Top 10 Poker Variations You Need to Learn – The Most Popular and Entertaining Poker Games

The game of poker has been around for centuries, and countless different types of poker games have emerged in that period. While Texas Hold’em may be the dominant poker version these days, there was a time this game wasn't even played and when games like Stud and Draw poker were far more popular.

If you are new to poker or have been playing for a while but have never tried poker variations other than Texas Hold’em, we are going to teach you the basics of some other popular poker card games you may enjoy playing.

Let’s take a look at the most popular types of poker you should probably know how to play and the basic rules you need to understand to sit down and play each of them.

#1 - Texas Hold’em Poker

Our poker games list starts in a very expected place, with Texas Hold’em Poker, the Cadillac of poker as they often call it.

Texas Hold’em is the only game practically all poker players know how to play on some level, but it’s still the one you should probably learn first if you are completely new to poker.

Texas Hold’em blew up in the early 2000s when Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event after qualifying for it for just $86 via an online qualifier.

Since then, No Limit Texas Hold’em has become the number one poker game in the world and surpassed all other poker variations in popularity.

With so many learning tools out there, Texas Hold’em is definitely the one poker game you will have no problem learning, whether it is a tournament or cash game format you want to focus on.

Gameplay

Texas Hold’em is a game played with hole cards and community cards. Each player at the table is dealt two hole cards to kick things off, with two players at the table posting a designated small and big blind.

The first betting round goes on with all players seeing only their two hole cards. In No Limit Texas Hold’em, players can raise up to the value of their stack, while the Limit variation only lets players make raises one blind at a time.

The first three community cards called the flop, are dealt across the table for all players to see. Another betting round ensues before the fourth community card called the turn, is dealt.

The turn card is followed by another betting round before the final community card, the river, is dealt on the table.

With all five community cards dealt, all remaining players get to use their two hole cards in combination with community cards to form the best five-card poker hand possible.

The final betting round in Texas Hold’em happens after the river card is dealt. When all bets are settled, the dealer announces "showdown," and players turn their cards in order to determine the winner.

#2 – Pot Limit Omaha

The great game of Pot Limit Omaha gained a lot of popularity in Europe in the years following the Poker Boom and quickly spread across the world like wildfire.

Aside from Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha is the most popular variation of poker, possibly because its gameplay resembles Texas Hold’em so much.

While Texas Hold’em was often considered a nit's game, Pot Limit Omaha is widely considered a wild game with many big bets and crazy action.

While serious Omaha players these days play the game fairly snugly, you will still find plenty of PLO games where the action is truly wild and loose.

Pot Limit Omaha is a game well-worth learning if you want to expand your poker horizons and add some new poker variations to your portfolio.

Gameplay

Pot Limit Omaha gameplay is very similar to that of Texas Hold’em. The big difference is that you get four hole cards instead of two to kick things off.

Omaha poker is also played with a pot limit format, which means the maximum you can bet on any street is the size of the pot.

While the betting rounds and betting streets in the two poker card games are the same, PLO players must always use two hole cards and three community cards to make their hands instead of any combination of them.

With four cards dealt to each player in every hand, starting hand selection gets a lot more complex, which makes PLO such an exciting and fun game to play.

#3 – Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha Hi/Lo is often referred to as Omaha8 and is a poker variation derived in full from the popular game of Pot Limit Omaha.

Omaha Hi/Lo is played in both limit and pot limit formats. Most often, Omaha8 is played as part of mixed games, although you will find some cash games or tournaments in this game type on poker sites like PokerStars.

Omaha Hi/Lo features the same rules as PLO, with the big difference being that pots are split between the best high and low hand if any of the players manage to make a low.

The addition of the low element adds even more strategic and tactical nuances to the game, making it one of the more intricate poker variations out there.

Gameplay

If you know how to play Pot Limit Omaha, you will be familiar with the great majority of all Omaha Hi/Lo rules, as all dealing and betting are done exactly the same.

The big difference is that a low hand can be made in this game, which is good for half the pot against the best high hand.

The best high hand is the best hand in accordance with the standardized poker hand rankings. On the other hand, the best low hand is the lowest possible sequence of cards containing and in which all cards are lower than an eight.

The best possible low hand is A2345, the popular "wheel." Note that every hand of Omaha8 must have a high hand winner but does not have to have a low hand winner if no one can make an eligible low hand combination.

#4 – Big O

Omaha Hi/Lo has been a popular poker variation for many years, but the game of Big O is certainly newer. This game is derived from Five Card Omaha, a variation of PLO in which each player is dealt five instead of four hole cards.

Big O is basically Omaha Hi/Lo with five cards, which makes each hand quite complex and allows players to make countless draws and options.

If you hate folding cards preflop, Big O will give you a chance to play quite a few hands, but as you learn a proper strategy, you will learn that you must be careful with your hand selection in Big O as well.

Gameplay

Big O is a game that may seem like quite a bit of gambling at first, as the extra hole card and the fact you can always go for both high and low makes it very volatile.

However, Big O is every bit as complex as any other poker game and is a strategy game where many different elements play an important part.

If you are a PLO or Omaha Hi/Lo player, the only novelty you will have to get used to is the extra card in your hand and the new starting hand ranges you need to adapt to.

#5 – Short Deck Poker

Another variation of Texas Hold’em, Short Deck Poker (6+ Hold’em), is a game popular with high-stakes gamblers and poker players in Asia and beyond.

