Best Poker Games Online | Types of Poker Games

Types of Poker Games

Check out any online casino’s poker section, and nearly everything falls into three broad types: Community Card Poker, Stud Poker, or Draw Poker. Every version, whether it’s Texas Hold’em or one of the newer formats, builds off those mechanics. That shapes how cards get dealt, when they hit the table, and how much of the hand stays hidden versus shared.

Draw Poker

Draw Poker is about as old-school as it gets. You get your full hand upfront, all hidden from the other players. After checking your cards, you’ve got one shot to swap as many as you like for new ones from the deck. That’s the ‘draw.’ The objective is to improve your hand and hope it beats the rest.

The rules that make draw poker are simple enough for beginners to latch onto. What is actually tricky is the lack of visible information. Look at the most popular version, Five Card Draw. You’ve got nothing to lean on (exposed cards, shared board, etc.). It all comes down to reading people if you’re playing others, or knowing the odds and making smart choices on what to keep or swap when it’s you versus the house.

Stud Poker

Stud Poker deals cards in stages. Some stay face down, meaning only you see them, the rest are laid out for everyone to follow. You cannot replace or exchange anything along the way, so every decision depends on your current hand and what you’ve seen unfold.

Most versions, like Seven-Card Stud, follow a fixed-limit structure where bet sizes rise at set stages during play. Each player antes ahead of the deal. That means there’s always money in the pot to fight for, even before anyone voluntarily commits chips. Once the action starts, players take turns betting or folding as new cards are revealed.

Community Card Poker

Community Card Poker revolves around shared cards placed face up in the center of the table. Every player gets their own private hand, but the final combination always uses a mix of personal and community cards. You build the best possible five-card hand by blending the two.

Games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha follow this setup, with community cards revealed in stages, usually known as the flop, turn, and river. Because everyone sees the same board, the edge comes from masking your hand and forcing action when the community cards start shaping likely combinations.

Most Popular Poker Games

Across the main categories, you’ll come across loads of online poker games. The most popular ones are:

Texas Hold’em

How it Works: You get two private cards. Then, five community cards land on the board across three stages: flop, turn, and river. The aim is to combine those with yours to build the strongest five-card hand.
Popularity: Texas Hold’em is the most played poker game. It dominates online platforms, live tournaments, and cash games globally.
Why it’s Great: You can win with weak cards if you time it right. Even weak hands can flip the table if you play your timing right.
Best For: Players who enjoy strategy, people reading, and shaping outcomes through decision-making.

Omaha

How it Works: You start with four private cards. The dealer puts five shared cards face up across the flop, turn, and river. You must build your hand using exactly two from yours and three from the board.
Popularity: It’s one of the most played poker formats after Hold’em, especially popular online and in high-stakes cash games
Why it’s Great: Omaha throws more private cards your way, so every hand feels wide open. Weak plays fall apart quickly, and no pot feels settled until the last card shows.
Best For: Risk-takers who enjoy aggressive play and constant big-pot swings.

Seven-Card Stud

How it Works: Seven Card Stud gives each player seven cards across multiple betting rounds, with no community board. You start with two hidden, one face up, then receive three more exposed and a final card face down. The strongest five-card hand wins at showdown, built entirely from your own cards.
Popularity: It ruled live poker before Hold’em and still runs in World Series events and some cash rooms. However, fewer sites push it online.
Why it’s Great: It rewards observation and calculated decisions, with every visible card offering clues.
Best For: Experienced players with sharp memory and patience for slower hands.

Razz

How it Works: Razz plays almost identical to Seven Card Stud in structure, but the lowest five-card hand takes the pot. Straights and flushes don’t count against you, and Aces are low, making A-2-3-4-5 the best possible hand.
Popularity: This is what some refer to as a specialist game, often seen in mixed formats like H.O.R.S.E. Fewer platforms run it as a standalone title.
Why it’s Great: Provides a unique lowball twist on traditional poker games.
Best For: Players who like quieter games with fewer surprises. And of course, a complete opposite take on traditional poker.

Mixed Poker Games

There are poker games online that rotate different variants within the same session or tournament. That means the rules change every so often, so you’re not sticking with the same style the entire time.

The most popular mixed game is called H.O.R.S.E, which is actually an acronym for five different poker types:

Hold’em
Omaha Hi-Lo
Razz
Seven Card Stud
Eight-or-Better Stud Hi-Lo

Such sessions would see the dealer switching games every set number of hands or when a certain blind level passes in a tournament. This keeps the pace much more unpredictable and stops one-trick players from dominating with a single strategy.

Mixed poker games are mostly popular with players who value variety and prefer formats that challenge different skills in one sitting. You’ll often find these in higher-stakes lobbies and special series.

Poker Cash Games vs. Tournaments

Poker cash games and tournaments both run off the same basic rules, yet differ a lot in how each format unfolds and what players need to focus on to succeed. Here’s how they both work:

1. Poker Cash Games

You buy chips with real money, and every chip equals cash value.
Players can sit down or walk away anytime.
The blinds stay fixed, unlike tournaments where they increase over time.
Losing your chips doesn’t end the session; you can buy back in and keep playing.
There is no specific prize structure set. The focus stays on steady profit per hand.
The goal is steady profit over time.

