Because of the popularity of poker and to ensure that poker players, new and old, will enjoy variety in poker, here are some cool poker variations that you may either play at home, in casino or even online.
These poker variations are therefore neat to be added to the popular poker variations that you already know. If not, however, the popular variations of poker are discusses individually in other pages within this site.
Now, here are the cool poker variations for you to try.
• Pineapple Or Crazy Pineapple Poker
• Double Board Hold’em
• Royal Hold’em
• Caribbean Stud Poker
• Billabong
• Deuce to Seven Stud
• Deuce to Seven Draw
• Badugi
Knowing these cool variations will help you enjoy the game of poker anywhere you are. Yes, anywhere including Korea where Badugi started or the Caribbean.
How to Play Pineapple Poker?
Pineapple is a variant of Texas Hold’em game. The game play of a Texas hold’em is therefore predominant in this game.
What are the rules?
• The game involves blinds. The small blind and the big blind will each post a forced bet of half and minimum bet respectively. Thus, in a fixed limit game of $2-$4, the small blind posts $1 and the big blind posts $2.
• The hole cards or pocket cards for each player will be 3 cards. This is the difference with Texas Hold’em because in Texas Hold’em pocket cards are only 2 cards.
• One hole card will be discarded after the flop and before the first betting round. In the Crazy Pineapple variation however, you will need to discard the wild card before the flop is drawn.
• Betting will start on the player seated at the left of the big blind.
• There will be 3 to 4 betting rounds just like Texas Hold’em
• The final 5-card hand will be in combination of the hole cards and the board or the board only. One can use all 2 hole cards plus board cards or 1 hole card plus board cards or board cards alone.
• The highest 5-card hand wins the pot or in case of tie, the pot will be split among the tying players. This is highly possible when players play the board cards alone.
• There will be a small round disc known as the button to signify the dealer position. This disc will have to move around the table clockwise. Thus, each player will have a turn on the dealer position, small and big blind position and others.
How the Pineapple Poker is played.
• The dealer shuffles the cards and the player on his left cuts the deck somewhere in the middle.
• The blinds will now place the forced bet. The small blind, the player on the left of the dealer posts half of the minimum bet and the big blind posts the minimum bet. In the game of $2-$4, the small blind bets $1 and the big blind posts $2.
• The dealer will now draw three hole cards or pockets cards to each player starting on his left clockwise.
• The first round of betting will now start from the person on the left of the big blind. He is called under the gun; this is because he will have to make an action either to check, bet or raise without information as to the strength of the other players’ cards.
Thus, in this case, last players to make an action starting from the right of the dealer are in an advantageous position. This is because they will have to act after several players before them have made their action.
This player will know more or less the strength of the card of the other players by merely observing their betting pattern. While the person who is first to act will have to make his action before any information on the betting pattern surfaces.
• After this betting round, the dealer will not draw the flop.
• After the flop, the players will have to discard one card known as the wild card from their hole cards.
• Then, another betting round will happen starting from the left of the big blind. The players will now have to bet, raise or fold clockwise until the big blind has made his action.
• The fourth street or the fourth community card will now be drawn by the dealer.
• The third betting round will now happen.
• Finally, the fifth community card known as the street will be drawn and the final betting round will happen.
• Then, the showdown. This is where all the remaining players will have to form their 5-card hand and the highest ranking poker hand wins the pot.
Again, this is a Texas hold’em, variation and thus, if the hole cards did not do well in combination with the community cards, the players may opt to use just the community card in the showdown.
In this case, the possibility of tie is inevitable. The pot will have to be split among the active players.
How, if there are two sets of community cards in the game? This variation is called the Double-Board Hold’em. We will discuss the game play next.
Likewise, Royal Hold’em is an exciting community card game. If you want to know more, we will discuss the game play in the next pages as well.
