Finding the ideal poker game to play may seem like an exercise in futility, given that there are so many different variations that sticking with the default (Texas Hold ‘Em, in the current poker climate) is by far the option that will take the least amount of time to get used to. Allow PokerSeeker to disabuse you of this notion, as you’ll find that discovering a poker game-type that feels like it was designed with you in mind makes for some extremely fast learning experiences, not to mention an almost immediate proficiency of some degree at playing the game-type in question.
Of course, it would be careless never to mention the fact that Texas Hold ‘Em really is the fastest game-type to get into. It may appear on the surface to be one of the simplest, but any professional poker player knows that all variations on poker are only as simple as you allow them to be. The “two cards, bet, wait and see if you win” mechanism of Hold ‘Em makes it simple due to the nature of the play it empowers – all you have to do is decide how good the cards you were dealt at the beginning are, and keep checking, betting or raising until you win or lose.
However, for those who like the idea of being able to get rid of the few cards that are letting the rest of your hand down, Draw variants may be of some attraction to you. This is generally because it works around a “drawing” mechanism, by which a player is able to discard as many cards as they like (based on a hand of cards that is usually set at five), and have them replaced. The advantage and disadvantage of this game-type is that while this allows you a second chance at a good hand, discarding a single ace to go for a full house can be a huge risk if the community cards turn out to contain enough aces to change your game, and you’re left with a dud set of cards.
Five and Seven-Card Stud is another variation on the theme of poker, this time around using five and seven cards in the player’s hand and isn’t too complex, allowing for people to grasp it pretty quickly. However, as the numbers indicate it does require managing a larger amount of your own cards, and this increases the complexity of the game somewhat when you compare it to the straightforward set-up of Texas Hold ‘Em.
Omaha Hold ‘Em is also a refreshing change from the Texas variety, the key difference being that the community cards are used very differently, and this may catch out players of the Texas variation on the game-type. When playing Texas Hold ‘Em, holding a four with a five, six, seven and an eight as community cards is an amazing hand. However, that four’s useless in Omaha, as you are only allowed to use three of the five community cards at any one time, which tends to mean that unless you’ve got two cards that perfectly match the community cards (say a three and a four), things can get tricky.
The best way to experience new game types is simply to play, so grab some play money (if you’re at a site like PartyCasino that allows its players a chance to practice before they start betting portions of their bank balances) and test them out. Good luck from the PokerSeeker team, and enjoy experimenting with new ways of playing poker.