All Types of Poker Games: Rules, Variants & How They Differ

Different Types of Poker Games

The world of poker is diverse, offering dozens of variants with different rules, strategies, and styles. Below are the most popular types of poker, starting with the universally known formats played in casinos and tournaments around the globe. Community card games, like Hold'em and Omaha poker, involve players using shared "community" cards to make their best hand. Stud games give each player their own individual cards, some face-up and some face-down. Draw games allow players to discard and replace cards from their hand to improve it.

Texas Hold’em

👑 The king of poker and easily the most widely played format, Texas Hold’em poker dominates both live and online tables.

• Each player is dealt two hole cards face down.
• Five community cards are dealt face-up in stages (flop, turn, river).
• You build the best 5-card hand using any combination of your hole and community cards.

Betting Structures:

• No-Limit (NLHE): Bet any amount at any time — the most aggressive and skillful version.
• Pot-Limit: You can only bet up to the size of the current pot.
• Fixed-Limit: Betting amounts are predetermined per round.

🎯 Perfect for: all skill levels, from casual players to WSOP pros.

Omaha (Including PLO and Omaha Hi-Lo)

A strategic cousin of Texas Hold’em, Omaha is a staple in cash games and high-stakes poker.

• Players are dealt four hole cards, but must use exactly two of them with three of the community cards.
• It’s a game of strong draws and high variance.

Popular Variants:

• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO): Most commonly played form.
• Omaha Hi-Lo (O8): The pot is split between the highest and lowest qualifying hands.
  • To qualify for the low, you need five different cards below 8.
  • Straights and flushes don’t count against a low hand.

💡 Pro tip: Omaha gives more action but requires tighter hand selection.

Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple

Pineapple and its "crazy" cousin are fun, fast-paced variants of Texas Hold’em. They are great for casual games and introduce a slight twist that increases the chances of making strong hands. A more casual, action-packed format that’s great for home games or low-stakes online fun.

• Players receive three hole cards.
• In Pineapple, you discard one before the flop.
• In Crazy Pineapple, you discard one after the flop — giving more info for better decisions.

These games play similarly to Texas Hold’em after the discard. They're loved for their wild hands and looser playstyles.

Why try it? 👇

• Faster-paced than standard formats
• Ideal for recreational settings
• Easier learning curve, big pots

Stud Poker Games

Unlike community card games like Hold’em and Omaha, Stud poker games involve a mix of face-up and face-down cards, with no shared board. Players must read visible cards and calculate probabilities based on limited information — a real test of memory and intuition.

Seven-Card Stud

Before Hold’em took over, this was the most common poker variant in casinos and private games.

• Players are dealt seven cards total — three face-down and four face-up.
• The best five-card hand wins at showdown.
• No community cards or drawing rounds.

Betting Format:

• Fixed-limit is the standard structure.
• Antes and a "bring-in" bet replace blinds.
  
   

🧠 Requires focus on opponents’ upcards and folded cards to track outs.

Razz (Lowball Stud)

Razz flips poker upside down — here, the lowest hand wins.

• Players receive seven cards like in Stud.
• The best five-card low hand wins (no pairs, straights, or flushes count).
• Aces are always low.

🃏 Best possible hand: 5-4-3-2-A ("The Wheel")

Key Concepts:

• Ignore suits or high cards
• Focus on small, disconnected cards
• Same fixed-limit betting as regular Stud

😈 Bluffing is rare — it's mostly about patient, tight play.

Five-Card Stud

One of the earliest poker types — simple, clean, but less common today.

• Players are dealt two to five cards, usually one down and the rest up.
• No drawing, no community cards, no complex math.
• Bet and raise based only on partial info.

Great for teaching poker hand strength, but rarely seen in modern rooms.

Triple Draw Lowball (2-7)

One of the more strategic and complex lowball formats — the goal is to make the worst possible hand.

• Players are dealt five face-down cards.
• Up to three draws are allowed.
• Blinds are used instead of antes.
• Straights and flushes count against you, and aces are high.

🃏 Best hand possible: 7-5-4-3-2 (no flush)

Each draw adds depth. You’ll need to read betting patterns carefully to know when to break a strong but losing hand.

Badugi

An exotic Korean poker variant, Badugi flips traditional hand rankings upside down.

• Each player is dealt 4 cards face down.
  The goal: build a hand with 4 different suits and 4 different ranks — the fewer high cards, the better.

🎯 Best possible hand: 4♣ 3♦ 2♥ A♠
(known as a “Badugi” — four unmatched low cards)

Rules:

• Up to 3 draws
• Blinds-based betting
• Often played in Mixed Games

For example, a hand of A♠️ 2♣️ 3♥️ 4♦️ is the best possible Badugi. If you have a pair or more than one card of the same suit, your hand is "incomplete." A three-card Badugi (e.g., A♠️ 2♣️ 3♥️ K♥️) uses only the three unique suited cards (A-2-3). A three-card Badugi always beats a two-card Badugi, and so on. The game plays similarly to 2-7 Triple Draw, with three drawing rounds and four betting rounds.

🎲 Rare but thrilling — requires creativity and adaptability.

