The game 27 Single Draw (aka Deuce to Seven Single Draw), is becoming quite a popular game at Poker Stars.  With big pots, fantastic bonuses and promotions, 27 Single Draw is very easy to play and enjoyable for poker players of all experience levels.  Similar in play to 27 Triple Draw, the only difference is that there is only one round of drawing instead of three.  The game procession will consist of the betting round, the draw, and the final betting round.  27 Single Draw also has the big blind and small blind, as well as the ante, to keep players into the game.  Many players call 27 single draw their favorite lowball game because they can play more hands per hour – which makes it perfect for those who get bored easily in longer games.
The blinds are determined by the dealer.  The player immediate to the left of the dealer is known as the “small blind,” and the player immediate to the left of the small blind is the “big blind.”  The blinds work as follows:

For example, at a $2/$4 table the small blind will immediately place half of the lower stake amount in the pot ($10, and the big blind will add half of the larger stake ($2) into the pot.  Once the two blind’s bets have been placed, the dealer will then to proceed to deal out five cards, face down to all players at the table; these five cards that each player has in their hand are also known as the “hole cards.”  Once the five initial cards are dealt, the betting round may begin.   These are the basic rules of 27 single draw.  If you want to learn a winning 2-7 single draw strategy please click the link.

I wanted to take a break from poker and casino posts to cover an emerging game that is taking the skilled game market by storm, online rummy. Rummy is one of the major international card games that is actually in the top 5 in terms of popularity online. Back in the day I would have loved playing rummy online but I now know that it is played quite differently than how me and my brothers played. I’m trying to learn the different forms of rummy, like gin. I’m having some trouble thought so it will be a while before you see me at the real money rummy tables.

I have also been converned about cheating in rummy but I read this article:

http://www.rummyguides.com/cheating-in-online-rummy.php

..and it has made me feel a lot better. I guess it makes sense that cheating in rummy is easily detected becasue is the same two player are always playing together and discarding cards the other player needs, depending on position, even a two-bit detection program would pick it up. It is also very easy to spot from a players point of view. The main rummy rooms always return the money to the effected players so I guess its no biggie. there will always be idiots trying to game the system when it comes to money.

Rummy isn’t actually considered gambling, even when you play for money. It is a game of skill so it is largely legal in the United States and many of the states that have old restrictions pertaining to online skill games have been considering legalizing it to bring in some much needed cash.

Check out this review of Rummy Royal to see how you can receive $5 to try out their program. It isn;t really a bad deal since you don’t have to give them any of your personal info.

Your strategy of play around the fixed limit five card draw table will change as you move from early to late position during game play. For example, the early position may see you playing less aggressively because there is so much that can happen after your turn. On the other hand, the late position gives you a huge advantage because you have already seen what other players are doing in the game and you can better judge from the late position the strength of the players around you. By knowing how to react at each position around the table, you will be better prepared to check, call, or fold your cards – or you’ll know whether you can go in for the kill. The 5 card draw rules are quite simple.

Bluffing Strategy in Fixed Limit Five Card Draw

While five card draw  in general is bluffer’s paradise, be careful with your fixed limit five card draw bluffs. Bluffing too often can have two different effects that are unpredictable and change from player to player. One of these effects is that no one will believe your bluff because you simply always get caught bluffing, and the other is that when you do get a good hand your opponents will assume you are bluffing and keep betting right alongside you (which helps build big, juicy pots). Either way, use your bluffs in moderation. A great fixed limit five card draw bluff is to draw two cards – everyone will assume that you have three of a kind. This 5 card draw strategy article has hopefully made you a better player.

There are many different games in HORSE and that makes it hard to give tips away in regards to the game of poker horse itself, but for the hi/lo part it is always advised to only play hands till the end if you feel you can win both or win one and split the other. Furthermore it is important to think about the limit variant of the games and not the NO Limit variety you might be used to play.  This means that a lot of players will stay in pots longer with draws and worse hands then you. Also when having excellent hands in for instance Texas HoldEm with AA it is hard to win a pot pre flop or on the flop because of the fact it is limit poker.  These H.O.R.S.E poker tips should help make you the best player at the table.
Know what you are playing. This is a rule you should never forget to check. If you play HORSE online the blinds can go up almost unnoticed and games can be switched while you poor a cup of coffee or say hello to the other half. On the top part of your screen all the poker room will tell you what game you are playing.

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo (8 or Better) is an intriguing poker variant where the pot is often split between two winners; the highest hand and the lowest hand. However, there is not always a Low Hand winner because of the strict rules of Low Hand Development.

This article will detail the complete Rules of 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo.

