Online poker – playing poker online for money

Poker is one of the most popular card games in the world. Moreover, poker is one of the few games in the casino where you can influence the outcome yourself. In many casinos, online poker is offered at tables where you play against others, but in other variants you play only against the casino.

In all these versions the poker hands work the same, but the exact way of playing may differ. Below you can read exactly which different variants are offered in casinos. But also where to find the best poker bonuses and read the best poker tips.

Playing poker online

Almost every online casino offers several live and non-live variants of online poker. Here, we have listed the best online casinos where you can play poker.

Poker variations

There are lots of different poker variants, which in turn can be divided into two types. Poker against the bank and poker against other players. Below are the most common versions of different types of poker.

Texas Holdem

This is probably the best-known poker variant and also the one you see most often at big tournaments. In Texas Holdem, you are dealt two cards and eventually have to make the highest possible combination with five cards.

To do this, you use one or two cards from your own hand, supplemented by five community cards. Or just the common cards, but then you don’t win.

After dealing the cards to each player and placing the mandatory bets (the blinds), three community cards are turned over (the flop). Then one card (the turn) and then the last one (the river).

After each time cards have been dealt, players can bet money which increases the pot, or put down (fold) their cards, which means they are no longer allowed to play in this round. The winner of a round gets the pot – the total of all bets that round. With a bit of luck, you’re free poker Texas Holdem all evening.

Online Poker Texas Hold’em

In online Texas Holdem, the cards are dealt automatically, yet one of the players is assigned a dealer button. This is to maintain the normal order of play (player and dealer).

Next to the dealer are two players who must place the mandatory bets. First the small blind (half the big blind) and then the big blind. The big blind is leading for all players and is the minimum amount to play with in that round. If a player bets a raise, all players must decide again to go with the raised bet.

The first player to make a decision is the player next to the small blind. This position is called ‘under the gun’, as this decision guides the rest of the round. After each round, the dealer button shifts one spot, so all the other positions move with it as well. When you switch tables online, you always have to pay the big blind once to join.

How expensive the big blind is depends on the table. When you search for a table online, the small blind and big blind are indicated, so you know what the minimum bet is. Other bets are also determined by big blind – if the big blind is €1, for example, you should put a raise of at least €2 on the table.

How much you are allowed to bet at most also differs from table to table. A table with a limit usually allows a highest raise of twice the big blind. A no-limit table has no betting round limit.

Pai Gow Poker Online

Pai Gow Online Poker is less well known. This card game comes from China and you play against the bank. Each player (and also the bank) is dealt seven cards. As a player, you divide the seven cards into two hands: a five-card hand and a two-card hand.

The five-card hand must always be higher than the two-card hand, and it is up to the player to make both hands as good as possible. The aim is to get both hands higher than the banker’s. With one hand higher and one hand lower, it is a draw, just like with one hand higher and one hand equal.

Caribbean Stud Poker

In Caribbean Stud Online Poker, too, the bank is your opponent. You participate by putting down an ante. Each player, including the bank, is then dealt five cards. The bank places one of the cards face-up on the table.

Based on your own cards, you decide whether to continue playing for a bet of twice the ante.

The bank needs a combination of at least Ace – King high. With a lower combination, players do not play but double the ante as winnings and get the rest of the play money back.

If the player wins from the bank, the better the hand, the bigger the win. If the bank wins, you lose the ante and the bet.

Oasis Poker

Oasis Poker is actually another variant of Caribbean Stud Poker, as the five-card setup is the same for each player and the bank. In Oasis Poker, however, your cards are visible on the table. You can also swap one to five cards.

To do so, you pay the price of the ante for each card. Then, if your hand is higher than the bank’s (which has to be at least Ace-King), you will be paid out again based on the size of your hand.

Omaha Poker

Omaha Holdem, as it is officially called, is an online poker game very similar to Texas Holdem. The main difference with Texas Hold em is that in Omaha Poker, you have four cards of your own. Of these four cards, you choose which two cards to use to make the highest possible combination of five cards.

The times at which bets can be made are similar to Texas Holdem though: before the turn, flop and river and after the river.

Seven Card Stud

Before Texas Holdem was the most popular version, Seven Card Stud was the most widely played poker version. Each player starts with two capped cards and one face-up card, followed by a number of rounds in which more cards are dealt and bets can be made.

In the first three rounds, each player is dealt an additional face-up card, giving them two face-down cards and four face-up cards. In the final round, each player gets another face-down card and, after betting, the show-down finally follows. Now it is seen who can make the best five-card combination from the seven cards dealt.

Video Poker

This variation of online poker is often found in real casinos. Of course, you can also play this in online casinos. In video poker, you play by yourself and the aim is to get the highest possible score from five cards.

After placing your bet, you are dealt five cards and you may change one or more cards once. After this, it is checked whether you have a combination that pays out.

In the most common variant of video poker, Jacks or Better, you already get your bet back if you have a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces. Two pair pays twice your bet, three of a kind three times and so on up to 50 times your bet for a straight flush or even 800 times for a royal flush.

Live Poker

Live poker is not really a variant of online poker, but more of a name for when you play poker against other players. Online casinos that offer poker have several tables available at any given time to play directly against others. GGPoker has the most tables at any given time, but Holland Casino Poker also offers live tables and tournaments, as does Bet365.

Play poker for free

Poker online for free? As mentioned, you can play poker at most online casinos and many of them also offer free versions. Video poker is the variant most often offered for free, as you can play it on your own. If you want to practise other types of online poker for free, such as playing Texas Holdem for free, it’s best to join a poker site. GGPoker, for example. These sites have free games where you play against others.

Learning poker online

We’ve already given you a brief explanation of how different types of online poker are played. Of course, at Casino Masters you will also find the comprehensive poker game rules. Legally, poker is a game of chance, but with good knowledge and the right strategy, your chances of winning increase significantly.

For example, if you can calculate the odds of winning at certain cards, you can already make a better assessment of when you should or shouldn’t bet. In addition, it is important to read your opponents’ play well, so you can make a good guess whether they have a strong hand or not.