Best Ontario Poker Sites — Poker Online with Real Money 2023

Online Poker Variants

As you probably know, online poker is a game in which players compete for a common pot. They receive a starting hand and then try to build the strongest hand between betting rounds. After the last betting round, the remaining players reveal their hands, and the strongest one wins. Well, that’s not always true. As you will discover, the object of some poker games is to have the weakest or lowest hand. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular online poker variants.

Texas Hold’Em

Texas Hold’Em is hands-down the most popular and widely played version of poker. Each player receives two cards face-down, and then a betting round ensues. The dealer then puts three cards face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the “Flop.” These are community cards that each player can use. After another betting round, the dealer places another card face up. This process repeats itself one more time, leaving each player to make the best 5-card hand out of the five community cards and their two face-down cards.

Omaha

Omaha is very similar to Texas Hold’Em. The biggest difference is that each player starts with four face-down cards instead of two. There are betting rounds after the cards are dealt and then more betting rounds between the flop, the turn, and the river. Unlike Texas Hold’Em, in which you can use both, one, or none of your hole cards to make your hand, Omaha requires players to use exactly two of their hole cards and three community cards.

We should mention that one version of Omaha, known as Omaha Hi-Lo, involves a split pot. Half of the pot is awarded to the player with the lowest qualifying hand. If no such hand exists, then the player with the highest hand takes the entire pot.

7-Card Stud Poker

In 7-Card Stud Poker, a round begins with each player receiving two cards face-down and one card face up. After a round of betting, each player gets another face-up card. This repeats until the remaining players each have two hole cards and four face-up cards. After the betting round, each player gets one last card face-down. After the final bets are placed, it goes to the showdown, and the strongest hand wins.

If you play at the best Ontario poker sites, then you will probably come across 5-Card Stud. This is the same as the 7-card version, except players wind up with three-hole cards and two face-up cards. Some online poker sites even offer a hi-lo version of the 7-Card Stud.

Short-Deck Poker

Short Deck Poker is a relatively new poker variant quickly becoming very popular. This is essentially Texas Hold’Em, but there is a fun twist. All 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s have been removed from the deck. This modification leaves us with 36 cards. It also results in some pretty big hands.

2-7 Triple Draw Poker

As mentioned earlier, the object of some poker variants is to get the lowest hand. 2-7 Triple Draw is one such game. Each player receives 5 cards and then three draws with betting rounds in between. In this game, aces are always high. Also, flushes and straights do not count as low hands. The best hand would be 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, while an ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5, would count as an ace-high.

Different Poker Games

Not all online casinos feature an online poker vertical, but you’ll find that they all offer a range of casino poker games. With these games, you go head-to-head against a dealer as opposed to playing against the other players at the table and play poker for real money. In most cases, you place your opening wager and then receive your starting hand. You can then make another bet or fold your hand. The number of betting rounds and draws differs from game to game. Like video poker, payouts are based on a pay table. Let’s take a quick look at a few online casino poker variants.

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud is perhaps the simplest casino poker game to play. A round begins with each player placing their antes. The dealer then gives each player 5 cards face-down. The dealer also gives himself five cards, but one of them will be face up so that all players can see it. Each player must then decide whether they want to bet and play out the hand or fold. The game then goes into the showdown.

Here’s the thing to pay close attention to; the dealer’s hand must be an Ace-King or higher. If it isn’t, and the player made the additional bet, the player receives 1-1 on their ante, and the extra bet is a push. However, if the dealer’s hand does qualify, and you beat it, you receive a payout of 1-1 on the ante plus a payout for the additional bet. That payout is determined by the pay table. Of course, if the dealer beats you, then you lose your ante and the bet.

Let It Ride

If you haven’t come across Let It Ride at a land-based casino, then you’ve probably seen this popular variant at one of the best Ontario poker sites. One of the unique aspects of this game is that you aren’t competing against the dealer or anyone else. Instead, the goal is to end up with a pair of tens or better.

A round starts with each player staking three equal bets. The dealer then gives each player three face-down cards, which the player can look at. Two cards are then dealt face-down in front of the dealer.

After looking at their cards, the players can decide to fold and have one of the wagers returned or let it ride. The dealer will flip one of their cards face up. Again, the players can either fold and retrieve one of the bets or continue. After the dealer reveals the second face-down card, the players reveal all of their cards. The dealer pays out the winnings based on the pay scale. A pair of 10s would be paid 1-1 while a Royal Flush pays out 1,000-1.

Mississippi Stud

The object of Mississippi Stud is to get a pair of 6s or better using 5 cards. The round begins with placing the ante, and then the dealer gives each player 2 cards face down. Three additional cards are placed face-down in front of the dealer.

At this point, players can either fold and lose their ante or place a 1x bet, 2x bet, or 3x bet. Then, the dealer will proceed to reveal one of the face-down cards. Once again, the player must decide whether to fold or wager 1x, 2x, or 3x. This process repeats itself until all dealer cards are revealed. If you finish with at least a pair of 6s, then you win.

Four-Card Poker

Four-Card Poker is another popular online poker variant commonly offered at the top Ontario poker sites. The game starts with each player placing two equal wagers. One wager is called the “Aces Up,” and the other is simply the ante. The player is then given five cards while the dealer gets six cards, with five being face-down cards and one face-up.

The player then makes the best 4-card poker hand possible.

If their hand contains a pair of aces or better, they win the Aces Up portion and get paid out according to the pay table. All that’s left to decide is whether your 4-card hand will beat the dealer’s best 4-card hand. If you don’t think it will, you can fold and forfeit the ante. If you believe your hand is strong enough, then you can 1x or 3x bet. If you beat the dealer’s hand, then you get your ante paid out at 1-1.

Pai Gow Poker

The object of Pai Gow Poker is to make two separate winning hands out of seven cards. The high hand is made using 5 cards, while the low hand is made using the other two cards. The important thing to understand with Pai Gow online poker is that the five-card hand must be stronger than the two-card hand.

The game starts with the player placing the ante. The player and dealer then each receive seven cards. The player and dealer both arrange their cards so that they each have a high five-card hand and a low two-card hand. If the player’s five-card hand beats the dealer’s five-card hand AND the player’s low hand beats the dealer’s low hand, then the player wins. If both of the player’s hands lose, then it’s a loss. However, if one hand wins and one hand loses, then it’s a push, and the player gets the ante returned.