New Zealand Online Poker Sites

The Community of Online Poker in New Zealand

Pokies are great and nearly a national pastime in Australia and New Zealand, but if you want excitement get into a game of real skill then it has to be poker. Online casino sites offer you the chance to win big money playing online poker in New Zealand. The New Zealand online poker sites listed here offer the feel of a real live game. Instead of playing against machines you are actually playing against other people, they just may happen to be sitting on the other side of the continent or even world, instead of the other side of the table.

Besides the excitement of live competition, the chance to win big money in high-stakes games or in low-buy in tournaments, playing online poker in New Zealand is a community endeavour. You get to know people and you can even chat back and forth across the table, throwing around a little competitive banter and having fun. You are playing against real people, not a machine so there is also a lot of room for human connection. There's lots of room for human error, too. That's where your poker skills can really shine. Machines rarely make mistakes, but even the most experienced player can have a bad day, so even players just getting into New Zealand online poker have a good chance of winning against the pros.

We have the very best New Zealand online casinos for poker listed here. They offer a wide variety of real money games so you can get in on the type of poker you like best, and lots of bonuses to increase your playing time. Welcome bonuses give you added money for every dollar you deposit into your player account. Loyalty programs go a step further in showing you how much your business is appreciated by online poker sites in New Zealand. These perks include free seats in tournaments and bigger jackpots. Because NZ online casinos with poker rooms do not have physical overhead, they can pass the extra money on to you, their regular players.

Poker Games You'll Find at Online Casinos

Texas Hold 'em

Texas hold 'em is a very popular type of poker that is played in lots of casinos all over the world - it might even take the prize for being the most popular type of poker out there. In the game, the players are each dealt two cards face down called pocket cards. Then five cards are dealt face down in the center of the table. After the first round of betting, the first three cards called the flop, are turned face up. After each round of betting after that, one of the remaining face down cards in the center is flipped face up. The fourth is called the turn, and the fifth is called the river. At the end of the game, the players construct the best five card hand that they can, using their hand and the cards in the center of the playing field.

Omaha

Omaha is a style of poker that is very similar to Texas hold 'em. Like Texas hold 'em, it features four rounds of betting, personal cards in each player's hand, and cards in the center. However, unlike Texas hold 'em, each player receives four cards of their own and the five community cards in the center are immediately revealed. Betting commences normally, and then at the end of the game, each player constructs a five card hand using two of their personal cards and three of the community cards.

Stud

Stud is a fairly popular variety of poker that is a little bit simpler. This is because this style of poker dates back to the 1770s as three card stud poker. Later on, in the 1860s, it became very popular with soldiers on both sides of the American civil war, who played it with five cards. Recently, seven card stud poker has become more popular. In stud poker, each player is dealt cards, some of which are face up and some of which are face down. There is no redrawing or anything like that. Because this version is so simple, a lot of the excitement comes from the several rounds of betting, which players use to bluff their opponents. The face down cards that a player has are sometimes called 'hole' cards, which is what inspired the term, 'ace in the hole' to refer to a winning hand that the other players can't see.

Razz

Razz is a somewhat less common variety of poker, although it has been a feature of the world series of poker since 1971 and remains the most popular type of lowball poker, especially on the internet. The unique part about Razz is that instead of aiming for high cards in the standard poker scoring methods, you aim for low values. The ace, as one, remains a trump card in most situations, however, the classic royal flush becomes the lowest valued scoring method, with five, four, three, two, ace as the best possible hand. Razz is often played as the R in H.O.R.S.E., which is a variety game of five different types of poker.

5 card draw

Five card draw is another incredibly common type of poker, probably second only to Texas hold 'em in its popularity. Although it is one of the first types of poker that many people learn about, most casinos have actually removed it from their roster of games in favour of Texas hold 'em. Some casinos still offer it, however, and plenty of people play it on their own in casual settings. In five card draw, players are dealt five cards. Interspersed with rounds of betting, each player can toss up to three cards out of their hand and draw an equal number to replace them and hopefully get a better hand.

High/low Chicago

This style of poker features a split pot, which means there are two winners. The player with the highest or lowest (depending on whether it is a high or low game) Spade card wins half the pot. The other half is given to the player with the best poker hand. You can also add this game style to other varieties of poker, as well.

Follow the queen

Follow the queen is a bit of an older style of poker, although plenty of people still play it. It is set up as a stud poker game, but whenever a queen is flipped face up in someone's visible hand, then the next that is flipped face up is a wild card. If no queens are ever flipped face up, then there are no wild cards, either.