Within the poker world there are several different types of games to play each with different strategies and rules of play. In this article I will review several different games and some points on each. A poker enthusiast enjoys playing a variety of different games and a pro probably excels at several.

The most popular poker game is Texas Hold’em this is the game that decides the world champion of the World Series of Poker each year in Las Vegas. Hold’em can be played in different forms , fixed limit, pot limit and the most popular no limit and is quite often  played in cash games or tournaments .Hold'em is often seen on poker tournaments on TV and at the WSOP, World Poker Tour, Poker After Dark and the Heartland Poker Tour. The game is played with each player dealt two cards and the player win by making the best hand involving 5 community cards, with rounds of betting occurring after the hands are dealt, then again after the flop and after each the turn and river.

Omaha is another game similar to Hold’em in which the players are dealt four cards and can only play two in combination with the 5 community cards. The goal is to make the best 5 card hand like in Texas Hold’em. There are also a few varieties of Omaha, Omaha eight or better, Omaha hi and Omaha Hi/Lo split. Though these games are similar to Hold’em the strategies behind the play are completely different.

Seven Card Stud also has two varieties to play, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Eight or Better. Seven Card Stud is similar to Hold’em in that you are trying to make the best five card hand otherwise there are several differences. In Seven Card Stud you are dealt seven cards some are dealt face up that everyone can see and some are dealt face down that only you can see. The lowest ranking hand is made to pay the starting bet called the bring in similar to Omaha and Hold’em of which the forced bet is paid by the blinds.

A final Poker game I am going to discuss is Razz. Similar to Seven Card Stud in several ways but with a major difference, the goal is to have the lowest hand possible or closest to A-2-3-4-5. In Razz the highest card dealt face up to all players pays the bring in. Once again different strategy is needed to succeed in this poker variation.

I hope that this article has been helpful as a brief review of a few types of poker games with some insight on some similarities and differences. With this information you can decide which poker type you would like to play or learn and which type you would like to master.