Unusual Online Poker Games

11/24/2012

If you are anything like me then playing Texas Hold’em all the time gets old. My favorite game is Seven Card Stud High/Low. Another favorite game of mine is Omaha High/Low. These games can be hard to find in any type of volume away from PokerStars and a few U.S. friendly networks. These are far from unusual games though compared to what is out there.

PokerStars

PokerStars offers the widest variety of games. In addition to the standard Texas Hold’em and Omaha games, PokerStars offers several stud, draw and mixed game variations. Most of the variations are played with a limit structure. The stud games include Seven Card Stud High, Seven Card Stud High/Low, lowball stud often referred to as Razz, and Triple Stud which is a mixed game that includes all three of these stud games. The draw games include Five Card Draw, 2-7 Single Draw and Triple Draw and Badugi. A Badugi is a rainbow low hand, in other words a hand that includes four different suits. The best hand is a rainbow A234. PokerStars also offers HOSE, which is a mixed game that rotates Texas Hold’em, Omaha High/Low, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud High/Low. HORSE adds Razz to this mix. There is an 8-Game mix that plays the HORSE games and adds limit 2-7 Triple Draw, No Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. These games are offered in tournament form as well.

Merge Gaming

PokerStars in not the only poker room with unusual games. The Merge Gaming Network also offers all of the unusual games PokerStars offers except the 8-Game mix, Triple Stud and HOSE. They also offer A-5 Triple Draw. U.S. players are accepted at Merge Gaming so the unusual games receive some action considering its size.

Boss Media

Boss Media offers several unusual games. In addition to the old school games of Five Card and Five Card Stud, Boss Media spreads Soko and 7-A Draw. Soko is a Five Card Stud game that adds four card flushes and straights. These hand rankings are placed above one pair and below two pair. 7-A Draw is an unusual game that is dealt with up to six players. Players post blinds like in a standard draw game. The 2’s-6’s are removed from the deck unless the game is six handed, then 6’s are added to the deck. The hand plays like a normal draw game and the hand rankings stay the same except that a flush beats a full house. Aces can be used in the bottom end of a straight or straight flush.

Party Poker

Party Poker offers a Texas Hold’em variation known as Double Hold’em. Players are dealt three cards and choose one card to be their Point Card. This turns their three card hand into two starting hands, each containing the Point Card and one of the two other cards. The rest of the hand plays like a Texas Hold’em game.

IGT Poker

The IGT Poker Network, referred to as Entraction in the past, offers many different unusual games. In addition to Soko, 7-A Draw (referred to at IGT Poker as 32-Card Draw) and 2-7 Triple Draw, IGT Poker offers Telesina and Americana. Both games are stud variations. Unfortunately, nobody ever played them at IGT and these games will not be available much longer as the network is closing in December.

Learning new poker games can be a great way to prevent poker burnout. Another advantage is when a player masters an unusual game they will be at a greater advantage as most players in these games are not as serious as they are at No Limit Texas Hold’em. These games will also not be as brutal on your bankroll as most of them are played in a limit format.