When you hear the word “poker” you might immediately conjure up images of a bunch of burly guys sitting around a dimly lit felt green table, perhaps smoking cigars; however the game has numerous iterations. For example, there’s your aforementioned flesh-and-blood varieties where you’re actually playing the game face-to-face with other people and then there’s “virtual” varieties. Of course, within the context of these two categories there are limitless options. You could be playing in a posh casino, for instance, or if you’re online, then perhaps a mobile phone or even with a PC and a gigantic television screen. Speaking of the last option, it also bears mentioning that there are live play games online as well, where a real dealer distributes cards. Then there’s the more colorful options, like those involving video poker…really, there are a lot of choices out there when it comes to poker. Furthermore, there are also different types or variants of the game itself. The real question is – which ones are the most fun to play? …let’s explore, shall we?
Variants
• Omaha – fairly popular among most players. It features each player being dealt four cards and later, after betting and turns, they are then tasked to create the best possible hand with these cards plus the 5 “community cards”
• Texas hold ‘em – Quite possibly the most popular type of poker in the world and is prominently featured in tournaments like the WSOP. Only uses 2 hole cards in addition to 5 community cards, each betting round revealing a new card.
• 5 card draw – Arguably the easiest and most accessible poker variant out there. This is the one a lot of people use to learn the game and teach it to others.
• 7 card stud – Similar to 5 card draw, only involving 7 cards, 3 being face down. It’s also a very popular variant that’s beloved by millions.
• Follow the Queen – Relatively obscure, internationally speaking. It plays much the same as 7 card stud only a wild card is crowned once the first queen is flipped over.
Video Poker vs. all the others
If we’re talking about pure unbridled fun with regard to poker, then it should be known that video poker is perhaps in direct competition with nearly all other types. Since it was discovered that this wonderful and addictive little card game could be seamlessly merged with technology, more people are taking interest. The earliest units were a bit primitive, both graphically and in terms of what they could offer up in gameplay, but now we have really sophisticated video poker operations all over the web. In the casinos there are even different classes of video poker machines, Class II being less sophisticated than Class III, for instance.
The simple fact that video poker is often more colorful, dynamic and animated generally means that it offers the most “fun” experience. There are many poker sites online where you can play the discussed games. When you also factor in the fact that it is now possible to play these games on mobile devices, the trend becomes even more apparent.