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo Rules – Objective
The object of 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo is to use the 7 cards available to you throughout the hand to develop the highest ranking poker hand, the lowest ranking poker hand, or both. Winning the low and high hands is called Scooping the pot.

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo Rules – Hand Development
The High Hand in 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo follows the standard poker hand rankings. The highest hand wins, period. However, the Low Hand must “Qualify” in order to even compete for the low hand half of the pot.

A Qualifying Low Hand must following these specific rules of hand development:

Aces are the lowest card (highest in High Hand only).
Straights/Flushes don’t count against you in the low hand.
There may be no card higher than an 8.
No pairs or better are allowed.

By these qualifying rules, the best and worst possible qualifying low hands are:

Best: A-2-3-4-5
Worst: 4-5-6-7-8

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo Rules – Betting Structure
7 Card Stud Hi-Lo is primarily played in a Fixed Limit betting structure. Instead of the standard Blind Bets used in Hold’em poker games, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo requires forced bets called the Ante and Bring-In.

Fixed Limit: This betting structure limits players to exact bet/raise amount throughout a hand of 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo. The exact amounts depending on the stakes and the current betting round. If the stakes are $2/$4, players must place bets/raises in $2 increments (the low bet) for the first two betting rounds. In the final three betting rounds, all bets/raises increase to $4 (the high bet).

Ante: All players must place an Ante Bet before the cards are dealt. The Ante can range anywhere from 10% to 25% of the low bet.

Bring-In: After the initial deal of cards, each player has 3 cards. The first two are face-down, but the third is face-up, called the Door Card. The player with the lowest Door Card places the Bring-In, equal to 50% of the low bet. If there is a tie for lowest card, lowest tying suit places the Bring-In. Suits rank lowest to highest Club, Diamond, Heart, Spade – easily remember because they are alphabetically ordered.

7 Card Stud Hi-Lo Rules – The Deal / Sample Hand
Finally, we’ll walk you through a sample hand of 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo to depict how the Streets and betting rounds are performed. Please be aware that a hand will end immediately if all other players Fold, awarding the last remaining player the entire current pot.

The hand begins with Ante bets, then the initial deal, where each player receives 3 cards. The first 2 cards are hole Cards, dealt face-down. The last is the Door Card. The player with the lowest Door Card places the Bring-In to kick off the first round of betting.

The player left of the Bring-In may Bet the low bet, Raise the low bet, or Fold. He may not Call since the Bring-In is only half of the low bet. Betting continues around the table in this fashion. The Bring-In bettor will only need to add enough chips to his Bring-In to Call, Bet or Raise. Once all players have acted, each choosing to Call or Fold, the game continues.

4th Street: Each player is dealt a fourth card face-up. The second betting round begins. For the duration of the hand, the highest open hand showing will start each betting round.

5th Street: Each player receives a fifth card face-up. The third round of betting starts. All bet/raise amounts now increase to meet the high bet for the rest of the hand.

6th Street: Each player is dealt their sixth card face-up, followed by the fourth betting round.

7th Street: Each player receives their seventh and final card, this time face down. The fifth and final betting round follows.

The Showdown: All players who remain active in the hand will use 5 of their 7 cards to develop the highest possible hand. The strongest ranking poker hand wins half of the pot. Next comes the Low Hand. All active players who have a Qualifying Low Hand will compare their lowest 5 card hand, with the lowest winning the other half of the pot. Should no player Qualify for a low hand, the high hand winner scoops the entire pot. It is also possible for the same player to win High and Low hands.

Note: It is possible to run out of cards before the 7th Street can be dealt. At a full table of 8 players, where no one choose to fold, there won’t be enough cards. In such cases, a single card is dealt face up to the center of the table. This becomes the 7th Street for all players.

In most Seven Card Stud tournaments you play against 60% of newbie’s to the game. This is a nice thing to know in Texas HoldEm as you will get paid with your better hand, but in 7 card stud it is not preferred as people will outdraw you with an incredible starting hand. The cardinal rule in tournaments is to not get excited in the first few rounds of the Ante. There is no need to chase draws or to try and bet players of, as they will mostly not pay attention to your hand. In the beginning try to figure out how every players plays and use this to your advantage. This is even more important then in Texas HoldEm as you will be able to guesstimate the hole cards of players that have folded. This sounds impossible, but as a short rough idea of what I mean the following example. A loose cannon folds a hand with a 10 as upcard. We can already deduct he does not have a 10 under. He probably also does not have a connector down as he would change the straights and he might not even have a suited card under as he would chase those as well. With this we can already gain a few % edge on our opponents. So stay low in the beginning, but definitely pay a lot of attention.