Planet Mark's Blog. Thoughts, News And Strategy For Poker Tournaments Of All Size

New Online Poker Games / Formats So Far In 2013

Here at Planet HQ we have been discussing the new games available so far in 2013. Looking at the list, it seems the PokerStars / FullTilt teams are the ones who have been driving the innovations. If you know of any more then let me know!

New Online Poker Games In 2013

1)      Irish Holdem: This is over at Full Tilt, you get dealt 4 hole cards, and have to muck 2 of them on the flop betting round. This leads to a looser game with better hands after the flop – and also some tricky decisions – do you keep a mid-strength made hand? Or maybe try and hit a draw to a monster? This game is available in No-Limit and Pot-Limit Betting Format.

2)      5-Card Stud: Again At Full Tilt, this is one of the oldest poker formats, with a single down card and 4 cards visible to all. You’ll need the best hand using all 5 of your own cards at showdown.

3)      5-Card Omaha: Over to PokerStars next, who have introduced a range of new Omaha games. 5 Card Omaha Hi is crazy enough to start with. The extra card increases the chances of draws and made hands, with the Omaha standard of 2 from your hand and 3 from the board at showdown. No need to discard any hands in this one. I have just read that Full Tilt are also introducing these games.

4)      5-Card Omaha Hi-Lo: Adding the low dimension + and extra card makes the number of draws explode. For those who can keep up with split pots, quartering and nut-nut situations, adding the 5th card does increase the fun.

5)      Courchevel: 5 Card Omaha not crazy enough for you? How about adding the first flop card pre-flop to make things even more interesting! Courchevel is another fun variation on the 5-card Omaha theme. You can play in different betting formats or tournaments.

6)      Escalator Tournaments: Back to Full Tilt… There were some complaints that the end portions of poker tournaments had become a little too much of a push / fold game – taking away from the skills required. Escalator tournaments address this by having longer gaps between the blinds as the game goes on.

7)      Strobe Poker: Not really a new game, unless you play exclusively at the OnGame network that is. Strobe is the name of the fast-fold game at OnGame, they still have a big recreational player base there – which makes this a softer option compared to Rush or Zoom Poker.

8)      Zoom Tournaments: These came in only recently, for the MicroMillions. You’ll now find them in the general tournament schedule at PokerStars – with some big buy-in games waiting in the Spring Championship.

It is only early May, so plenty of time for more innovations and games to be added to this list… With many sites making a big effort to appeal to a more recreational player base, it will be interesting to see what they come up with.

GL at the tables, Mark

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