**When people say “let’s play poker,” they almost always mean Texas Hold’em — but it’s just one game in a much bigger family.** Early on I didn’t even realize there were other kinds. Then I sat at a home game where someone dealt four hole cards instead of two, called it Omaha, and I was completely lost. It turns out poker is a category, not a single game, and the versions share a lot of DNA while playing very differently.
This is a beginner’s tour of the main variants: what makes each one different, where you’ll actually run into them, and why Hold’em is far and away the best place to start. You don’t need to learn them all — but knowing they exist (and how they relate) makes you a more comfortable player.
## What all poker games share
Before the differences, the common ground. Almost every poker variant shares the same core:
– **The same hand rankings.** A flush beats a straight in Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, and nearly everywhere else. Learn [poker hand rankings](/poker-hand-rankings/) once and they carry across games.
– **Betting rounds.** You bet in rounds, with the same core actions — fold, check, call, bet, raise.
– **The goal.** Win the pot, either by having the best hand at showdown or by getting everyone else to fold.
So when you learn one poker game well, you’re really learning most of what you need for the others. The differences are mostly in **how many cards you get** and **how you see them**.
## Texas Hold’em: the default
**Texas Hold’em** is the game you see on TV, in most casino poker rooms, and in the biggest tournaments. Each player gets **two private hole cards**, and **five community cards** are dealt face-up in the middle that everyone shares. You make your best five-card hand from those seven cards.
Hold’em is popular for good reasons: the rules are simple to learn, there are only two hidden cards to reason about, and there’s deep strategy underneath the simplicity. If you’re new, this is the one to learn — my [how to play poker](/how-to-play-poker/) guide walks through a full Hold’em hand step by step.
## Omaha: like Hold’em, but wilder
**Omaha** looks like Hold’em at first glance — there are still five community cards — but with one big twist: you get **four hole cards instead of two**, and you must use **exactly two of them** (plus three from the board) to make your hand.
More hole cards means stronger hands show up far more often, so the action is bigger and the swings are wider. Omaha is usually played “pot-limit” (there’s a cap on bet sizes based on the pot). It’s a popular step *after* Hold’em, not instead of it — the extra cards make it more complex to read. If you’ve got Hold’em down and want a new challenge, Omaha is the common next stop.
## Seven-Card Stud: the old-school game
Before Hold’em took over, **Seven-Card Stud** was the poker game. There are **no community cards** at all. Instead, over several rounds each player is dealt a mix of face-down and face-up cards, ending with seven cards of their own, and makes the best five from those.
Because some of everyone’s cards are face-up, Stud rewards paying attention and remembering what’s been shown. It’s less common in cardrooms today but still spread in some rooms and mixed-game lineups. You’ll mostly meet it in home games or among experienced players.
## A quick side-by-side
Here’s the shape of the main variants at a glance:
| Game | Hole cards | Community cards | Best for |
|——|———–|—————–|———-|
| Texas Hold’em | 2 | 5 shared | Beginners; the default everywhere |
| Omaha | 4 (use exactly 2) | 5 shared | Hold’em players wanting more action |
| Seven-Card Stud | up to 7 (own) | None | Home games, mixed-game fans |
| Five-Card Draw | 5 (own) | None | Casual and home games |
There are more exotic versions out there — Razz, Badugi, mixed rotations like H.O.R.S.E. — but you can safely ignore those until you’re deep into the hobby.
## Why start with Hold’em
If you take one thing from this guide: **start with Texas Hold’em.** It has the gentlest learning curve, it’s spread everywhere you’d want to play, and the skills you build — reading the board, hand values, betting rounds, position — transfer directly to every other variant. Learning Hold’em first isn’t a detour; it’s the foundation the whole family is built on.
Once you’re comfortable, branching into Omaha or a home-game round of Stud is a fun way to grow. But there’s no rush, and no shame in playing only Hold’em for a long time — most players do.
> Poker involves risk and should be played responsibly. MazaPoker is an educational resource and does not guarantee winnings or financial results. Whichever variant you play, set a budget and treat learning as the goal.
## Frequently asked questions
### What is the most popular poker game?
Texas Hold’em. It’s the game shown on television, spread in most casino poker rooms, and used in the largest tournaments, which is why it’s the standard starting point for beginners.
### What’s the difference between Texas Hold’em and Omaha?
Both use five shared community cards, but in Omaha you get four hole cards instead of two and must use exactly two of them. That makes for stronger hands and bigger swings than Hold’em.
### Do different poker games use the same hand rankings?
Mostly yes. Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Seven-Card Stud all use the standard hand rankings, so learning what beats what once applies across nearly all common variants.
### Which poker game should a beginner learn first?
Texas Hold’em. It has the simplest rules to pick up, it’s available almost everywhere, and its skills transfer directly to the other poker variants.
## Key takeaways
– Poker is a **family of games** that share hand rankings, betting rounds, and the same goal.
– **Texas Hold’em** (2 hole cards + 5 shared) is the default — simple to learn and spread everywhere.
– **Omaha** adds two hole cards for bigger action; **Stud** and **Draw** use no community cards.
– Start with **Hold’em** — its skills transfer to every other variant.
Ready to dig into the default game? Learn [how to play poker](/how-to-play-poker/) step by step, get [hand rankings](/poker-hand-rankings/) locked in, and see [what hands to play preflop](/what-hands-to-play-preflop/). Explore the full [Learn Poker](/learn-poker/) hub for more.