Mixed Poker Formats

Mixed games are designed to test your all-around poker skill. Instead of sticking to one format, these rotate through multiple types of poker during a session or tournament level. They are particularly popular in high-stakes cash games and events like the WSOP.

H.O.R.S.E. (Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, Stud Eight)

Each round rotates between five distinct poker formats:

1. H – Texas Hold’em
2. O – Omaha Hi-Lo
3. R – Razz
4. S – Seven-Card Stud
5. E – Stud Eight-or-Better (Hi-Lo)

🧩 Mastering H.O.R.S.E. means:

• Playing both high and low hand formats
• Adapting to fixed-limit betting
• Switching strategy every few hands

🧠 Best for experienced players who love variety and long-term strategy.

8-Game Mix and Dealer’s Choice

8-Game Mix expands on H.O.R.S.E. by adding:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha
• 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
• Badugi

🎯 This format is considered the ultimate skill test, used in the $50K Poker Players Championship at the WSOP.

Dealer’s Choice allows the player on the button to choose the poker variant each round from a pre-approved list (e.g., Draw, Stud, PLO, etc.).

Why it’s popular:

• Forces adaptability
• You must know the poker rules of many games
• Perfect for casual but competitive sessions

Casino Poker Games (vs. the House)

Unlike traditional poker, where players battle each other, these types of casino poker games pit you against the dealer. They're usually faster, have fixed payouts, and favor straightforward decision-making over deep bluffing strategy.

Caribbean Stud Poker

This game blends poker hand rankings with blackjack-style play.

• You place an ante, then receive 5 face-down cards.
• Dealer also gets 5 cards, one face-up.
• You either fold or raise to continue.
• Dealer needs at least Ace-King high to qualify.

Payouts are fixed based on your hand 👇:

🎰 Simple rules, fast action — great for table-game fans trying poker.

Let It Ride

Let It Ride is a three-card draw-style poker game with unique betting.

• You make three bets upfront.
• You're dealt three personal cards, and two community cards are revealed gradually.
• After each reveal, you can pull back (or “let ride”) your remaining bets.

📊 Winning hands start at a pair of 10s or better, and the rest follow standard poker rankings. The strategy revolves around when to pull your bets — it’s passive but fun and relaxed.

Three Card Poker

One of the most popular types of poker in casinos — fast-paced and easy to learn.

• You're dealt three cards face up.
• You play against the dealer’s three-card hand.
• Choose to fold or raise after seeing your hand.

📌 Payouts are based on beating the dealer and/or hand strength bonuses (e.g. straight flush, three of a kind).

🕹️ With only three cards, it’s more luck-based but perfect for casual players.

Online Poker Variants and Fast Formats

The online poker world has spawned its own unique types of poker designed for speed, action, and mobile play. These formats cater to players who want to get more hands in per hour and enjoy a different kind of poker experience. Online rooms have revolutionized the game, offering different types of poker games for speed, accessibility, and variety. These formats prioritize action and attract both grinders and thrill-seekers.

Zoom / Fast Fold Poker

Tired of waiting for a hand to finish after you’ve folded? Zoom or Fast-Fold poker is the solution. The moment you fold your hand, you are instantly moved to a new table with new opponents and dealt a new hand. This format eliminates downtime and allows you to play hundreds of hands per hour. You are part of a player pool rather than a fixed table, so your opponents are constantly changing. It's a great way to learn quickly and maximize your playing time. In Fast Fold games like Zoom, Rush, or Zone Poker, you don’t stay at one table.

• The moment you fold, you’re instantly moved to a new table with new opponents.
• It eliminates downtime, increasing hands per hour dramatically.
• Available in No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha formats.

💡 Great for multitabling and volume grinding.

Advantages:

• No waiting after folding
• Fewer reads, more math-based
• Ideal for online players with limited time

Jackpot Sit & Go’s

These are typically 3-player, hyper-turbo Sit & Go tournaments with a major twist: the prize pool is determined by a random spinner before the game starts. While you'll usually play for a small prize (e.g., 2x your buy-in), you have a small chance of hitting a massive jackpot, often thousands of times your buy-in. This format combines poker skill with lottery-style excitement. These hyper-turbo tournaments offer a random prize pool — often up to 1,000x your buy-in.

• 3 players
• Short stacks, fast blind levels
• Jackpot is determined before cards are dealt
• Winner takes all

🎲 Variance is high, but the adrenaline rush is unmatched.

Short Deck Hold’em (6+)

Short Deck, also known as 6+ Hold'em, has exploded in popularity in high-stakes circles and online. The game is played like Texas Hold’em, but with all cards from 2 to 5 removed from the deck, leaving only 36 cards. A newer and increasingly popular variant, especially in high-stakes Asian games.

• Played with a 36-card deck — all cards below 6 are removed
• Flush beats full house (due to rarity)
• Aces can be high or low, like in PLO
• More action, more all-ins, faster play

🧨 Big swings, but also deeper strategy due to hand strength shifts. This change has huge implications:

• Hand Rankings Change: Because flushes are now harder to make than full houses, a flush beats a full house.
• Aces can be high or low, but the lowest possible straight is A-6-7-8-9.
• The poker odds of making strong hands increase dramatically, leading to more action and bigger pots. It’s an aggressive, exciting game that forces players to rethink traditional Hold'em strategy.