12 Types of Poker Games

Texas Hold'em

Omaha (Pot-Limit Omaha / PLO)

Seven-Card Stud

Five-Card Draw

Razz (Low Stud)

2-7 Triple Draw

Short Deck (6+ Hold'em)

Omaha Hi-Lo (8-or-Better)

Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo

HORSE

8-Game Mix

Open-Face Chinese (OFC)

Community Card

Shared face-up cards. Hold'em, Omaha, Short Deck. Most popular category — drives ~95% of all poker action.

Stud

Individual cards per player, mix of face-up and face-down. 7-Card Stud, Razz, Stud Hi-Lo. Pre-Hold'em dominant.

Draw

Players draw to replace cards mid-hand. 5-Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badugi. Less popular today but home-game classics.

What are the most popular types of poker?

Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular variant — approximately 85% of online poker traffic and the format used in nearly every major televised event including the WSOP Main Event. Pot-Limit Omaha is second with about 10% of online traffic. Other notable variants: Seven-Card Stud (pre-Hold'em dominant), Five-Card Draw (home game classic), Short Deck Hold'em (growing in Asia since 2017), and Razz (low-stud staple in mixed games).

How many types of poker are there?

There are dozens of poker variants, but the 12 most commonly played in modern card rooms are: Texas Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, Five-Card Draw, Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, Short Deck Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo, HORSE, 8-Game Mix, and Open-Face Chinese Poker. Beyond these, there are home-game variants like Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, and Badugi that retain regional or niche popularity.

What's the difference between community card and stud poker?

Community card games (Texas Hold'em, Omaha) deal face-up shared cards in the middle of the table that all players use to make their hands. Stud games (Seven-Card Stud, Razz) deal each player individual face-up cards with no shared cards — your hand uses only your own 7 cards. Strategy differs significantly: community card games involve reading shared boards; stud games require tracking opponent face-up cards across all 7 streets.

Why is Texas Hold'em the most popular?

Three reasons: (1) Television-friendly — community cards mean cameras can show every player's situation easily, which made the 2003 Moneymaker WSOP boom possible; (2) Easy to learn — only 2 hole cards keeps the math approachable; (3) Strategy depth — despite simple rules, the game has near-infinite strategic complexity, providing skilled players with edges over recreational players. The 2003-2010 'poker boom' cemented Hold'em as the default variant globally.

What is a mixed poker game?

A mixed poker game rotates through multiple variants in a fixed order. The most popular is HORSE (Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo). 8-Game adds three more variants. Each variant plays for a fixed number of hands or time, then the dealer announces the rotation to the next. Mixed games test all-around skill — players strong in one variant but weak in others lose money in mixed games.

What is the easiest poker variant for beginners?

Five-Card Draw is mechanically the simplest — receive 5 cards, draw to replace some, bet, show hands. Texas Hold'em is the easiest to find games in and has the most learning resources, so beginners typically start with Hold'em even though Draw is technically simpler. The recommended path: learn Hold'em basics (1-2 hours), play 100-500 hands, then explore other variants once Hold'em fundamentals are solid.

Which poker variant has the highest skill ceiling?

Mixed games (HORSE, 8-Game) have the highest overall skill ceiling because mastering 5-8 different variants is required. Within single variants, Pot-Limit Omaha is widely considered to have a higher skill ceiling than Texas Hold'em because of the larger range of starting hands (16,432 vs 169) and the complexity of 4-card pre-flop ranges. Heads-up Limit Hold'em has been mathematically 'solved' by computer (Cepheus, 2015), but no other poker variant has been solved.