There are many variations of the game Poker. Three-Card Monte is one variation and Spit-in-the-Ocean is another one. Each of these will be described later in this chapter. If there are more than 10 players, two separate games can be organized. In addition to the four major poker variations, there are several smaller variants. Here are the basic ones. If you’re a poker beginner, consider trying these variations for yourself.
Straight flush
A straight flush in poker is a hand in which all five cards in the sequence are of the same suit. It is the second-best hand in poker, behind only the royal flush. Examples of straight flush hands include five, six, seven, eight, and nine of a particular suit. A straight flush is not very common, occurring only about one out of every 72,192 hands in a nine-player game. However, when it does occur, it is an extremely rare occurrence.
Nut-low
In pot-limit Omaha eight or better, known as PLO8, a nut-nut hand is often weak and should be mucked when faced with a strong bet. The nut low is also known as protection when you’re guaranteed the best low no matter what cards hit. However, there are risks associated with protecting a nut-nut hand. This strategy can leave you with nothing. Instead, watch your opponents’ betting patterns to determine when you should make the decision.
Offsuit
Offsuit is a suit in which a player has a pair of cards. Offsuit hands are much more likely to make a straight than nonsuited cards. This means that in Hold’em, suited cards are better than offsuit hole cards, especially when a player is holding a pair. In addition, these cards have a higher chance of making a flush than nonsuited cards. Nevertheless, despite their low chance of making a flush, 7-2 offsuit is generally the worst starting hand for a gamer to be in.
Five-bet
Typically, 5bets occur after the flop, but they are rare. A five-bet jam is considered profitable when the 4better folds to a 5bet more than half the time. This happens less frequently than a bluff jam in no-limit Hold’em, which only allows for fourbets per street. Nevertheless, five-bets do occur in pot-limit Hold’em.
Betting intervals
Different types of poker games use betting intervals that differ from one another. The first player to act places a bet, and players to his left raise their bets proportionally to the initial bet. The process is repeated until no one remains. The winning player is the one with the largest number of chips in the pot at the end of each betting round. Betting intervals in poker games typically range from two seconds to seven minutes, though there are some games in which the betting intervals are zero.