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Types of Poker Games and How They Differ

Updated August 2026

Important: Rules can vary by poker room, especially in mixed games, Short Deck and draw formats. Always check the table description before joining.

Poker is a family of games rather than one single rule set. Most variants use the same hand rankings, but they differ in how cards are dealt, which cards are visible and how players construct a final hand.

Major poker families

FamilyExamplesMain feature
Community-card pokerTexas Hold'em, Omaha, Short DeckPlayers combine private cards with shared board cards.
Stud pokerSeven-Card Stud, RazzEach player receives a mixture of face-up and face-down cards.
Draw pokerFive-Card Draw, Deuce-to-SevenPlayers replace cards during one or more draw rounds.
Mixed gamesHORSE and rotating formatsThe game changes after a fixed number of hands or time period.

Texas Hold'em

Each player receives two hole cards and may use any combination of those cards and the five community cards. Hold'em is the easiest major variant to learn because the hand-construction rule is flexible.

Omaha

Players usually receive four hole cards and must use exactly two of them with exactly three community cards. This creates more draws and stronger average showdown hands than Hold'em.

Stud and Razz

Stud games have no community board. Visible cards provide information about opponents' likely holdings. Razz is a lowball variant in which the lowest qualifying five-card hand wins.

Draw poker

In draw games, most information comes from betting and the number of cards each player replaces. Deuce-to-Seven rewards the lowest hand under a ranking system where straights and flushes count against the player.

Which game should a beginner choose?

  • Start with Texas Hold'em if you want the largest selection of learning material.
  • Try Omaha after you understand draws, blockers and exact hand construction.
  • Choose Stud if you enjoy tracking exposed cards and memory-based decisions.
  • Use play-money or very low stakes when learning a new variant.
Texas Hold'emRules, betting rounds and hand examples. OmahaExactly two hole cards and three board cards. Omaha Hi-LoSplit-pot rules and qualifying low hands. Seven-Card StudUpcards, downcards and no community board. RazzSeven-card lowball where the lowest hand wins. Mixed GamesRotating formats that test a wider skill set.

Additional Poker Variants

Types of Poker

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