In online poker, there are three different types of play, which differ greatly from each other. Another variable is the table size. There are heads-up tables where only two players compete at a time. The most common table sizes are 6, 8, and 10 players.
Cash games
In cash games, you can sit at the table at any time (as long as there’s a seat available) and you can also stop playing at any time. You bring your money to the table and have to pay the small blind and big blind (and an ante, if applicable). When you leave the table, the current balance goes into your pocket.
You can lose or win money at will, but there are no locations. You play as long as you want.
Sit down and go
Sit and Go is a tournament with a fixed number of players, which is especially common in online poker. There is no fixed start time, but the tournament begins when there are enough players.
The top players share the prize money, which is always split exactly equally in a Sit N Go series. There is no rebuy option.
Tournaments
Tournaments with a fixed start time are usually open in terms of the number of participants and often feature a larger field of players. In really large tournaments, you can win really large sums as a winner, even with smaller buy-ins.
A special type of tournament is the satellite. This is a qualifying tournament without a cash prize pool. Instead, you can qualify for a larger, more expensive tournament.
Poker variants
Online Bein poker is now played with 90% of the time using no-limit Texas Hold’em. However, this wasn’t always the most popular variant. Before poker became available online, players were most familiar with 5-Card Draw Poker.
No Limit Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em is primarily played in the No Limit variant. Any player can go all-in at any time. A 52-card deck is used. Each player is dealt two cards face down, and up to 5 community cards are revealed: Flop (3), Turn (1), and River (1). A betting round takes place before the flop and after each community card is revealed.
Omaha Hello and Hi-Lo
In Omaha, up to five community cards are also dealt on the table, but each player is dealt four cards face down. Unlike Texas Hold’em, you must make your hand with exactly three community cards and two of your own cards. This makes the game more complex and less predictable.
In Omaha Hi-Lo, the highest hand wins half the pot and the lowest hand wins the other half.
5 Card Poker
5 Card Draw Poker was the most widespread variant in German-speaking countries in the 1990s. There are no community cards. Instead, each player is dealt 5 cards.
After and during the betting rounds, you can exchange cards if you wish to try to build a good hand. Nowadays, however, 5 Card Draw is almost extinct as a poker variant.
Caribbean Poker
This variant is a casino poker game in which you compete directly against the dealer. You are dealt five cards, and the dealer shows you one card. You can then decide if you want to bet.
The dealer, on the other hand, only plays if he or she has at least Ace and King. If all cards are higher than AK (for example, a pair), the bet stands and the best hand wins. You can play Caribbean Stud Poker online at live casinos.