It seems like the game of poker is always changing or evolving. Normally, that change is centered around the strategy of the game, but 888poker has taken the game down a bit of a different path with their latest innovation: Flopomania. The game is a variation on Texas Hold’em that eliminates all of the pre-flop action.

Wait, what?

Yeah, that’s right. In Flopomania, there is no pre-flop betting and there are no blinds – every player antes before being dealt hole cards. Then the flop is dealt and from that point on, the game mirrors Hold’em. Eliminating all of the pre-flop action and allowing players to see five cards before risking anything changes the strategy of the game a great deal, so we reached out to PocketFives legend and 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman for his take on the best way to think about Flopomania from a strategic standpoint.

“You have to realize big hands are not nearly as strong as in regular Hold’em. When you are playing six or seven-way to a flop, an overpair is nowhere near as likely to be the best hand,” said Moorman. “This is particularly true by the river, as they generally only have two outs on later streets to improve, whereas draws and paired cards can improve much more easily.”

While the game itself has some obvious fundamental differences from Hold’em, it also shares a lot of similar traits – one of which is something that has been drilled into every player’s understanding of poker from the moment they first learned how to play.

“Position is still incredibly important in Flopomania, and from my brief experience of the game I might even go as far as saying it could be more important as you have the potential to ‘represent’ any two cards in this game,” said Moorman.

While a Hold’em player should always be considering how many players are still in the hand after each street, in Flopomania the number of players at the beginning of a hand is paramount. Moorman believes that a short-handed table opens up a myriad of bluffing opportunities, but a full table means that there’s always a good chance somebody connected with the flop.

“If your opponents are aware of this, you can potentially try ambitious bluffs though to get them to fold big hands as in this game it’s much more likely someone is holding the nuts than in regular Hold’em,” said Moorman. “In a full ring game top pair will rarely win at showdown whereas in a shorthanded game that would often be the nuts. Each hand is different in Flopomania which I think helps to keep the game feel new and fresh.”

Even though the game might feel like it has more gamble to it than traditional Hold’em, Moorman has played it enough to recognize there is still a good amount of skill involved in it – even if it did cause him to invoke a favorite country music song about poker.

“Before I played it, I was actually a bit skeptical about there being too much edge available, but in fact I think there is even more skill to Flopomania than regular Hold’em because, although it sounds very cliche, you really do have to know when to hold’em and when to fold’em in this game,” said Moorman. “It is much easier for an experienced post-flop player. I could see inexperienced players stacking off way too light in multiway pots in Flopomania games.”

Flopomania is currently available in the 888poker lobby in all Rest of World markets.