Fun Poker Game Derivatives You Need to Be Playing

Poker has long been a favorite game among a large swath of gamblers. So, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that poker derivatives have established themselves on casino floors around the globe.

Many of these poker variants offer a decent house edge to stretch your bankroll and offer quite a bit of strategy to keep you engaged.

Here are seven poker derivatives you need to be playing on your next casino adventure.

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud provides a fun and interesting twist on traditional poker. In Caribbean Stud, the players and the dealer are all dealt five cards to start the hand. So, you get to see your entire hand right away.

Not only is your entire hand revealed from the start, but the dealer then reveals one of the cards in their hand. I would love to find a Texas Hold’em table where I could see one of my opponents’ hole cards to start the hand.

I imagine I would have much better success in the poker room. In fact, I could probably quit my day job, but who would want to do that?

You aren’t going to receive quite as much of an advantage in Caribbean Stud. The dealer still has four cards hidden away on the table.

Still, this is Stud poker, and catching a glimpse of 20% of the dealer’s hand can be advantageous. You’ll have to understand how to use that advantage if you want to get paid.

Caribbean Stud also has a dealer qualifier. If the dealer doesn’t have at least ace-king, the hand is a push. This can be beneficial when you have a poor hand, but it will also negate wins you would have had if not for the qualifier.

One of the largest draws for many players is the giant progressive jackpots. These jackpots regularly climb to six-figures.

Play your hand right, and you may get a once-in-a-lifetime payday.

Four-Card Poker

Four-Card Poker is one of the newest poker derivatives to catch hold in the casinos. This exciting game combines elements of skill and strategy with iron-clad resolve.

The objective in Four-Card Poker is to build the best possible hand using four of the five cards dealt with you. You want to build a hand that’s higher than the dealer’s four-card hand.

However, the dealer builds their hand after being dealt with six cards. This advantage further pads the house edge in this game.

After making an initial ante, the player may fold or make an additional bet of up to 3x the ante. In the event, the hand is a tie bets push.

There’s an interesting bonus that comes from a side bet. The Aces Up side bet allows players to make a separate wager before the deal, and this bet pays on any qualifying hand, a pair of aces or better.

The better your hand on this side bet, the higher you’re paid. The nice thing about the bonus wager is that you’ll win regardless of whether the dealer has a better hand.

Four-Card Poker hasn’t infiltrated every brick and mortar casino yet. It is a top-rated game in online casinos, and you should easily find a game.

Let It Ride

Let It Ride is one of the unique poker derivatives where you aren’t competing against a dealer. You aren’t even trying to beat your fellow players. Your goal in this game is to build the best possible hand using the five cards available.

To begin, the hand players place three equal wagers in the indicated positions on the table. The players and dealer are each dealt three cards.

After examining their hand, the player may ask to get their first bet back or “let it ride.” The dealer then flips the first community card. The player may then ask for their second bet back or “let it ride.” The dealer then deals the final community card, and players may ask for their third bet back or “let it ride.”

The dealer then flips all players’ cards face-up, going clockwise, and collects all losing bets. All winners are then paid based on the paytable.

The bonus games are a driving force for the popularity of Let It Ride. There is an optional $1 bet players can make to trigger a bonus for hands of three of a kind or better.

There’s also a three-card bonus that pays out if the player has a pair or better in their three hole cards. This wager may be between $1 and $100.

Let It Ride is a game of chance and strategy. Knowing when to let go of a losing hand is vital to your success or failure.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is the king of poker derivative games. Fans of video poker specifically will love the gameplay and basic strategies of Pai Gow, as they closely resemble video poker.

Players receive seven cards and are tasked with making one five0card hand and one two-card hand. The caveat is that the player’s five-card hand must beat the two-card hand.

Once both hands have been built and placed on the table, the cards may not be touched. If you incorrectly build your hand for any reason, the hands are immediately forfeited.

There is a 5% commission on all winning bets. Much like the commission in baccarat, this 5% serves to push the advantage in the casino’s favor.

5 – Ultimate Texas Hold’em

The basics of Ultimate Texas Hold’em are nearly identical to its popular namesake. Of course, there are a few distinct differences.

The name alone is enough to draw in a steady stream of gamblers as they pass through the casino. In fact, I have a friend that makes a significant portion of his income betting on sports.

I remember getting an excited phone call from him about the incredible run he’d just gone on playing Hold’em. I was happy for him but astonished because he’s usually the first player to bust in our small cash games.

It turns out he’d been on his way to the sportsbook when the dealer caught his eye, and he decided to play a few hands. He walked away from the table with over $5,500.

It was his first time playing the game. Now, his run had everything to do with luck and a little bit of skill.

Still, it goes to show that there’s a profit there if the cards happen to land just right. There’s a “Trips Bet” in Ultimate Texas Hold’em that can be rather lucrative.

Just know that whenever additional wagers begin to be placed, your exposure increases.

Three-Card Poker

Three-Card Poker is another of the more popular poker derivatives. The game can be found in most land-based and all online casinos.

Three-Card is interesting because it allows you to bet on the player or the dealer. The ante bet will put you in the game versus the dealer’s hand.

After the player reviews their hand, they may then place an equal wager in the play circle to go heads up against the dealer.

There is a bevy of side bets available in Three-Card, but the six-card bonus stands out. This bonus allows you to combine your three-card hand with the dealer’s three-card hand to build the best five-card hand.

The bonus for a six-card royal flush with diamonds goes all the way up to $1,000,000 in some casinos.

Mississippi Stud

Mississippi Stud incorporates elements of skill and strategy to provide one of the most entertaining table games in the casino. The player places an ante wager is dealt two cards. They are then faced with the decision to fold or bet 1^st street.

If the player decides to continue, the first of three community cards are revealed. The process is then repeated through the third street. At each junction, the player may bet 1x all the way to 3x the ante amount.

This can make for some substantial swings because anything from a pair of sixes up is a push at worst. So, once you’ve established a decent hand, you can pile on those 3x bets for significant wins.

Mississippi Stud uses a paytable to establish payouts, and Jacks or Better is a guaranteed win for the player.

Knowing when to bet big and when to get out of a hand are paramount in Mississippi Stud.

Conclusion

These seven poker derivatives you need to be playing will keep things fresh on the casino floor. You’ll find better odds elsewhere on the casino floor, but gambling is meant to be entertainment, and these poker spin-offs don’t fail to deliver when it comes to entertaining.