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Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Stud are easy games to find
online. All poker sites at least offer them, even if nobody plays them. Going
to Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, or Party Poker for any of these games is
possible 24/7/365. But what if you want to play Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Royal
Poker, or Soko? Are these even offered online? Some of them are, if you know
where to look…
Five Card Draw
This is the first poker game most older people ever played. Five cards are
dealt face down to each player, usually after an ante. The player to the
dealer’s left bets or checks (sometimes a pair of jacks or better is required
to open the betting. After each player has an opportunity to bet, raise, call,
or fold, each player can draw zero through three cards to attempt to improve
their hand. A showdown follows another round of betting.
Five Card Draw can be found at:
- The B2B network (biggest site is 24hpoker.com). Note that American players
are disqualified from joining or playing at any B2B site.
- The Boss Media (aka International) Network. Some recognizable site names are
Betandwin, Fortune Poker, and Casino.net.
- Paradise Poker.
- Ongame Network (PokerRoom, Hollywood Poker, among others).
A version of Five Card Draw called Seven to Ace removes the two through six
cards from the deck. This is available online only at Boss Media.
Five Card Stud
This game plays very much like seven card stud, except the players only
receive one down card followed by four upcards. Players good at reading
opponents’ hands in seven stud will do even better at five stud. Five Card
Stud is found at:
- Bodog.
- Boss Media.
- Ladbrokes (a small independent poker site, no US players).
- Microgaming (aka Prima Network). Largest members of this network are Royal
Vegas Poker, The Gaming Club, and bet365.
- Paradise Poker.
- Tain Network (a very small network of 19 sites, it attracts 1-2 thousand
players at a time).
A version of Five Stud called Americana is played with a partial deck. This is
only offered online at the B2B network (unusual, since they don’t accept
American players). Two other five stud games are offered at B2B: Soko, which
is traditional five stud, except a four-straight beats one pair, and a
four-flush beats a four-straight. Telesina uses a stripped deck and each
player receives only four cards. The fifth card is dealt as a community card
shared by all players.
Pineapple (Crazy Pineapple)
Pineapple is similar to Texas Holdem, except each player is dealt three hole
cards. In Pineapple, each player who calls preflop then discards one of his or
her three hole cards. In Crazy Pineapple, the discard is made after the flop.
The line of distinction between the two versions is becoming blurred, and most
versions called simply “Pineapple” are actually the “Crazy” version. The
before-the-flop discard version will probably disappear.
Pineapple can be played for straight high or high-low split. All variations
are offered at”
- Paradise Poker.
- UltimateBet.
Razz
Razz is seven card stud, but is played for the lowest hand rather than the
highest, with aces counting as low. Five distinct low cards make the best
hands. It is offered at:
- Absolute Poker.
- Poker Stars
- Full Tilt Poker
HORSE and HOSE
Horse is a mixed-game format, where each of the five games is dealt for a
predetermined number of hands or amount of time. HORSE consists of Holdem,
Omaha (Hi-Lo), Razz, Stud (seven card), and Stud Eight-or-Better (seven stud
with a high-low split, low hands must be eight or lower).
HOSE is HORSE without Razz.
- Poker Stars (HORSE and HOSE cash games, SnGs, and MTTs)
- Full Tilt Poker (HORSE SnGs and MTTs)
Royal Holdem
This game is played exactly like Texas Holdem, except there are only twenty
cards in the deck (all tens though aces). It is offered online only at
UltimateBet.
Badugi
This is four card draw, played for low, and the winning hand must have unique
suits. It is offered at the Tribeca Network (Doyle’s Room, Golden Palace, and
many more).
Triple Draw (Ace to Five, Deuce to Seven)
Triple Draw deals five cards to each player. After a round of betting, players
can draw three times to make a low hand with betting in between the draws. The
best low hand is 5432A. Straight and flushes do not harm a low hand in A-5.
The Deuce to Seven version plays the same, except Aces are high only, and
straights and flushes harm a low hand, so 75432 off suit is the best low hand.
Both versions are offered at UltimateBet. B2B offers Deuce to Seven only.
Other Games
None of the kitchen table classics like In Betweens, Baseball, Follow the
Lady, and Mexican Holdem are offered online (yet), but we’ll keep an eye out
for them!
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