Russian Poker is not a normal poker game, players play the house against each other with their poker hands. The game began to be played in Russia in the 1990s after the breakup of the USSR. This game often needs clarification with Chinese poker.
Players are first paid, dealt five cards, and then decide whether to bet their hand, which is better than the dealer’s. If they have a weak arm, they can fold.
It must qualify if the dealer has an Ace-King or higher hand. If not, all bets are off. If the dealer qualifies, the winner is paid a fixed amount if they have the better hand. If they have a bad hand, they lose their bet. To qualify for the dealer, players can increase their bet to buy new cards, exchange cards, or buy a 6th card. If a player has two combinations, he is paid for them.
Russian Poker Major Features
Some of the major features of Russian Poker Game are as follows:
- A player can play on a maximum of four boxes. In an open game, players can only play on two boxes.
- Maximum payouts and minimum bets are stated for each game table. Nothing is known as maximum share capital.
- As a player, you can buy a sixth card in a casino game and exchange your cards.
- The cost per purchase or transfer is 1 ANTE.
- If you are only exchanging one card you are entitled to multiple exchanges.
- If the dealer in the game cannot qualify he can get a payout for the ANTE. On the other hand, if the dealer qualifies but the player’s combination is higher, the player is paid only for the bet. He doesn’t get ANTE.
- If a player has two combinations in his hand, he is paid for both.
Basic Russian Poker Rules
Like all poker variants played against the house, your only goal in Russian poker is to beat the dealer.
Even though there are several other players at the table with you, you only care about how your hand stacks up against the dealer’s holdings.
Russian poker uses a standard poker hand ranking, where the high card is the lowest possible hand, followed by one pair, two pairs, three of a kind, etc., all the way up to a royal flush. This way, there will be no surprises.
The hand begins by placing an ante bet in the designated box. Then, the dealer deals five face-down cards to each participating player reveals one of their cards, and takes five cards for himself.
Up to this point, the game is similar to Caribbean Stud Poker, the more popular version of banked poker. However, once you have your starting set, you will have several options, which is where these two games differ.
- Fold – giving your hand and ante
- Bet – If you are happy with your hand, you can place a bet, which is double the ante, and wait for the showdown.
- Buy A Card – If you wish, you can pay an amount equal to the ante value to buy an additional card. Once you get an extra card, you have the option to bet again or fold
- Draw New Cards – If you wish, you can discard five cards from your hand and the dealer will deal you five new cards. You pay for this exchange first, and when you get a new card, you have to decide whether to fold or bet once again.
- Variation – As you can see, the rules of Russian poker are a bit more complex than other similar variations.
These rules also make the game a bit more expensive as sometimes you have to pay this extra due to the payment method.
Russian Poker Showdown & Payouts
Once all bets have been placed, the dealer will turn over their hand. The first thing to consider is whether they have a qualifying hand, which is Ace-King or better.
If the dealer does not qualify, you will be paid 1 to 1 on your previous bets, but your play bets will be returned to you with no profit.
The only way to ensure that you get paid regardless is to place a strong bet and pay for insurance, which we will discuss in a bit.
If the dealer qualifies and has a stronger hand than yours, you lose all your winnings. If it qualifies and you have the stronger hand, payouts on your play bets are made according to the following payout table:
- Ace King & one pair pay 1 to 1
- Two pair pay 2 to 1
- Three of a kind pay at 3 to 1
- Straights will pay 4 to 1
- Flushes pay 5 to 1
- Full houses pay 7 to 1
- Quads pay 20 to 1
- Straight flushes pay 50 to 1
- A royal flush will pay at 100 to 1
So, when you have a strong hand, it’s really in your best interest to make sure the dealer is qualified. Otherwise, regardless of how big your hand is, you will be paid on your previous bet.
Unlike Caribbean Stud, Russian Poker offers some additional options to help ensure you get a payout.
Russian Poker vs Other Poker Games
Although Russian poker and traditional poker share some common elements, they are fundamentally different games. Here are some key differences:
Hand Rankings
Both games use traditional poker hand rankings (from high card to royal flush), but some hands may have different significance. In traditional poker, the strength of each hand is relative to the other hands played. In Russian poker, some hands have certain payouts regardless of the dealer’s hand.
Betting Rounds
Traditional poker usually involves several rounds of betting (pre-flop, flop, turn, river in Texas Hold’em). In contrast, Russian poker typically has only two main betting points: first, the opening cards are dealt, and second, the players decide to buy or change cards.
Number of Cards and Buying Cards
In Russian poker, players are dealt five cards and can buy a sixth card or exchange their cards for a fee. In traditional poker, the number of cards dealt varies depending on the different poker variants (five for five-card draw, two for Texas Hold’em, etc.), but in traditional poker players cannot buy or exchange cards.
Dealer Qualification
In Russian poker, the dealer must have an Ace-King or better card the minimum hand to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, the round ends prematurely and the player wins his previous bet. There is no equivalent concept in traditional poker games.
Strategy
Given these rule differences, the strategy for success in Russian poker is quite different from traditional poker. In traditional poker, success requires a thorough understanding of odds, negotiations, player behavior, and betting. In Russian poker, strategy primarily involves the mathematical decisions of whether to buy or trade cards and whether to call or fold based on the strength of the hand versus the strength of the dealer’s potential hands.
Conclusion
Russian Poker is a fun online casino card game to play. It focuses more on card strategies and power combinations. Your only enemy in the casino is the dealer and you need to rank higher than him to get paid. Some people say this five card game is complicated, but once you read the reviews and understand all the rules, the game of Russian Poker is as simple as it looks. So are you ready to give it a try and win big pots?