Playing Poker Games Online in India: an Expert Guide

To master Texas Hold’em poker, start by understanding the deal & wagering process:

• Each player is dealt two cards, face down
• Round of betting 1
• The dealer reveals the first three community cards. This is known as the “flop”.
• Round of betting 2
• The dealer reveals the fourth community card. This is known as the “turn”.
• Round of betting 3
• The dealer reveals the fifth and final community card. This is known as the “river.”
• Final round of betting.

Once all bets are finalized, each player reveals their face-down cards, and the best hand wins the prize pool (known as the “pot”).

While No-Limit Hold’em is the most popular variation of Texas Hold’em, Limit and Pot-Limit poker games are two other popular variations of Hold’em Poker.

Limit Texas Hold’em

In limit hold’em, the size of the bets is determined before the start of the game, and wager sizes increase in the final two rounds. For example, in a ₹10/₹20 fixed-limit Texas Hold’em game, you can wager in multiples of ₹10 after receiving your cards and the “flop”, but bets increase to ₹20 following the “turn” and the “river”.

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

In Pot Limit Hold’em, the size of wagers is limited to whatever the size of the “pot” (the prize pool) is. For example, if there’s ₹50 in the “pot”, the maximum wager would be ₹50.

Read our full guide to Texas Hold’em poker to learn more.

Once the rounds of dealing and wagering are completed, players reveal their face-down cards, and the best five-card hand wins. In the event of a tie, the pot is equally divided among the players with the leading hands.

Most Omaha poker games online follow one of three wagering formats: Pot Limit, No Limit, or Fixed Limit. Each of these three game types follow the same rules, with some slight variation.

Pot Limit Omaha Poker

The most popular form of online Omaha poker, in Pot Limit, wager size is limited to however much is in the pot (e.g. if the pot total is ₹100, maximum bet size would be ₹100.)

The minimum bet in Pot Limit Omaha poker, at most poker sites, is the same as the size of the big blind.

No Limit Omaha Poker

In No Limit Omaha Poker, as the name suggests, there are no limits to the bet sizes – players can wager the total amount of chips they have available.

Fixed Limit Omaha Poker

In Fixed Limit Omaha Poker, bet sizes & amounts are structured and pre-determined. Similar to Fixed-Limit Texas Hold’em, bets & raises are the same amount as the big blind pre-flop and on the flop itself (e.g. if the big blind is ₹25, bet sizes are ₹25.)

After the flop – the turn & the river – the bet/raise size doubles (e.g. if the big blind is ₹25, bet sizes are ₹50.)

In this game type, players are allowed a maximum of four bets per betting round.

While rules and variations may different slightly between each casino, the majority of Omaha Hi/Lo games use an 8-or-better qualifier. This means that, to win the ‘low’ hand, your hand must be comprised of five different cards that are all less than 8. Cards 8-or-better contribute to the ‘high’ hand.

Note that Aces always count as low in a low hand, meaning the best possible low hand would be 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace.

Omaha Hi-Lo Poker games usually follow one of three wagering formats: Limit, Pot Limit, or No Limit.

Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker

In Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker, bet sizes & amounts are structured and pre-determined. Similar to Fixed-Limit Texas Hold’em, bets & raises are the same amount as the big blind pre-flop and on the flop itself (e.g. if the big blind is ₹25, bet sizes are ₹25.)

After the flop – the turn & the river – the bet/raise size doubles (e.g. if the big blind is ₹25, bet sizes are ₹50.)

In this game type, players are allowed a maximum of four bets per betting round.

Pot Limit Hi/Lo Poker

The most popular form of online Omaha Hi/Lo poker, in Pot Limit, wager size is limited to however much is in the pot (e.g. if the pot total is ₹100, maximum bet size would be ₹100.)

The minimum bet in Pot Limit Omaha poker, at most poker sites, is the same as the size of the big blind.

No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker

In No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Poker, as the name suggests, there are no limits to the bet sizes – players can wager the total amount of chips they have available.

Seven-Card Stud Poker

In 7-card stud, players are dealt a total of – you guessed it – seven cards of the course of each game. The cards are dealt sporadically, with rounds of betting in between each.

At the beginning of the game, each player will be dealt three cards – two face down, and one face up. The player showing the lowest face-up card is nominated as the first player to go, and a betting round commences. This step is known as third street.

After the betting round commences, each player receives another face-up card, which is called fourth street. After this deal, the first player to go is the one whose two face-up cards have the highest value.

This process of dealing and betting continues until each player has seven total cards, at which point the remaining players show down, and the best five-card poker hand wins.

Read our guide to seven-card stud poker to learn more and find where to play.

While 3 card poker seems – and is – relatively simple, there are further layers that can complicate the game, and all of which are worth learning. There are three primary points we recommend keeping in mind if you’re considering 3 card poker:

• If a player wants to “play”, they must place a bet, and this bet must be equal to the ante
• For a dealer to qualify for play, they must have Queen-high or better. If they do not, and the player made a “play” wager, the player wins.
• Depending on the casino, some additional wagering options are present, such as Pairs Plus, or Ante Bonus. Make sure you know the rules of your game type before you start wagering.

To learn more about bet types, how to master the game, and where to play, read our guide to 3 card poker.

Five-Card Draw Poker

As we said above, five-card draw is a simple & classic game. Read our five card poker guide in order to learn winning hands, strategy, and where to play.

2-7 Triple Draw Poker

A slightly more complicated version of draw poker, three drawing rounds give you additional betting opportunities. This is what’s known as a ‘lowball’ variant of poker, in which the winning hand has the lowest five unique cards.

2-7 Single Draw Poker

Another variant of 2-7, single draw is played in a no-limit betting format, rather than fixed limit. Single draw only has – you guessed it – one round of drawing, meaning bet sizes play a huge role in strategy.

Badugi Poker

This is a quirky draw game. The idea is to make a ‘Badugi’ – four cards of different suits. The lowest hand wins, meaning A-2-3-4 of different suits is the best possible hand.