2. Poker Tournaments

Players buy in for a set fee that converts to tournament chips.
Everyone starts with the same chip stack and cannot obtain more once the tournament begins.
The prize pool builds from all buy-ins (minus the rake) and gets divided among top finishers based on position.
Blinds increase steadily over time, forcing more action and pushing shorter stacks to make moves.
Once a player loses all their chips, they’re eliminated and can’t re-enter unless the format allows rebuys.
The tournament continues until one player holds all the chips, earning the biggest payout.
Most tournament formats are based on elimination, meaning that players can’t just quit and cash out whenever they want
Tournament poker demands adjusting your strategy as blinds rise and table sizes shrink.

Choosing Which Poker Game to Play

For beginners, online cash games offer the most forgiving setup. You can jump in and out as you like and pick things up gradually without the pressure. Tournaments bring tougher competition and climbing stakes, but they can also be far more rewarding.

Check out the table below for more on choosing what type of poker to play.

Game or Format	Skill Level Needed	What You Must Be Good At
Texas Hold’em Cash	Medium to High	Reading bets, timing plays, managing risk
Texas Hold’em Tournaments	Medium to High	Adjusting to blinds, shifting gears under pressure
Omaha Cash	High	Handling swings, calculating outs, reading strong boards
Omaha Tournaments	High	Discipline with loose ranges, capitalizing on big hands
Seven Card Stud Cash	Medium	Memory, tracking exposed cards, patient hand selection
Razz	High	Spotting board strength, chasing low hands, patience
Sit & Go Tournaments	Beginner to Medium	Quick reads, adapting fast, survival focus

Another key thing to look at when picking poker card games is the betting limits. These tell you exactly how much you can bet or raise during each round. The most common setups are:

No-Limit: You can bet however much you’ve got in front of you, anytime. That’s where huge pots and fast knockouts happen. Texas Hold’em tournaments use this a lot.
Pot-Limit: You can bet or raise up to the total size of the pot. It keeps things aggressive but not as wild as No-Limit.
Fixed-Limit: The bet sizes are set in advance and stay steady. Raises follow a fixed amount, so pots grow more slowly.

Where to Play Poker Games Online

Plenty of online casinos carry their own poker platforms packed with cash games, tournaments, and different poker variants. We’ve tested all the top sites ourselves and pulled in expert ratings and real player feedback through our Jackpot Meter.

Here are the three best online poker sites in the US right now:

Ignition Poker

Ignition Poker gives you nonstop Texas Hold’em and Omaha with cash tables for all stakes, Sit’n Go’s, and big daily tournaments. There are also weekly freerolls paying up to $2,500. Many expert reviews praise the platform’s security. It uses advanced TLS encryption, supports fast crypto payouts, and lets you play anonymously at the tables.

New players get up to $1,000 in poker bonus money, or $1,500 with crypto (no rollover), and have 30 days to unlock the funds through real play.

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Bonus:300% up to $3,000 (150% Poker + 150% Casino)
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Bovada

Bovada’s one of the easiest poker sites to get comfortable with, especially if you’re new. They lay everything out clearly—how-to guides, rake details, points system, all upfront. You can even try things out in practice mode with fun money before playing for real.

The most popular poker card games here are Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo. They run 24/7, plus there’s Zone Poker, Sit’n Go’s, mystery knockouts, and seven tournament types to jump into. The filters are of great help to jump straight to your preferred games, and we found their live chat support genuinely knowledgeable when it comes to poker.

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BetOnline

BetOnline brings in some of the most advanced poker features you’ll find. The built-in Poker Odds Calculator shows real-time odds as you play, perfect for sharpening your strategy whether you’re new or experienced.

They’ve also added Six Plus Hold’em with a trimmed 36-card deck, Straddle options that raise the stakes in cash games, and Throwables for reacting mid-hand.

You’ll even find All-In Cash Out to lock profits early, plus Run It Multiple Times for extra outcomes on big hands.

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Casino Poker Games

Playing poker-based casino games is completely different from traditional poker against human opponents. Here, you’re competing directly with the house instead of others, and winnings come from fixed odds listed on preset paytables. Some popular examples include:

Casino Hold’em: You place an ante to start. The dealer gives you two cards, then three community cards land face-up. You decide to fold or call with an extra bet. After that, two more community cards follow. Both sides form the strongest five-card combination. The dealer must show at least one pair of 4s to qualify.
Pai Gow Poker: You receive seven cards and split them into a five-card high hand and a two-card low hand. The five-card set must outrank the other. The dealer does the same. To win, both of your hands need to beat the dealer’s. If only one wins, it’s a push.
Caribbean Stud Poker: You make an ante and get five cards. The dealer draws five as well, leaving one exposed. You look at your set, then either fold or raise (doubling your bet). The dealer needs Ace-King or better to qualify. If they do, the best five-card hand wins. Payouts follow fixed odds.

Then there’s the option to play video poker games. These work more like a slot machine, but everything runs off poker hand rankings. The only goal is landing specific combinations without having to worry about outplaying the dealer. Then, payouts come down to the hand you finish with.

Online Poker Games

No matter if you’re new to real money poker games or already experienced, there’s always something that fits your style. Texas Hold’em is the classic, with Omaha throwing more cards into the mix and keeping every hand wide open. Other formats like Seven-Card Stud or Razz reward patience and sharp memory. Keeping track of exposed cards can make all the difference.

Trying different poker card game formats online is the best way to find what you enjoy the most. Sites like Bovada offer a great opportunity with ‘fun’ credits to test everything before putting anything on the line. Then when you’re ready, you can quickly make a deposit and try your luck for real money. And if the pressure against other players feels like too much, you can switch to casino poker or video poker anytime.

Different Kinds of Poker – Games and Variants