tony4680
Rock Star
Silver Level
Thought it'd be fun to see what everyone's favorite game variant was(excluding the standard ones available on every network like Omaha and Razz). I copied and pasted some descriptions down for each in case you were unfamiliar or couldn't remember by name alone. This is by no means a comprehensive list but I think these are definitely the more popular/easy to find games.
Courchevel
Courchevel is an exciting game derived from Omaha. Each player in a Courchevel game is dealt five private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are then dealt face-up on the ‘board’. All players use exactly two cards from their five hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the board to make the best five-card poker hand possible.
Badugi
Badugi originated in Asia and is a variant of draw poker. It shares many similarities with Lowball, as it’s the lowest hand that wins. It differs significantly from most popular poker variants however, as the hand ranking system is different. The strongest hands are those that have no pairs and four low cards, one of each suit. This is known as a Badugi
Each player is dealt four cards face down. The first round of betting then takes place, where you can call, raise or fold. Players still left in the hand after this first betting round now have the option to draw. The idea of the draw is that you can choose to discard any cards that you don’t want, and have them replaced with new ones that you hope will improve your hand. Click the cards you want to discard, and then click the ‘Discard’ button. You can opt to discard all four cards if you want. A second round of betting then takes place, with players having the option to bet or fold, unless there are no bets, in which case you can check. Once this round of betting is complete, another draw and betting round takes place. This is followed by a final draw and betting round, after which a showdown occurs if more than one player remains. The player with the best hand takes the pot.
Irish
Irish is a variant of Hold'em, where the main difference becomes obvious when the cards are first dealt: players are dealt four hole cards instead of two pre-flop. Two of these must be discarded after the flop round of betting, and the hand then proceeds similarly to a standard Hold'em hand.
32-Card Draw
32-Card Draw is played with a deck of thirty-two (32) cards from Ace to Seven. In 32-Card Draw A-7-8-9-10 counts as the lowest Straight.32 Card Poker 32 Card Poker is normally known as Stripped Deck Poker. This game is played with 2 to 5 players.
This game is played with 2 to 5 players. 3 blinds - small, big, and over when more than 3 players (2-3 players reverts to just small and big blinds). When exchanging cards, the first player after the dealer starts (as in 5 card draw), but on the second round, action starts after the overblind (not after the dealer). In a heads-up situation (only 2 players) the action starts with the small blind. Player can discard a maximum of 4 cards. The time limit for raise is 10 seconds, after which you can only check, call, or fold. Aces can play high or low, so you could have a straight of A-7-8-9-10 or 10-J-Q-K-A. The Parole feature allows players to split the pot (2nd betting round only)
Telesina
Telesina is also known as Teresina and it is played with a stripped 32- card deck (Aces-7). It’s a variant of a Stud game but with a community card called Vela, which players could use to improve their hand. Telesina is played with an ante. Before any cards are dealt the antes must be posted by every player in the game. There is also a difference compared to "normal" hand ranking as a Flush beats a Full house.
Each player receives 2 cards, one dealt face down and one face up. The card dealt first is a hole card and cannot be seen by the other players. After that there will be 3 more cards dealt face up to each remaining player. After the fifth card has been dealt to remaining players and the betting round is over, Vela card is placed in the middle of the table. The player showing the highest card after the deal must make a forced bet (bring-in) that usually amounts to 2 x the ante or make a bet higher than that if the limits allow it. For the purposes of determining the bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order being Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. After the initial bring-in or bet is made action continuous clockwise until betting is completed for the round
Courchevel
Courchevel is an exciting game derived from Omaha. Each player in a Courchevel game is dealt five private cards (‘hole cards’) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are then dealt face-up on the ‘board’. All players use exactly two cards from their five hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the board to make the best five-card poker hand possible.
Badugi
Badugi originated in Asia and is a variant of draw poker. It shares many similarities with Lowball, as it’s the lowest hand that wins. It differs significantly from most popular poker variants however, as the hand ranking system is different. The strongest hands are those that have no pairs and four low cards, one of each suit. This is known as a Badugi
Each player is dealt four cards face down. The first round of betting then takes place, where you can call, raise or fold. Players still left in the hand after this first betting round now have the option to draw. The idea of the draw is that you can choose to discard any cards that you don’t want, and have them replaced with new ones that you hope will improve your hand. Click the cards you want to discard, and then click the ‘Discard’ button. You can opt to discard all four cards if you want. A second round of betting then takes place, with players having the option to bet or fold, unless there are no bets, in which case you can check. Once this round of betting is complete, another draw and betting round takes place. This is followed by a final draw and betting round, after which a showdown occurs if more than one player remains. The player with the best hand takes the pot.
Irish
Irish is a variant of Hold'em, where the main difference becomes obvious when the cards are first dealt: players are dealt four hole cards instead of two pre-flop. Two of these must be discarded after the flop round of betting, and the hand then proceeds similarly to a standard Hold'em hand.
32-Card Draw
32-Card Draw is played with a deck of thirty-two (32) cards from Ace to Seven. In 32-Card Draw A-7-8-9-10 counts as the lowest Straight.32 Card Poker 32 Card Poker is normally known as Stripped Deck Poker. This game is played with 2 to 5 players.
This game is played with 2 to 5 players. 3 blinds - small, big, and over when more than 3 players (2-3 players reverts to just small and big blinds). When exchanging cards, the first player after the dealer starts (as in 5 card draw), but on the second round, action starts after the overblind (not after the dealer). In a heads-up situation (only 2 players) the action starts with the small blind. Player can discard a maximum of 4 cards. The time limit for raise is 10 seconds, after which you can only check, call, or fold. Aces can play high or low, so you could have a straight of A-7-8-9-10 or 10-J-Q-K-A. The Parole feature allows players to split the pot (2nd betting round only)
Telesina
Telesina is also known as Teresina and it is played with a stripped 32- card deck (Aces-7). It’s a variant of a Stud game but with a community card called Vela, which players could use to improve their hand. Telesina is played with an ante. Before any cards are dealt the antes must be posted by every player in the game. There is also a difference compared to "normal" hand ranking as a Flush beats a Full house.
Each player receives 2 cards, one dealt face down and one face up. The card dealt first is a hole card and cannot be seen by the other players. After that there will be 3 more cards dealt face up to each remaining player. After the fifth card has been dealt to remaining players and the betting round is over, Vela card is placed in the middle of the table. The player showing the highest card after the deal must make a forced bet (bring-in) that usually amounts to 2 x the ante or make a bet higher than that if the limits allow it. For the purposes of determining the bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order being Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. After the initial bring-in or bet is made action continuous clockwise until betting is completed for the round