-3-4-5 all of hearts, even though it's a straight flush, it's also a wheel, or the lowest possible hand.

 

SIX BACK TO FIVE

1. Six cards dealt followed by a betting round. 

2. Each player draws as per normal Draw game rules. The exception is that each player draws one less card than they discard. This means that if a player wants three new cards, he is going to have to discard four cards out of his hand. If a player wants to discard three cards, then he is only going to get two cards back. With each player drawing one less card than he or she receives, every player will now have a five card hand. A final betting round ensues and the best five card hand wins.

 

SIX-CARD STUD

   Six cards are dealt to each player: one down; four up; one down. There is a betting round after each. Players make their best five card hand with the six cards.

 

 

TAHOE

  This is played the same as Texas Hold 'Em, with the two exceptions. Each player is dealt three cards at the beginning of the game instead of two, but can only use two of their three hole cards in their final hand.

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TEXAS HOLD'EM

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You know the rules!

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THE DECK

1. The dealer deals a card face-down to each player, and then exposes the top card off of the deck. The first player to the left of the dealer has the option of either choosing the exposed card or a blind one from the top of the deck. Whichever choice the player makes, that player receives the card in his hand face-up. If that player chose the exposed card, then the dealer replaces it with the next card off the top of the deck and gives the same choice to the next player. If that player chose a blind card, then the next player is given the option to take the exposed card or a blind one. The exposed card is not replaced until it is either chosen by a player or the dealer turns it down. Once the dealer turns it down, the round of dealing is over, followed by a betting round.

2. When the next round of dealing starts after the betting round, whichever card was exposed is placed at the bottom of the deck, replaced by a new card from the top of the deck. This continues until each player has one card in the hole and four cards face-up. There is a final betting round and the best hand wins.

 

VANCOUVER STUD

1. Each player is dealt 2 face down cards. There is a round of betting.

2. After the first round of betting, each surviving player is dealt one face up card of their own (counting only toward their hand) and one community card is dealt (counting towards everyone's hand). There is a second round of betting.

3. Each surviving player is then dealt a face down card that counts toward their hand only, and a second community card is dealt face up. There is a third round of betting.

4. Each surviving player is dealt another face up card, and another community card. At this point, active players should have five cards each - three face down and two face up, and there are three face up community cards in the middle. There is a final round of betting.

5. In the showdown, the person with the best 5-card hand wins. This hand can use 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of the player's own cards together with some, none or all of the community cards.