Russian Poker is by far one of the most fascinating and exciting 6-card Poker games. Its main peculiariuty is that you are able to buy a 6th card and replace one or more less desirable cards from the starting hand combination. As you know, there're tons of strategies that professionals come up with in order to win in Omaha or Texas Hold'em Poker game. When it comes to Russian Poker, things are far less complicated to catch up with. Here, all you need to do is to outbid the dealer. This is the main point of the game. So there's no need to invent any devious plans for bluffing and tricks to get closer to the winning pot. The basis of the strategy for the Russian Poker is the decision to buy a sixth card depending on the starting card combination you have.
The game itself runs fairly simple. The dealer and the player get 5 cards, one of the cards remains open, and that one belongs to the dealer.
The player always has several to give up, to bet, to buy the 6th card (for an additional rate) and to replace one or more of his cards. After all changes and a showdown, the winner is the one whose Poker combination is higher.
Russia Online Poker & Best Russian Poker Sites Poker has seen its popularity grow in Russia over the last several years. That has included some top-notch players like Igor Kurganov and major live series from operators like PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. There has also been a large online poker presence in the country. Russian Poker is a relatively new game that is based on Oasis Poker. A 52-card standard deck without jokers in used to play against the house, represented by the dealer. It is allowed to use the table for Stud Poker, Oasis Poker, and some other types of poker. Russian poker is a simple 6-card poker game. Russian poker is an exciting card game for 1-4 people. In Russian Poker players compete not with each other, they oppose the dealer. In the deck 52 cards, the highest in the suit - an Ace, the lowest - a Deuce. The dealer and a player get 5 cards, one of the dealer’s cards remains open. Russian Language Poker Sites. There are even more poker sites that offer Russian language poker software than there are sites that allow Russian currency deposits. The thing is though, players need to be sure and read the terms and conditions of the poker site.
Buying a 6th card and card replacement
The great thing about Russian Poker is the ability to buy a 6th card and replacing a less desirable card. You are the one who needs to decide whether or not spent you money on buying a card / replacing another. That is why it's vital to learn to analyse your card combination correctly and your chances to win with it.
Take into consideration these two facts:
- Never buy a 6th card if your card combination is fairly weak or hasn't changed that much during the game. In this case you might want to fold, avoiding pointless money spending. Also your chances are better when you have set of three cards in your hand. In this case you are more than welcome to buy a 6th card.
- Buy this 6th card only when it's necessary to trade a draw hand, when you already have an unfinished combination for a Flush or a Street. The only exception for this rule would be the 'internal' Street. That is a combination of missing middle cards: six, seven, nine and ten and no eight.
Exchanging the cards
Keep in mind that every single card replacement will cost you something and every time you do the exchange, it will increase its rate.
One card is exchanged only in a situation with a starting draw hand: if a player has a Straight Draw or a Flush Draw with four cards and a chance to complete the combination by exchanging one card.
Two cards are often exchanged on the basis of the cost of the combination and the cost of the exchange itself. It's quite beneficial to exchange two cards in a starting card combination, especially if there's an incomplete Straight Flush with three cards.
If the value of the exchange of two cards constitutes a half-rate exchange and above, it should be changed only when the card combination is very strong. As an example: an incomplete Straight Flush (or a Royal Flush) with three cards.
If you are thinking about exchanging 5 cards, it is beneficial to replace them only under one condition: the game itself should allow to exchange all 5 cards in a single bet.
Russian Poker strategy for newbies
If you consider yourself a newbie to this game and think that you're still a little bit shaky on the details on how to analyse your combination correctly and the necessity of exchanging / buying the cards, there are several tips in the game you need to get familiar with:
- The finished combination of 5 cards in your starting hand is a Royal Flush, a Straight Flush or a Flush;
- A Set (Triple): exchange the two cards that are not in combination;
- A Pair: buy 6 cards or exchange three remaining cards;
- A draw hand: the combination of four cards (Straight Flush, Straight, Flush with one card to complete). Buy a sixth card;
- Draw: hand four card combination (the strategy is profitable only in terms of getting a Straight Flush). Exchange the two remaining cards;
- Ace + king: change three of your cards. The hand with the highest card (ace or king): the exchange of four cards, depending on the dealer;
- No combination at hand: the exchange of four cards according to the following conditions a) the highest card in the opening hand is an eight or above, and b) the highest card at the hand is higher than the dealer's. In all other cases, the best solution would be to fold the combination.
This game is easy to learn and to follow. It's way less aggressive than Omaha Poker and it's not fast-paced. It's fun, exciting and easy to play. Good Luck!
OBJECTIVE OF RUSSIAN POKER: Beat the dealer’s hand, especially if the dealer qualifies, and win a large payout for your hand.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: Up to 6 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: Standard 52 card deck
RANK OF CARDS: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2
TYPE OF GAME: Poker
AUDIENCE: Adults
INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIAN POKER
Russian Poker is not a typical poker game, players play the house with their poker hands as opposed to each other. The game first started being played in 1990s Russia after the dissolution of the USSR. This game is often confused with Chinese Poker.