Recently popularized by the Triton Poker Series, Short Deck is a high volatility game played with just 36 cards, in which equities run close, and the money quickly gets into the pot.

Short Deck appears to be the new favorite game of the likes of Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan, so there is no reason you should not learn it, too, as it may someday be just as popular as Texas Hold’em or PLO.

Gameplay

The basic idea of Short Deck is very similar to Texas Hold’em, with two hole cards dealt to each player and five community cards spread across the table.

However, Short Deck is played without any deuces, treys, fours, or fives, which makes it much easier to get dealt hands like AA or KK.

Another major change to the rules in this poker version is the fact flushes beat full houses, as they are harder to make, and that Aces can be used as the lowest cards for 9-high straight (instead of a 5).

If you can master these few extra rules, you will easily and quickly transition from Texas Hold’em to Short Deck and become a decent player of this new game format in no time.

#6 – Five Card Draw

Of all the games on our poker games list, Five Card Draw may be one that's played on a professional level the least often but one of the most entertaining ones.

If you have never played Five Card Draw, you will probably be shocked at how simple the game is to learn and how fun it is to play.

Five Card Draw is a true bluffer’s paradise, as it allows you to bluff in each and every hand, as you choose, and always decide if you care about making the best hand or simply about making your opponents fold.

While Five Card Draw is most often played in home games these days, poker sites like PokerStars also offer real money online games around the clock.

Gameplay

Draw poker games used to dominate the poker world, and their simple gameplay and rules are a part of what's made them so popular.

In Five Card Draw, you will be dealt five hole cards that only you get to see, and there will be no community cards on the table at all.

Instead, every player will get to discard as many of their cards as they want once and receive new cards from the deck instead of them.

There are only two betting rounds in Five Card Draw, which is why the game is played without betting limits, which makes it ideal for overbetting, bluffing, and aggressive play.

#7 – Pineapple

If you are looking for a fun and silly poker variation you can play with your friends, Pineapple is the ideal game for you.

That said, Pineapple is a very real poker game and is sometimes even played in side events of major poker festivals, as well as in online series.

Pineapple is a variation of Texas Hold’em, but one that will allow you to play many more hands and spice up the action on a completely new level.

Gameplay

Pineapple is a poker variation that’s very easy to learn if you can already play Texas Hold’em, as the rules are mostly very similar.

The one big difference is that you will be dealt three cards in Pineapple but will be forced to discard one of them at one point.

In classic Pineapple, you discard your third card immediately, but there are also other versions, such as Crazy Pineapple and Lazy Pineapple, in which you discard your third card after the flop or after the river.

In either case, you will start a hand of Pineapple with three hole cards and finish it with two, and the selection of the card to throw away will be what makes you or breaks you.

#8 – Seven Card Stud

This brings us to Seven Card Stud, a poker game that has lost much of its popularity in recent years but used to be the absolute number one game in the past.

Unlike many of the games on our poker games list, Seven Card Stud and its variations have nothing to do with Texas Hold’em other than the hand rankings.

If you have only learned how to play the big bet games, learning Seven Card Stud will open the doors to quite a few new games like Five Card Stud, Razz, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo.

Gameplay

In all poker variations derived from the Seven Card Stud, players are dealt a sequence of up and down cards that are exclusive to their hand.

In Seven Card Stud, you will receive a total of seven cards, with three of those being down cards and four being up cards that everyone can see.

Seven Card Stud is always played as a limit game, with the player showing the lowest up card posting the bring-in and all players at the table posting an ante bet.

Players take turns betting, raising, and calling before further cards are dealt, one at a time. The goal is to make the best five-card hand from the seven cards available to you or make every other player fold their cards before the showdown.

#9 – Badugi

Another one of those poker variations that only a small part of the poker community can play, Badugi is a fun mix of lowball and draw poker.

In this game, you aim to make the lowest possible hand made up of cards of different suits, which can be more difficult than it sounds.

The great thing about Badugi and its variations is that it is a game that will be new to most of your group, which means you can all start on the same level and learn the game together. If you want to play online, be prepared for tougher competition and some capable Badugi players waiting for you.

Gameplay

Badugi is a draw poker game with lowball elements. All players are dealt four starting cards and have the right to draw up to three times after the initial deal.

There is a betting round between each draw, and you can draw anywhere between zero and four cards each time.

The goal is to make a hand made up of small cards of different suits, with A234 in four suits being the absolute best hand possible.

#10 – 8 Game Mix

Made up of eight different poker games, 8 Game Mix is considered the most complex poker game in the world.

The high rollers in Vegas have even gone as far as to add even more games to it, making 10 Game, 12 Game, and more mixes to truly test the depths of each player’s poker understanding.

To be a master of 8 Game, you will need to be at least pretty good at most games and a master of at least one or two, or you will stand no chance against the mixed game sharks out there.

Gameplay

8 Game Mix is made up of eight popular poker variations, such as Texas Hold’em, PLO, Omaha8, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud 8, Razz, and 2-7 Triple Draw.

Depending on the rules, the game will change each orbit or after a certain amount of time has passed, with the next game from the list being dealt next.

Each player at the table is forced to play hands in each variation, forcing players to be able to play each game on the list or lost money by paying blinds and antes and folding their cards.

8 Game Mix is a game reserved for elite poker players, and I would not recommend getting involved for any significant stakes until you are truly prepared to play each game at a reasonable level.

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