There are many different varieties of poker available to you.
There is seven card stud, Texas hold’em, Omaha and five card draw.
These games come in no limit, pot limit and fixed limit structures.
You can play them tournament style or in some cases, high low.
You can play them at free poker sites or for real money.
To be a fully well rounded poker player and move up the online poker rankings, you will have to become skilled at every game.
However, in the beginning you may want to focus on one or two games that you think may offer a real advantage over your opposition.
Choosing a Poker Game: Type of Game
If you have a good memory, you may prefer seven card stud.
Seven card stud requires that you remember all the exposed cards that have been in play.
This way, you can accurately estimate the likelihood of your opponents having a superior hand.
This information also helps you determine how likely it is you will make your own hand.
In Texas hold’em, five of your opponent’s seven cards are on the board for all to see, so you can concentrate on other aspects of the game.
Omaha gives you more possibilities, but also more possibilities to your opponents.
Five card draw is a “pure” poker game, in which bluffing and fortitude play a major role.
The only information you have about your opponents’ hands is how many cards they drew and how much they bet.
Choosing a Poker Game: Betting Structure
Limit poker will appear to the more mathematical player, since odds calculations often predominate decisions.
No limit requires much more psychology to determine how much is the right amount to bet to get an opponent to call or fold.
Pot limit is somewhere in between - pots stay small in the beginning, allowing the math to predominate.
By the end, however, the player with the greatest courage will often take the pot.
Choosing a Poker Game: Cash or Tournament
Many players enjoy both. Keep in mind that cash games provide instant gratification.
You immediately have more or less real money based on your decisions.
In tournaments, players strive for a long term goal, and the payoffs are not nearly as frequent, but they can be quite rewarding when they come.