Players pay an ante, are dealt a five card hand, and then decide whether to bet on their hand being better than the dealer’s hand. If their hand is weak, they may fold.
If the dealer has a hand of Ace-King or greater, they must qualify. If not, all bets are off. If the dealer does qualify, a winner is paid out according to a fixed ratio if their hand is better. If their hand is worse they lose their bet. In order to make a dealer qualify, players may increase their stake in order to buy new cards, exchange cards, or buy a 6th card. If a player has two combinations in hand, they are paid out for them both.
PAYOUTS
If the dealer qualifies, and a player bets their hand, the house pays out according to this table and the size of their bet (see Poker Hand Rankings for an explanation of the kinds of hands):
Royal Flush: 100:1
Straight Flush: 50:1
Four of a Kind: 20:1
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Full House: 7:1
Flush: 5:1
Straight: 4:1
Three of a Kind: 3:1
Two Pairs: 2:1
One Pair: 1:1
Ace-King: 1:1
If a player has 5 or 6 card hand that makes multiple combinations, below is the payout ratio:
Royal Flush + Straight Flush: 150:1
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Royal Flush + Flush: 105:1
Royal Flush + Straight: 104:1
Straight Flush + Straight Flush: 100:1
Straight Flush + Flush: 55:1
Straight Flush + Straight: 54:1
Straight Flush + Ace-King: 51:1
Four of a Kind + Full House: 27:1
Four of a Kind + Ace-King: 21:1
Full House + Full House: 14:1
Full House + Ace-King: 8:1
Flush + Flush: 10:1
Flush + Straight: 9:1
Flush + One Pair: 6:1
Flush + Ace-King: 6:1
Straight + Straight: 8:1
Straight + Ace-King: 5:1
Three of a Kind + Ace-King: 4:1
Two Pair + Two Pair: 4:1
Two Pairs + Ace-King: 3:1
One Pair + Ace-King: 2:1
ANTE & THE DEAL
Prior to the deal, players must place an ante in the pot. The bet must be between the minimum or the maximum set by the house. The size the following bets on a box depend upon the ante.
After the antes have been played, the dealer shuffles and deals 5 cards, face-down, to each box and their own hand. The only card dealt face-up is the dealer’s last card.
THE PLAY
Players act by turns, starting with the box furthest left from the dealer, or the most right box on the player’s side. Play on boxes passes left. Play on a box must be completed before the next can be acted upon.
When you play a box, look at the cards and do one of the following actions:
Fold, the house claims the ante for that box.
Bet on the hand dealt. The bet must be twice the ante.
Buy a 6th card, pay an amount equal to the ante to receive another card.
If the player is satisfied with the card they may place a bet on that box, which is twice the ante
If the player is unsatisfied with the card, they may fold.
Exchange cards, pay an amount equal to the ante. Discard up tp four cards, the dealer deals new cards to replace them.
If the player is satisfied with their new cards they may place a bet equal to twice the ante.
If the player is unsatisfied with their new cards they may fold.
If a player has a 3 of a Kind or better, they may buy insurance. This insurance is bought against the dealer if they fail to qualify. You may insure up to half your potential payout.
Playing Blind
If you play more than 2 boxes the following boxes must be played blind. Simply place an ante and a bet, you are not permitted to buy or exchange cards on these boxes.
THE DEALER & PAYOUT
After all the boxes are played the dealer exposes their hand. If the dealer has Ace-King or better they qualify.
Boxes which player have been folded, the dealer has already collected payments on them.
If a box has a bet, the outcome is dependent on if the dealer has qualified. If the dealer has qualified, payout or lack thereof depends on if the hand was better or worse than the dealers.
If the Dealer Qualifies…
Insurance is lost.
Best five card hand is compared to the dealer’s hand. If the player’s hand beats the dealers, they are paid out in accordance with the ratios above. A player is paid out for both hands (if they have them), even if their second hand is not higher than the dealer’s, only the highest hand must beat the dealer’s hand.
If a player’s hand ties the dealer’s hand, both the ante and the bet are returned to the player. Extra payments are lost.
If the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand, all the player’s bets are lost and retained by the house. This includes extra payments.
If the Dealer Does Not Qualify…
Insured boxes are paid out 1:1. So, if you pay $1000 of insurance on a box, the dealer pays back the $1000 in addition to another $1000.
If a box is uninsured, the player of that box may pay an amount equal to the ante so that the dealer must exchange one card. This is done if the player hopes to get the dealer to qualify. Prior to the exchange, the dealer pays out all other boxes that have not paid for an exchange.
If multiple boxes have paid for a dealer exchange, the dealer then discards their highest card and draw a new one. If the card drawn is of equal rank as the one discarded, the dealer draws a new card at no extra expense to the players. If after the exchange the dealer still does not qualify, they pay out those boxes the same as the boxes that didn’t pay for an exchange. However, if the dealer does happen to qualify, they payout in accordance with according the ratios above.
REFERENCES:
www.pagat.com/banking/russian_poker.html
betvoyager.com/russian-poker-rules/