The Play: Like many variants of Texas Hold’em, Cincinnati plays much the same, with the same hand ranking and rules on betting. The major difference is also...
The catch: Each player is dealt five pocket cards instead of two. The table cards are dealt all at once, but face down. Each table card is turned over one at a time, with a round of betting following each turn over. Best hand is made up of five cards in any combination of the ten available to each player.
Guts
The Play: This variant is very different from Texas Hold’em, but a lot of fun nevertheless. Each round a player can chose to ante up or stay out; once the antes are in, each player is dealt three cards face down (they are pocket cards so the players can take a look at their own cards.) Once more each player can decide if they are in or out. Those who don’t fold have to put in a second ante, typically the same amount as the first. After this the dealer counts to three and says “Drop!” Any players who want to fold drop their cards to the table. Any players who play on show their hands. Winner takes the pot, and is determined to have the best hand by the following ranking: Three of a kind; Straight Flush; Straight; Flush; Pair; High Card.
The catch: Anyone who lost the pot has to match it for the next round, in addition to the new antes that will come.
Omaha
The Play: Possibly the most similar to Texas Hold’em, Omaha is nevertheless full of different strategy. In Omaha each player is dealt four pocket cards instead of two, and the winner makes the best hand of five out of the available cards.
The catch: Players can only use two of the four pocket cards, and must use three of the five table cards.
Omaha Hi-Lo
The Play: In yet another variant’s variant, Omaha Hi-Lo plays exactly the same as standard Omaha, except that the pot can be split between the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand.
The catch: A player has to qualify for his hand to be the lowest with a 8-7-6-5-4 or lower hand. Ace can be a low card. If no player has a qualifying low hand, the high-handed player wins the entire pot.