When most people hear “poker,” they think of Texas Hold’em, the game featured in major tournaments worldwide, or Five Card Draw, a familiar classic in Japan. These are certainly flagship poker formats, but poker actually includes a wide range of variations beyond them.

Depending on whether the game uses community cards, allows you to draw and replace cards, or evaluates hand strength using different standards, the gameplay and strategy can change dramatically. Some variants are so unique that you even compete using only four cards.

In this article, we’ll introduce the major poker rules in a structured way and explain what makes each format interesting. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, you’ll find new perspectives and ideas for your next challenge.

Core Elements Shared by Most Poker Games

There are many poker variants, but most share a few key elements. Let’s start by covering the fundamentals that sit at the heart of almost every poker game.

1. Betting

   The real excitement of poker comes from betting.
   

   • Value betting: betting with a strong hand to get more chips from your opponents

   • Bluff betting: betting with a weak hand to make opponents fold and win the pot
   

   Across multiple betting rounds, your goal is to grow your chip stack.
   

2. Hand Strength

   Hand rankings are the foundation of poker.
   

   • The Hi standard: a Royal Flush is the strongest hand, and High Card is the weakest

   • The Lo standard: hands made with low cards, such as A2345, become the strongest
   

   Different games use different standards, so always confirm the rules before you play.
   

3. Game Flow

   The details vary widely, including how many cards you’re dealt, whether there are community cards, how many betting rounds there are, and whether you can draw new cards. Still, the core flow is similar: after several rounds of betting, the player with the best final hand wins the pot.

Main Categories of Poker Variants

Poker can be broadly grouped into three main categories.

1. Flop poker: you build hands using community cards

2. Draw poker: you can exchange cards from your hand

3. Stud poker: some cards are dealt face up

From here, we’ll introduce representative games in each category.

1. Flop Poker

In flop poker, you choose five cards from your hole cards and the community cards to make your best hand. Along with Texas Hold’em, we’ll also cover Omaha.

1.1 − Texas Hold’em

This is the most popular poker game in the world. Each player receives two hole cards, and five community cards are dealt on the board. You make your hand by choosing the best five cards out of the seven available. The most common format is No-Limit Hold’em, where there is no cap on bet sizes. The rules are simple because you only have two hole cards, yet the strategy runs incredibly deep.

Key points

• Each player gets 2 hole cards
• 5 community cards on the table (choose 5 from 7 total to make a hand)
• No-Limit is the standard format, offering simple rules with deep strategy

1.2 − Omaha

In Omaha, each player receives four hole cards, and five community cards are dealt. You must use exactly two cards from your hand and exactly three from the board. Because players start with more cards, strong hands like flushes and full houses occur more often, and hand strength can swing more dramatically than in Texas Hold’em. A popular format is Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), where you can bet up to the size of the pot.

Key points

• Each player gets 4 hole cards
• 5 community cards on the table
• You must use exactly 2 from your hand and 3 from the board
• Big hands happen more often, and the extra hole cards create more dramatic turnarounds

2. Draw Poker

Draw poker lets you exchange cards during the hand. A defining feature is that you can’t see any of your opponents’ cards at all. Unlike other poker variants, you gain information not only from bet sizing but also from how many cards an opponent draws. Some players even choose not to draw despite having a weak hand to represent strength. Here we’ll introduce the well-known Five Card Draw, plus 2-7 (Deuce-to-Seven) Triple Draw and Badugi.

2.1 − Five Card Draw

This is one of the best-known poker rules in Japan, and many people have played it with family or friends. Each player is dealt five cards and tries to make the strongest hand by drawing replacements. The number of draw rounds depends on the house rules, but three draws is common. Hand rankings follow the same Hi standard as Texas Hold’em.

Key points

• Each player gets 5 cards
• You draw and replace cards over several rounds to make the strongest hand

2.2 − 2-7 Triple Draw

This game flips the usual Texas Hold’em hand rankings on their head, using a lowball system (and “A2345” does not count as a straight). The best possible hand is 23457 with no flush, which is why it’s called Deuce-to-Seven. As the name suggests, you can draw up to three times. It’s a popular draw game because strong hands are relatively achievable and the strategy is rich.

Key points

• Up to 3 draws
• The best hand is 23457 (not a straight, not a flush)

2.3 − Badugi

Badugi stands out as one of the most unique poker variants. In this game, hand strength is evaluated using four cards. A “Badugi” is a hand with four cards where no ranks or suits repeat. A is the strongest and K is the weakest. The best possible hand is A234 with all four suits different. One key feature is that drawing often doesn’t reduce your hand’s value as sharply as in other draw games.

Key points

• A “Badugi” is four cards with all different ranks and suits
• A is strongest, K is weakest
• A234 is the best possible hand

3. Stud Poker

Stud poker features partially exposed hands, with some cards dealt face up. The most common format is Seven Card Stud, where each player receives seven cards over the course of the hand. Here, we’ll look at two rulesets that use different hand-evaluation standards.

3.1 − Seven Card Stud Hi

Each player receives seven cards, and four of them are dealt face up for everyone to see. Hands are evaluated using the same Hi standard as Texas Hold’em. Because each player receives their own unique set of seven cards (rather than sharing community cards), hand strength can shift more dramatically as the hand develops compared to Hold’em.

Key points

• 7 cards per player total, with 4 exposed
• Uses the same Hi hand rankings as Texas Hold’em

3.2 − Razz

The dealing structure is the same as Seven Card Stud Hi, but hand strength is judged using the Lo standard. The best possible hand is A2345.

Key points

• Same dealing as Seven Card Stud
• Uses Lo hand rankings (A2345 is best)

4. Poker Variants That Combine Multiple Rules

You can also create new poker formats by combining elements from different games. For example, you can add draw mechanics to flop poker, or evaluate hands using multiple standards. You can customize the rules to match your preferences, and trying a new hybrid game can feel refreshingly different. Let’s look at a couple of well-known examples.

4.1 − Omaha Hi-Lo

The dealing is the same as Omaha: each player gets four hole cards, and five community cards are dealt. You still must use exactly two from your hand and three from the board. The difference is how you determine winners. Standard Omaha uses only the Hi standard, but Omaha Hi-Lo also uses the Lo standard. The pot is split between the best Hi hand and the best Lo hand (however, a qualifying Lo hand requires five different cards of 8 or lower). Because A can be powerful in both Hi and Lo, its value becomes even higher than in many other games.

Key points

• Same structure as Omaha: 4 hole cards plus 5 community cards
• Winners are determined for both Hi and Lo, and the pot is split
• Lo requires special conditions, such as five different cards 8 or lower

4.2 − Badeucy

Badeucy combines 2-7 Triple Draw and Badugi into a single draw poker game. Each player is dealt five cards and can draw during the hand. The pot is split between the best 2-7 hand and the best Badugi hand (in this game, 2 is also the strongest card for Badugi).

Key points

• A hybrid of 2-7 Triple Draw and Badugi
• 5 cards are dealt, you draw, and the pot is split between the best 2-7 and best Badugi hands

Conclusion

How was it? We’ve covered a wide range of poker variants by category, from games where you can draw new cards to formats where part of your hand is exposed. Many of these include elements you won’t find in Texas Hold’em. Some even combine multiple poker rules into one. You might enjoy inventing your own home-game variant, too. If you’re starting to feel a little bored with your usual poker routine, try learning a new format and see how it changes the way you think about the game.