Poker World

Another popular poker game is called Omaha Hi. It is not as popular as Texas Hold’em, but is still played by many poker players around the world. Just like most poker games it can be played by a minimum of two players and a maximum of ten. There are four rounds of betting during the game. Players are given four cards that are hidden from other players at the start. Five cards are placed in the middle of the table in view of everyone. Players use the four cards they were given to try to get the highest hand they can using the five cards from the middle. They can use two of their cards and three of the five in the middle to create their highest hand.

Omaha Hi/Lo is a similar version of the game, except that players try to create the highest hand possible and/or the lowest hand they can, again using two of their own cards and three from the middle of the table.

Rules

Omaha is almost identical as Texas Hold’em. However there are two differences between the games:

• Unlike in Texas Hold’em where players are given two cards at the start, in Omaha players are given four cards.
• Players have to use two of their own cards and three from the middle of the table to create their hand.

Here is a more in detail look at the game known as Omaha.

• Bets are placed at the beginning of the game just like in Texas Hold’em, known as Ante’s.
• Players are given four cards to keep; only you can see what cards you have at this point.
• First round of betting takes place after the four cards have being handed out to each player. At this point players can call, raise or fold their hand.
• Three cards are placed in the middle of the table after the first round of betting and the second round of the betting takes place.
• After the second round of betting has finished, also known as the ‘Flop’, a fourth card is dealt to the middle of the table. The third round begins, known as the ‘Turn’.
• The last card is placed into the middle after the third round has finished. The ‘River’ begins, which is the last round of betting.
• Players begin to show their hands after the last round of betting, with the player(s) who have the highest hand being declared the winner(s). The highest hand player wins the pot and the game continues into the next round.

Texas Hold’em Rules

One of the most famous and one of the best poker games is known as Texas Hold’em. Texas Hold’em is a poker game that can be played with as few as ten players and a maximum of ten players. Texas Hold’em is a poker game known by many American players as well as many players around the world. It is a fast game that can be over in no time. During the World Poker Tour, Texas Hold’em is the main game that is used.

Texas Hold’em originated in Texas, although this can’t be 100% proved. During the 1900’s the game was played by players in Texas and this is when the game first took off. The game spread around America when a few Texas players went to Las Vegas in the early 1900’s and it has being one of the most well known games around the world since then.

Texas Hold’em has four betting rounds during the game. Each player is given two cards which are facing the table, so other players can’t see which card you get. Five cards are then put into the middle of the table facing up, so that everyone can see them. The winner is the player who has the highest hand at the end, and they win the main pot.
Rules

• Each player must put in a bet at the beginning of the game to be able to start the main game; this is known as an ante.
• Each player is given two private cards at the beginning faced down towards the table.
• The player who is left of the biggest ante, third to the dealer starts the first round of betting. During this first round players can call, raise or fold.
• After the first round of betting the dealer places three cards into the middle of the table facing up and the second round of betting begins. This round of betting is known as the ‘flop’.
• After the second round of betting the fourth card is placed into the middle. Again the next round of betting starts: the third round. This round is known as the ‘turn’. Bets are doubled in this round from the previous ones.
• The last card, the fifth one is placed in the middle after the third round. The last round then begins and this is known as the ‘River’.
• After all five rounds of betting have taken place, the players show their cards and the player with the highest hand wins the entire hand. If players have identical cards then the pot is split up accordingly.

What Is The World Poker Tour?

The WPT (World Poker Tour) is a sequence of worldwide poker tournaments. The tournaments play host to a number of the world’s best poker players. The World Poker Tour first came to fame in the USA, when a man named Steven Lipscomb came up with the idea and got it off the ground. Steven Lipscomb is now the CEO of WPT Enterprises which is a company that oversees the World Poker Tour.

The WPT is a Texas Hold ‘em poker tournament. The tour is held all over the world but the majority of the tournaments are held in the country that started the tour, the USA. Since the Tour became televised the game of poker has became a widely popular game, with poker players joining games online in poker rooms. The World Poker Tour has a number of sponsors, mainly sponsors in the Casino and Poker niche.

Background of the World Poker Tour

In 2002 and the beginning of 2003, the World Poker Tour really took off. It was handed its debut towards the end of 2002 and the first final of the tour was held in April of 2003 in Las Vegas. The first ever series of the Poker World Tour was televised on the Travel Channel for American cable viewers to watch. The sixth series of the tour was televised on GSN and would take place in the spring of 2008.

GSN showed the sixth series, known as the Mirage Poker Showdown, and World Poker Tour Enterprises made a shock announcement that the seventh series would be live and exclusive on Fox Sports Net.

World Poker Tour Commentary

The WPT show is hosted and commentated on by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. These two commentators give viewers the feeling that they do live recorded commentary and that they interact with the players on certain occasions.

They record comments about ‘Hole Cards’ after the tournament has taken place as gaming rules stop them from doing so. This means that the commentary many viewers see is not live, but a mixture of live feeds and post-recorded commentary.

Who Can Play WPT?

Almost anyone with money to burn and knowledge of poker can play on the WPT. The ‘buy in’ amount to play is anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000.

Viewers at home watching can see the cards that players have got, all thanks to a small camera underneath the poker table.

World Poker Tour for Ladies

WPT stated in January 2008 that there would be a similar tournament set up so that women could play, this would be called WPT Ladies. The tour will have five events, and a buy in of $300 to $1,500. The final tournament is set to be shown live on television.