Poker Rules - Variants

Holdem Variants:

Texas Hold'em
Omaha Hold'em
Pineapple
Crazy Pineapple
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
Guts
Church (or Iron Cross)
Elevator
Cincinatti
Omaha Hi-Lo
Spanish Poker

Double Board Super Crazy Pineapple
Texas League Baseball
Double Flop Hold'em
Blind Man's Bluff
Manila
River
Houston Hold'em
Chowaha
Super Hold'em
Tahoe Poker
Paigow Poker

"Church (or Iron Cross)"

Each player is dealt 5 cards down, and then 5 cards are placed face down in the center in the shape of a cross. The cards are revealed one by one, starting with the top and moving clockwise with the center card being revealed last. There is a round of better after each card is revealed.

After all 5 cards are revealed, each players makes the best 5 card poker hand possible, using their 5 hole cards in combination with one of the arms of the cross. That is, they can only use 3 of the cards from the community that form a straight line.

The winner is the person with the highest 5 card poker hand.

"Manila"

Manila is a popular game that is played in Australia, specifically at the Star City casino in Sydney.

Manila is played with a strip deck of only 7-A (32 total cards). Because it is played with a strip deck, a flush beats a full house.

Very similar to Spanish Poker, the game is played where all players are dealt two hole cards. A total of five community cards are displayed, one at a time. Thus, there are five total rounds of betting because the initial around commences when all players are dealt their hole cards and one community card is shown. Players use two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to form their final poker hand.

A version of Manila, known as 3-card Manila, is also played. For this version, players are dealt three hole cards. They can use any 2 of their hole cards and 3 community cards to form their final poker hand.

Manila is generally played with fixed-limit betting. For example, in a $5-$10 game, the first round of betting would be $5 bets and raises. In the second, third, and fourth betting rounds, $10 bets and raises are used. The final round of betting involves $20 bets. This is the biggest difference between Manila and Spanish Poker because Spanish Poker is generally played as a no-limit game.

Manila is generally played with only one blind. The person to the left of the dealer posts this blind.

"River"

The game is the same as Hold'em, except on the river each person in the hand is dealt a down card instead of a community card. Players can use any combination of board/hole cards to make the best 5 card hand.

"Spanish Poker"

This game is also known as Synthetic Poker. It is popular in Spain and generally played with a no limit structure. I played it once when I was at the Casino de Barcelona.

The game is played with a stripped deck- only with cards 8-A. An ace is high or low; it can also act as a 7. All players ante and each player is dealt two hole cards. Then one card is dealt face up. There is a round of betting, followed by revealing another card on the board. There are 5 total cards placed on the board and theoretically 5 rounds of betting. However, in reality almost all of the money goes into the pot when the first card is laid on the board.

Each player must use both of his/her hole cards and 3 board cards to form his/her hand. The hand rankings are the same as normal poker rankings except a flush beats a full house. This game is very wild and has a strong luck component.

"Elevator"

Each player is dealt 2 cards down, 2 cards up, and then 7 community cards are placed face down in the center in the shape of an "H"; 3 cards down one column of the "H', 3 cards down the other column of the "H" and 1 card in the middle forming the horizontal bar across the "H". The cards are revealed one by one, starting with the left column, then the right column, with the center card being revealed last. There is a round of better after each card is revealed.

After all 7 cards are revealed, each players makes the best 5 card poker hand possible, using their 4 hole cards in combination with 3 of the 7 community cards. A player can only use the center card and a card from each column that form a straight line across. The games gets its name "Elevator" from figuratively sliding the center card up or down to form a 3-card row that a player can use as the community cards.

The winner is the person with the highest 5 card poker hand.

"Guts"

Each player antes and is dealt three cards face down. They then decide if they will "Play" or "Fold". If they decide to Play, they put in another ante (usually of the same size of the original ante).

The dealer then says "1-2-3 Drop" and players who do not wish to remain in the hand any longer drop their cards to the table.

Of the players who are still in the hand, they show their cards. The hierarchy is:

1. Three of a Kind
2. Straight Flush
3. Straight
4. Flush
5. Pair
6. High Card

The winner takes the pot, anyone who loses at this showdown matches the pot for the next round of play (all players re-ante into the next pot too).

There is another variation on this in which all players pass one card to the left immediately after they are dealt their hand, then the game continues as described.

www.FreePokerTraining.com encourages you to gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 800.522.4700 or go to: www.ncpgambling.org U.S. Citizens Please Note: The information contained at this site is for news and entertainment purposes only. Any use of this information in violation of any federal, state, or local laws is prohibited.