Top 10 non-Texas Hold’em poker games every player should try
25 August 2025By Tadas Peckaitis
Poker has become a global phenomenon over the last couple of decades, but most poker players only ever play one game, Texas Hold’em Poker. Yet, there are dozens of different poker variations out there, and many of them are action-packed and very exciting.
Whether you are new to poker or someone who has spent years playing Texas Hold’em, here are the top 10 poker games you should learn and try playing to spice up your poker experience.
10. Deuce to Seven Single Draw
A game that drew a lot of attention from the poker community over the last few years at the World Series of Poker, Deuce to Seven Single Draw is widely considered by the pros as one of the most skillful games.
The game is played with five cards to a player and a single round of drawing, similar to Five Card Draw. The twist is that, instead of trying to make the best poker hand, players try to make a low hand with no straights or pairs in it.
The best hand in Deuce to Seven Single Draw is 7 5 4 3 2, also called Number One. However, the game is about a lot more than just making the best hand. Poker pros like Nick Schulman have made this game their specialty, as it combines the mathematical, psychological, and other key elements that make poker what it is.
If you haven’t had a chance to play Deuce to Seven Single Draw before, we recommend watching some reruns of the WSOP final tables to see the best in the world play this unique and highly entertaining poker variant.
9. Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo
Stud poker games used to be the bread and butter of many professional poker players before the 2000s, and they remain a big part of the rotation in various mixed game formats.
Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, in particular, is a fun game with many strategic elements. While it is a limit poker game, the pots tend to get quite big, although many of them are chopped.
If you are new to Stud games, the Hi/Lo version should be a bit more exciting than traditional Seven Card Stud, simply for the added strategy.
This game is not perfect for everyone, so give it a shot and see if it fits your idea of fun.
8. Short Deck Poker (Six Plus Hold’em)
A new variation of Texas Hold’em Poker that arose in Asia, Short Deck Poker, is played with a deck that contains no deuces, treys, fours, or fives.
With 16 cards removed from the deck, and only 36 in play, getting big hands is much easier. However, the value of those hands also goes down, as preflop equities run much closer.
Hands like Jack-10 are monsters in Short Deck Poker, as making straights becomes that much easier without the pesky low cards.
In Short Deck Poker, flushes are more powerful than full houses, and Aces can be used to make the low end of a straight with a 6, 7, 8, and 9.
If you find traditional Texas Hold’em to be a bit too slow for your liking, Six Plus Hold’em should be exactly the game you have been dreaming of.
7. Chinese Poker
If you find traditional poker games to be a bit too much in terms of position, bet sizing, and odds calculations, Chinese Poker is the perfect solution.
In this game, you won’t have to think about any of those, as the game is played for points, and there are no betting rounds involved. Instead, each player receives 13 cards, which they must arrange into two 5-card hands and one 3-card hand.
The back hand must bet the strongest according to poker hand rankings, while the middle hand must also be stronger than the front hand.
Chinese Poker can be played with closed cards or with open cards, with Open Face Chinese being a very popular version among professional poker circles.
Learning the rules and points system of Chinese Poker is not too difficult, and this is a fun poker game that you can quickly pick up and enjoy with your friends, as it tends to be very fun even when played for low stakes.
6. Courchevel
Another game based on Omaha poker, Courchevel is an even more exciting poker variant that can be played in either Hi or Hi/Lo format.
In Courchevel, much like in Big O (see below), all players start with five hole cards. The one major twist is that the first flop card is turned over immediately, before any preflop action goes down.
This makes Courchevel an ideal game to play against less experienced players, who may still choose to chase down speculative hands, despite not connecting with the flop card. For serious Courchevel players, the extra card revealed gives enough information to decide if a hand is worth pursuing or not, as you should only play when you have a solid connection.
If you are looking to make your Omaha games a bit more fun, try playing Courchevel Hi/Lo, and watch as every hand develops into utter chaos across the streets.
5. Badugi
Badugi is another version of draw poker that emerged more recently, changing the norms of traditional poker altogether.
Unlike in other draw games, where players are looking to make either a high or a low hand, the main goal of Badugi is to make a low hand with cards of four different suits.
Each player is dealt four cards and given three drawing opportunities. During these draws, your goal is to either make a Badugi (hand with four different suits), or create opportunities to bluff your opponents.
Badugi is a game where bluffing can be very powerful, as certain cards allow you to put maximum pressure on your opponents.
For instance, imagine being dealt four deuces and betting heavily on every round possible, knowing your opponents can’t possibly have a very strong Badugi hand.
No cards are exposed in 5 Card Draw until showdown.
Moving away completely from games with community cards, 5 Card Draw is one of the all-time classics that many players these days have never had a chance to play.
Unlike in the games you are used to, no cards are exposed in 5 Card Draw until showdown. Every player receives five cards to start with, and is given one chance to replace them with new cards from the deck.
Two no-limit betting rounds are played before and after the draw, and the player with the best poker hand wins at showdown.
Since there are no face-up cards, the art of playing 5 Card Draw is all down to understanding tells, knowing absolute hand values, and making the right plays against the right players.
If you haven’t player 5 Card Draw or any other draw games before, it may take some getting used to, but you will eventually enjoy playing this game just as much, if not more.
3. Big O
A poker game derived from Pot Limit Omaha, Big O combines PLO5 and PLO Hi/Lo, creating a unique and fun new version.
In Big O, each player starts with five hole cards, and the goal is to make the best high hand and the best low hand at the same time.
High hands are ranked in accordance with the usual poker hand rankings, so any Hold’em player understands what they need to make.
On the other hand, making a low hand is much different. The best possible low hand is one made up of low cards, below eight, without any pairs.
This means that 5 4 3 2 A is the best low hand, 6 4 3 2 A is the next best low hand, etc. Since two hole cards must be used at all times, a low hand is only possible in hands where at least three low cards are dealt on the board.
If you are looking for a completely new take on poker, where many pots get split, and the action gets wild, Big O is a game you should definitely try out.
2. Pot Limit Omaha
The second most popular poker game in the world, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) has become quite mainstream, although most casinos still prefer Texas Hold’em.
In Pot Limit Omaha, each player is dealt four hole cards, two of which must be used in combination with three community cards to make a five-card hand.
In addition to more hole cards, Pot Limit Omaha is played with pot limit betting, which means every bet is limited to the size of the pot. Despite limited betting, PLO tends to generate a lot more action, as the two extra cards allow for more big hands, massive combo draws, and more.
If you are an action junky who gets bored waiting for hands in Texas Hold’em, PLO is the perfect game for you, as it’s guaranteed to keep you a lot more engaged.
When playing PLO, make sure to keep an eye out for position more so than you normally do, and be careful with your starting hand selection, as you look to play hands with big cards and Aces more than anything else.
1. Pineapple Poker
One of the poker games most similar to Texas Hold’em, Pineapple Poker is played similarly, making it very easy for Hold’em players to transition to. Unlike Hold’em, Pineapple Poker is played with three hole cards to a player, one of which is discarded throughout gameplay.
There are different variations of Pineapple Poker. In the traditional version, the third card is discarded before the flop, while in Crazy Pineapple, the third card is discarded after the flop.
In some places, Pineapple Poker is even played with three cards all the way down to the river, which makes it more similar to Pot Limit Omaha.
In either case, this game generates a lot more action than traditional Texas Hold’em and makes for a fun deviation for any group of players looking to make their home games more exciting.
The main trick to Pineapple Poker is to play tighter than normal, as big hands are much easier to come by for your opponents. This means you should also be looking to play with more big hands and play speculative combos a lot less often.