Poker guide
More than Hold'em
Omaha, Short Deck, Stud, Razz, draw games and mixed games — plus the side games, like Squid Game and the 7-2 game, that liven up a live table.
Updated:
Texas Hold'em gets the spotlight, but poker is a whole family of games. Here are the main ones you'll find in card rooms and online, plus the side games and fun rules that turn up in live cash games.
At a glance
| Game | Hole cards | Shared board | Usual betting | Who wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Hold'em | 2 | 5 | No-limit | High hand |
| Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) | 4 (5 or 6 in PLO5/PLO6) | 5 | Pot-limit | High hand, using exactly 2 hole cards |
| Omaha Hi-Lo | 4 | 5 | Pot- or fixed-limit | Pot split between high and low |
| Short Deck | 2 | 5 | No-limit, ante-based | High hand, special rankings |
| Seven Card Stud | 7 (3 down, 4 up) | None | Fixed-limit | High hand |
| Razz | 7 (3 down, 4 up) | None | Fixed-limit | Lowest hand |
| 2-7 Triple Draw | 5, draw up to 3 times | None | Fixed-limit | Lowest hand |
| Drawmaha | 5, one draw after the flop | 5 | Pot-limit | Pot split: best Omaha hand and best draw hand |
| Badugi | 4, draw up to 3 times | None | Fixed-limit | Lowest four-suit hand |
Omaha (PLO)
The second most popular poker game. It plays like Hold'em — same blinds, flop, turn and river — but you get four hole cards, and you must make your hand with exactly two of them plus exactly three from the board.
The classic mistake: holding A♥K♦7♣2♠ on a board of Q♥J♥9♥4♥10♥ is not a flush. You only have one heart in your hand, and you must use two. You do have the straight (A-K with Q-J-10).
- It's almost always played pot-limit: the biggest bet is the size of the pot.
- With four cards, hands are much closer in strength than in Hold'em, and big draws are common. A flush or straight is often not the best hand.
- PLO5 and PLO6 (five- or six-card Omaha) give you even more cards — still using exactly two. Expect huge hands and big pots.
- Double-board PLO, popular in bomb pots, deals two boards and splits the pot between the winner of each.
Omaha Hi-Lo (Omaha 8 or Better)
Four hole cards like Omaha, but the pot is split in half: the best high hand wins one half, and the best qualifying low hand wins the other.
- A low hand is five different cards, all 8 or lower (Aces count low). Straights and flushes don't spoil a low. The best low is A-2-3-4-5.
- For each half you still use exactly two hole cards and three from the board — and they can be different cards for high and low.
- If no one has a qualifying low (for example, fewer than three low cards on the board), the high hand wins the whole pot.
- Winning both halves is called a scoop — the main goal.
Big O is the five-card version of Omaha Hi-Lo.
Short Deck (6+ Hold'em)
Hold'em with a 36-card deck: all the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s are removed. It's fast, action-heavy and a high-stakes favourite.
- A flush beats a full house — with fewer cards of each suit, flushes are harder to make.
- In the most widely used rules, three of a kind beats a straight too. Check the house rules, as some games keep the normal order.
- The Ace still plays low in a straight: A♥6♠7♦8♣9♥ is the lowest straight.
- Usually played with antes from everyone and a button blind instead of normal blinds.
Stud games
No shared board — each player gets their own cards, some face down and some face up for everyone to see.
Seven Card Stud
- Everyone antes. You get two cards down and one up ("third street"). The lowest card showing must start the betting (the "bring-in").
- Three more cards come face up (4th, 5th, 6th street), then one last card face down (7th street, or "the river"), with a betting round after each.
- Make the best five-card hand from your seven. Reading what opponents could have from their up-cards is the key skill.
Stud Hi-Lo (Stud 8)
Seven Card Stud with the pot split between the best high and the best 8-or-better low, like Omaha Hi-Lo.
Razz
Seven Card Stud where the lowest hand wins the whole pot. Aces are low, straights and flushes don't count against you, and pairs are bad. The best hand is A-2-3-4-5. The highest up-card brings in.
Draw games
You're dealt a private hand, then swap ("draw") cards to improve it.
2-7 Triple Draw
Five cards, three draws. The lowest hand wins, but Aces are high and straights and flushes count against you — so the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of mixed suits. Usually fixed-limit.
2-7 Single Draw
The same hand rankings with just one draw, usually played no-limit. A game of nerve and bluffing.
Badugi
Four cards, three draws. The best hand has four cards of different suits and different ranks, as low as possible. The best is A-2-3-4 with one card of each suit.
Five Card Draw
The game from the movies: five cards, one draw, best high hand wins. A great first game for beginners.
Drawmaha
Half Omaha, half Five Card Draw — and one of the most fun games in any mixed rotation. Also called Dramaha or Sviten Special. Every player gets five cards, and the pot is split in two:
- Omaha half: the best high hand using exactly 2 of your 5 hole cards and exactly 3 of the 5 board cards.
- Draw half: the best five-card poker hand in your hand — all five of your own cards, no board cards.
- Deal and preflop: five cards each, face down, then a round of betting (usually pot-limit).
