That distinction prevents the common mistake of treating “Pot-Limit Omaha,” “six-max,” and “tournament poker” as three equivalent kinds of game. One describes a variant plus betting limit, one describes table size, and one describes competition format.
Types of Poker Games at a Glance
Scroll horizontally to view the full table.
| Family | Information pattern | Familiar examples |
|---|---|---|
| Community-card poker | Private hole cards plus one shared board | Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Short Deck |
| Stud poker | A mix of private and exposed cards; no shared board | Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz |
| Draw poker | A private hand that can replace cards | Five-Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badugi |
| Mixed games | The game rotates by hand or orbit | HORSE, 8-Game, dealer's choice |
Watch Gambling.com compare Hold'em, Omaha, Stud, and Draw in the verified video below. The video is in English; captions are available.
Game Family, Betting Limit, and Table Format Are Different
Use four questions to describe a poker table accurately:
- What variant is being played? Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, and so on.
- What betting limit applies? No-limit, pot-limit, or fixed-limit.
- What competition format applies? Cash game, tournament, sit-and-go, or another structure.
- How many seats are active? Heads-up, six-max, eight-handed, nine-handed, and so on.
“$1/$2 six-max No-Limit Hold'em cash game” answers all four. “Poker” does not.
Community-Card Poker
Community-card games put a shared board in the middle of the table. Players combine that board with private hole cards under the variant's construction rule.
Texas Hold'em
Each player receives two hole cards. Five community cards appear as flop, turn, and river. At showdown, you make the best five-card hand from all seven available cards and may use both hole cards, one, or none.
Hold'em is a practical first game because the deal is easy to follow and the shared board keeps most of the information visible. Start with how to play poker and the hand rankings.
Omaha
Omaha commonly deals four hole cards, but more cards do not mean you can use any five of the nine available. A standard Omaha hand must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards.
That rule creates frequent beginner errors. Holding the ace of hearts with four hearts on the board does not make a flush by itself; you need two hearts in your hole cards. Pot-Limit Omaha, usually shortened to PLO, combines Omaha's construction rule with pot-limit betting.
Omaha Hi-Lo
Omaha Hi-Lo can split the pot between the best high hand and a qualifying low hand. It retains the exactly-two-from-your-hand, exactly-three-from-the-board requirement for each side of the pot. One player may scoop both halves.
Short Deck
Short Deck removes lower ranks from the deck and changes the probability landscape. Some rules rank a flush above a full house; others use a different convention. Confirm the room's published ranking before sitting down.
Stud Poker
Stud games do not use one shared community board. Each player builds an individual board from a mixture of face-down and face-up cards. The exposed upcards make memory and observation part of the game.
Seven-Card Stud
Players receive seven cards over several streets and make the best five-card high hand. Antes usually seed the pot, and a bring-in starts the first betting round based on an exposed card under the house rule.
Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo
The pot may be split between high and a qualifying low. Exact qualification and construction rules matter, so “I have a low” is not enough without reading the game description.
Razz
Razz is a lowball stud game. The objective is to make the lowest qualifying five-card hand under Razz rules rather than the strongest standard high hand. Traditional high-hand intuition must be reset before play.
Draw Poker
Draw games begin with private cards. Players can discard some and draw replacements, so the information comes from betting, draw counts, and whether an opponent stands pat.
Five-Card Draw
Each player receives five private cards. After an initial betting round, players may replace cards, followed by another betting round and showdown. It is easy to deal at home, but the hidden information can make hand reading less obvious for a new player.
2-7 Triple Draw
Players try to make the lowest hand under deuce-to-seven rules and may draw up to three times. Straights and flushes work against the low hand, and aces are high. A pat hand keeps all cards.
Badugi
Badugi uses four-card hands and rewards different ranks and suits under its own lowball system. It should not be explained with ordinary five-card rankings.
Mixed Poker Games
Mixed games rotate among several variants. In HORSE, the letters stand for Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. The game may change after one orbit or another published interval.
A mixed game tests rule switching as much as card play. Before every hand, confirm the current variant, limit, forced bets, and winning objective. One orbit of Hold'em habits can become a costly mistake when the placard changes to Razz.
Normalized Variant Comparison
Scroll horizontally to view the full table.
| Game | Private cards | Shared board | Required construction | Typical forced action | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Hold'em | 2 | 5 | Best 5 from any combination | Blinds | Highest standard hand |
| Omaha | Usually 4 | 5 | Exactly 2 hole + 3 board | Blinds | Highest standard hand |
| Omaha Hi-Lo | Usually 4 | 5 | Exactly 2 + 3 for each side | Blinds | Split high and qualifying low |
| Seven-Card Stud | 7 total | None | Best 5 from personal cards | Ante and bring-in | Highest standard hand |
| Razz | 7 total | None | Best 5 low under Razz rules | Ante and bring-in | Lowest qualifying hand |
| Five-Card Draw | 5, then replacements | None | Final private 5 | Blinds or antes | Highest standard hand |
| 2-7 Triple Draw | 5, up to 3 draws | None | Final private 5 | Blinds | Lowest deuce-to-seven hand |
Which Poker Game Should You Learn First?
Choose by information pattern, not by prestige.
- Start with Texas Hold'em if you want the widest pool of beginner material and a visible shared board.
- Try Omaha after Hold'em if you enjoy more combinations and can respect the exactly-two-card rule.
- Try Stud if tracking exposed cards and changing board strength appeals to you.
- Try Draw if you like hidden information and draw-count reads.
- Move into mixed games after you can state the rules of each component without hesitation.
No variant is universally “best.” Availability, local rules, stakes, rake, table quality, and your own learning goal matter more.
Betting limit and cash/tournament format are separate choices.
Where Poker-Eye Currently Fits
Poker-Eye support must be described by room and format, not by assuming an entire family works. As of the product knowledge dated August 29, 2026, confirmed examples include NLH across several supported rooms; some rooms also have confirmed Omaha, AoF, Squid, Mushrooms, or Zoom combinations. PokerWorld is present in the current media library, but its format list is not confirmed. Formats in development are not available claims.
Supported games vary by room and can change as products are updated. Check Poker Bot and the individual room pages for the current list before choosing a format.
Common Variant Mix-Ups
- Using both hole cards automatically in Hold'em. You may use zero, one, or two.
- Using one hole card in Omaha. Standard Omaha requires exactly two.
- Calling pot-limit a separate deal pattern. It is a betting limit.
- Calling a tournament a variant. It is a competition format.
- Assuming every low game ranks hands the same way.
- Assuming Short Deck has one universal ranking convention.
- Calling a mixed game one static ruleset.
Build a Learning Path
Use the poker terms glossary when a new format introduces unfamiliar language. If you move into solver study, the GTO poker guide explains why every output belongs to one declared game model rather than poker as a whole.
Sources
- PokerNews: Poker Game Variants for the main game families and their defining rule differences.
- Pagat: Poker Variations for detailed rules, historical variants, and less common formats.
- PokerListings: Types of Poker for beginner comparisons and guidance on choosing a game to learn.
- PokerStars: Poker Games for official room descriptions of supported games and formats.
Poker involves financial risk. No tool or strategy guarantees a result. Follow local requirements and the current rules of the poker room you use.
About the Editorial Team
The Poker-Eye Editorial Team researches, checks, and maintains product and educational content. Sources and product boundaries are reviewed before publication.