Poker Online

Poker is undoubtedly the most loved card game 🂤 in the world, especially in the two variants of Texas Hold’em and “Canadian”. Let’s see how online poker is played in the two versions, what are the differences and what types of tournaments can be played in the best online casinos.

Everyone knows the rules of poker roughly, but let’s take a review of the basic rules of the two main variants of online poker together. In both games, the goal is to get the best five-card ♠ hand.

Poker Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em poker is the most widely played poker variant online. In this variant, the dealer deals two cards face down to each player, then continues with the betting. The player to the left of the big blind “speaks” (ie plays) first ✅. The game possibilities are three:

• Fold, meaning to abandon the hand;
• Call 📱, or accept the bet equal to the big blind;
• Raise, or raise the stakes by raising.

Once a game 🎲 action has been carried out, the dealer serves the first three community cards for all players, ie the Flop, uncovering them in the center of the table.

At this point the player to the left of the dealer speaks. The player can choose whether to wait for the other players’ moves (check), or make a bet (bet).

The dealer reveals an additional card in the center of the table, the so-called Turn. The player to the left of the dealer – among those still participating in the hand – starts the third round of betting, with the same possibilities as in the previous round, check or bet.

If there are still two or more players in the game, the dealer proceeds to reveal the fifth and last card in the center of the table, the so-called River.

The last round of betting begins, always starting with the player to the left of the dealer 🧔.

At the end of the betting, cards are revealed to check the highest score between the combinations of the players’ cards and those on the table.

Poker “all’Canadiana”

In Canadian-style poker generally the dealer should pay the so-called “invitation”, which is a specific sum that makes up the pot ⭐. Often, however, a different formula is used, in which all players contribute to the payment of the sum that forms the pot.

Initially the dealer deals five cards face down to each player. The player to the left of the dealer speaks, who can only open the game if he has a pair of jacks or a royal flush draw. If none of the players have these alternatives, the dealer deals the cards again, and at that point the game can only be opened with a pair of queens. If no one has a pair of queens, a new hand is moved to the minimum requirement of a pair of kings 🌟, then aces. If no one is in possession of the required score, the game starts again with the pair of jacks.

After the game has opened, players can choose whether to “check” or raise. At the end of the betting round, players can replace their cards. There are versions that allow you to change up to four cards 🂤, while others allow you to change them all.

Once the cards have been changed there is another round of betting, then the cards are shown to verify the highest score, which wins the pot.

Differences between Texas Hold’em poker and Canadian poker

Although the aim of the game is the same, there are some differences between the two versions of poker, starting with the different game modes we explained earlier. But there are also other fundamental differences, first of all the number of cards: in Canadian poker a deck of 32 French cards is used for 4 players, while in Texas Hold’em the cards are 52, therefore only the cards are removed from the classic 👍 deck the jokers.

In addition, Canadian style poker has a hierarchy of suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) and the order of the cards is 7-8-9-10-j-Q-K-A. In Texas Hold’em, there is no suit hierarchy and the card order is 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A.

The main difference is also related to the number of cards used in the two variants ☘, that is, the value of Full and Flush hands. In fact, in Canadian poker a flush is worth more than a full house, while in Texas hold’em full house wins the flush.

Types of online poker tournaments

Now that you know how to play online poker, let’s see together what types of tournaments exist and how to participate.

Online poker tournaments can be of different types 🚀, and they differ from the cash game mode in some particulars: in the cash mode, the player chooses a table to sit at and can play for the time he prefers. In addition, the level of the small and big blind will always be the same, while in tournament mode the level increases.

Let’s move on to the characteristics and types of poker tournaments. Once you have opened an account on the site of an AAMS licensed gaming operator, check for any welcome bonus to spend in the poker area. Then choose a minimum / maximum bet 🎲, the most common versions in tournaments are:

• The limit in which each bet and each raise are fixed and correspond to the value of the big blind;
• The pot limit at which the maximum bet or raise is equal to the pot size, therefore, it is equal to or less than the amount of bets collected so far.
• No Limit, i.e. the maximum bet is what the player 🧔 has available.

Now that you know the types of bets, let’s take a look at the types of online poker tournaments together:

• Sit&Go: Sit & Gos are tournaments which do not have a set time, but which start as soon as all seats at the table have been filled. They are therefore tournaments with a set number of players, between 2 (in the case of the Heads Up) and a few dozen.

• Satellites: Satellite itornei are event qualifier tournaments with higher prizes. This means that satellite tournament winners are rewarded with tickets to higher buy-in tournaments. The satellite tournament ends when the number of tickets 💶 up for grabs has run out.

• Freeroll: Itorneifreerolls are those without registration costs, therefore the tournaments in which you do not pay the buy-in. These are the most popular tournaments for novice players who don’t want to risk losing money. The prize of freeroll tournaments can be a cash prize (obviously very low), or tickets for access to other tournaments.

• Multi-table: Multi-table tournaments include a large number of game tables. Players must eliminate other players at their table. As the eliminations proceed, the tables are merged, effectively reaching a “final” with the best players from each starting table. The prize 🎁 pool varies according to the buy-in value and the number of players.

• Turbo: Turbo, or Speed, tournaments have a very rapid increase in the small and big blind values, thus ensuring a higher speed than normal tournaments. There are different speeds, to suit the tastes of all players 🧔.

• KnockOut or Bounty: In tournaments of this type, a reward is assigned for each player. Other participants can receive a reward when they destroy their opponent. During registration, players are notified of the amount of rewards and the size of the tournament prize pool 🤑.

Various types of tournaments provide the option to re-purchase or buy new chips to continue playing even after being eliminated. The rules governing this feature are usually listed in the information specific to the tournament. The types of tournaments 🏆 we have presented to you are not mutually exclusive: therefore, there can be iSit & Go Turbo satellites or multi-table satellites.