- The flop: three board cards, then a round of betting.
- The draw: each player throws away as many cards as they like — none ("standing pat") up to all five — and gets new ones.
- The turn and river: one card each, with a round of betting after each.
- Showdown: two battles at once — half the pot to the best Omaha hand, half to the best five-card hand in a player's hand. One player can win both halves — a scoop.
Drawmaha with two boards
Drawmaha is often played double-board: two separate boards are dealt (two flops, two turns, two rivers), and your Omaha hand is judged on each board separately — you can even use different hole cards on each. The best five-card hand in your hand is still judged once. That makes three things to win: board 1, board 2 and the draw hand.
How the pot is shared between them is a house rule, so agree it before the first hand. Common choices are half to the draw hand and a quarter to each board, or a third each.
Why it's tricky: the same five cards play for both halves. Drawing to a flush for the draw half can throw away the two cards that made your Omaha hand — and you make that choice after seeing only the flop.
Some rooms use a "one open" rule: a player who draws exactly one card gets it face up, and may keep it or swap it for a face-down card.
Drawmaha 2-7
The draw half goes to the best low hand under 2-7 rules (best: 7-5-4-3-2, mixed suits), so you want high cards for Omaha and low cards for the draw.
Drawmaha 49
The draw half isn't about poker hands at all — you add up the points of your five cards and the highest total wins. The best possible total is 49 (four Tens and a Nine).
Drawmaha Zero
The opposite of 49: the lowest total wins the draw half, so Jacks, Queens and Kings (worth 0) become the best cards. The best possible total is 0.
How the points work ("pip count"): "pips" are the suit symbols printed on a card, so a card's pip count is simply its number. Number cards 2–10 score their number, an Ace scores 1, and Jacks, Queens and Kings score 0 (they have pictures, not pips). For example 10♠9♥8♦7♣A♥ = 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 1 = 35 points, and K♠Q♥J♦2♣A♣ = 0 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 3 points.
Mixed games
Mixed games rotate between several variants, testing all-round skill:
- HORSE: Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Stud Hi-Lo ("Eight or better"), switching every round or level.
- 8-Game: HORSE plus 2-7 Triple Draw, No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha.
- Dealer's choice: the dealer picks the game each round — a home-game favourite.
Other variants
Pineapple & Crazy Pineapple
Hold'em with three hole cards. In Pineapple you discard one before the flop; in Crazy Pineapple, after the flop.
Irish Poker
Four hole cards like Omaha, but you discard two after the flop and finish the hand like Hold'em.
Courchevel
Five-card Omaha where the first flop card is shown before the preflop betting.
Open-Face Chinese (OFC)
Not a betting game: you build three hands (3, 5 and 5 cards) face up, one card at a time, and score points against each opponent. Pineapple OFC deals three cards at a time and you discard one.
Side games & fun rules
Live cash games, especially private ones, often add side games on top of the normal pot. Always agree the exact rules and amounts before starting.
Squid Game
Each time a player wins a pot, they get a "squid" token. Once every player but one has a squid, the last player without one pays every squid holder an agreed amount (often per squid held). Then a new round starts. Variations change how many squids each player can collect and what they're worth.
7-2 Game
Win a pot with 7♠2♦ — the worst starting hand — and every other player pays you an agreed bounty. Some tables require the 7-2 to be shown. It makes bluffing with trash suddenly profitable.
Bomb pot
Everyone puts in an agreed amount, preflop betting is skipped, and the flop comes straight away — often with two boards. Usually triggered every orbit or by a player's choice.
Run it twice (or three times)
When players are all-in before the river, the rest of the board is dealt more than once and the pot is split between the results. Less luck, same average.
Straddle & Mississippi straddle
A voluntary extra blind, normally 2× the big blind from under the gun. A Mississippi straddle can be posted from other seats, such as the button.
High-hand & bad-beat jackpots
Card-room bonuses for very big hands, or for losing with a huge hand. Paid from a small amount taken from each pot.
Which game should you try next?
- Love Hold'em and want more action? Pot-Limit Omaha.
- Want something completely different? Razz or 2-7 Triple Draw — the lowball games turn your instincts upside down.
- Hosting friends? Dealer's choice with a Squid Game or 7-2 side game on top keeps everyone involved.
- Want to test your all-round skills? HORSE.
Frequently asked questions
What is the second most popular poker game?
Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). Players get four hole cards and must use exactly two of them with three from the board.
What is the difference between Omaha and Hold'em?
In Omaha you get four hole cards instead of two, and you must use exactly two of them plus exactly three board cards. Hands run much bigger, so a straight or a flush is often not enough to win.
Does a flush beat a full house in Short Deck?
Yes. Short Deck removes the 2s to 5s, so flushes become rarer than full houses and rank above them.
What is a mixed game in poker?
A game that rotates between poker variants, for example HORSE: Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud and Stud Hi-Lo.
What is the 7-2 game?
A side game: anyone who wins a pot with 7-2, the worst starting hand, collects a bonus from every other player at the table.
What is a bomb pot?
A hand where every player puts in an agreed amount before the deal and the game goes straight to the flop, with no pre-flop betting.