The best poker games to play with friends, by how easy they are to teach

Teach in one hand

[No-Limit Hold'em](/poker-variants/no-limit-holdem) (2-7 players). The baseline. If anyone at the table is new to poker, start here and stay for a while. New rule to teach: none.

[Pineapple](/poker-variants/pineapple) (2-7 players). Hold'em with a third card that you throw away before the flop. The only new decision is which card to discard, and it happens once. New rule: discard one card after preflop betting. Suits a table that wants stronger hands without new showdown rules.

[Crazy Pineapple](/poker-variants/crazy-pineapple) (2-7 players). The same third card, but you keep it through the flop and discard after flop betting. Players who like Pineapple move here naturally. New rule: the discard moves to after the flop. Pineapple vs Crazy Pineapple compares them.

[Hold'em Bomb Pot](/poker-variants/holdem-bomb-pot) (2-7 players). Everyone antes, nobody bets preflop, two boards come out. Nothing new to learn about hand rankings, only how the pot is split between boards. New rule: equal split per board. Suits a table that wants action in every hand.

[Super Hold'em](/poker-variants/super-holdem) (2-7 players). Hold'em, then one more board card after river betting with no betting on it. New rule: a sixth card can change the result after the last bet. Suits groups who enjoy a final twist and do not mind the odd bad beat.

Teach in two or three hands

[Pot-Limit Omaha](/poker-variants/pot-limit-omaha) (2-7 players). Four cards instead of two, and the rule that trips everyone up the first time: exactly two of them must play. Once that sinks in, Omaha becomes the game many groups keep coming back to. New rule: exactly two hole cards plus three board cards; pot-limit bets.

[Squid](/poker-variants/squid) (2-7 players). Two cards, three boards, and the board with the lowest river card is eliminated before the final betting round. The elimination is the only new idea, and it produces a reaction every time. New rule: compare the three river ranks; the lowest board is removed, ties remove every tied board, and a three-way tie keeps them all.

[Crossing the Border](/poker-variants/crossing-the-border) (2-7 players). Start with two cards, get a third with the flop and a fourth with the turn, finish as Omaha. It is the gentlest way to teach the Omaha showdown rule, because the hand builds up to it. New rule: an extra private card on the flop and turn; Omaha showdown.

[Dramaha](/poker-variants/dramaha) (2-6 players). Five cards, one draw of up to two after the flop, and a pot split between the best five-card draw hand and the best Omaha hand. Two games in one hand, and a staple of Dealer's Choice rotations. New rule: half to draw high from your own five cards, half to Omaha high.

Teach in a short session

[Sophie's Pick](/poker-variants/sophies-pick) (2-7 players). Six cards arranged into three locked pairs; after the flop you give one pair up and after the turn another. Make your best five-card hand using both surviving hole cards, one hole card, or play the board. New rule: lock three pairs and sacrifice twice; sacrificed cards cannot contribute.

[Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better](/poker-variants/omaha-hi-lo) (2-7 players). Omaha with the pot split between the high hand and a qualifying low. The qualifying rule (five different ranks of eight or below, Ace low) takes a few hands to apply at speed, and reading for both halves is the skill. New rule: the low half and what qualifies. Split-pot poker games explains the family.

[Badacey](/poker-variants/badacey) (2-6 players). Five cards, three draws, no board, and a pot split between the lowest Ace-to-Five hand and the best Badugi. It is the game for a table that has played everything else; the Badugi half alone takes an orbit. New rule: two different low hands from the same five cards.

Building a night from this list

A first game night works well as a Dealer's Choice pool of one game from each section: Hold'em or Pineapple to warm up, Pot-Limit Omaha or Squid for the middle of the evening, and Dramaha or Sophie's Pick once everyone is settled. Remember that Dramaha, Badacey, Bodigiha and 2-7 Triple Draw seat six, so a seven-player table should leave them out or play them in a later session. How Dealer's Choice works on SophiesPick explains the rotation; how to host a private game online covers the room code, guest play and table settings.

Not on this list, and why

Bodigiha, 2-7 Triple Draw, Studaha, 31 and Under, Expose, Octopus, PLO Bomb Pot and Double Sophie are all on SophiesPick and all have full rules pages; they are left out here only because each is a variation on a game above (Bodigiha of Dramaha, Octopus of Squid, Double Sophie of Sophie's Pick) or asks more of a casual table than a first night should. The full variants directory lists all twenty.