Poker Variants Library
Poker variants: 20 games explained and compared
A poker variant is any game that keeps poker's core, betting rounds and a showdown decided by hand rankings, but changes how cards are dealt, drawn, shared or scored. This page compares the 20 variants you can play on SophiesPick, with the complete rules for each one a click away.
The three traditional poker families
Reference works sort poker into three families. Community-card games such as Hold'em and Omaha deal each player private hole cards and share one or more boards face up in the middle. Draw games such as 2-7 Triple Draw deal a full private hand with no board and let players exchange cards over one or more draws. Stud games deal a mix of face-up and face-down cards to each player over several streets, with no shared cards in the classic form.
SophiesPick groups its 20 games into six categories that sit inside those families: the SophiesPick originals and the Hold'em and Pineapple family are community-card games with two to six hole cards; the Omaha family is community-card poker under the exactly-two-hole-cards rule; Multi-board and bomb pots are community-card games with two or three boards; Draw and split-pot games are draw games, two of them pure draw and three combining a draw with a community board; and Stud is a Stud game that adds a shared flop. 6 well-known games, listed at the end of this page, are not offered here.
What is different about SophiesPick is that every variant on this page is playable, free, in the browser, with written rules maintained in the shared rules registry and checked against the engine. Any mix of these games can also run at one table as a Dealer's Choice or Random rotation.
Compare all 20 poker variants
Hole cards, boards, betting structure and seats come from the game catalog; the pot, draw and showdown columns summarise each game's rules.
| Game | Family | Hole cards | Boards | Betting | Players | Pot and objective | Draw, discard or reveal | Showdown rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophie's Pick | Community card | 6 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | Sacrifice one locked pair after the flop and one after the turn | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board (final pair only) |
| Double Sophie | Community card | 6 | 2 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand on each board (pot split per board) | Sacrifice one locked pair after the flops and one after the turns | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board (final pair, each board separately) |
| No-Limit Hold'em | Community card | 2 | 1 | No-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | None | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board |
| Pineapple | Community card | 3 | 1 | No-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | Discard 1 of 3 cards before the flop | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board |
| Crazy Pineapple | Community card | 3 | 1 | No-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | Discard 1 of 3 cards after flop betting | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board |
| Super Hold'em | Community card | 2 | 1 (6 cards) | No-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | None (sixth board card after river betting) | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + 6 board cards |
| Pot-Limit Omaha | Community card | 4 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | None | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards |
| Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better | Community card | 4 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | Split: high hand / 8-or-better low | None | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards for each half |
| Expose | Community card | 4 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | Expose 1 hole card on the flop, turn and river | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards (exposed cards stay live) |
| Crossing the Border | Community card | 2 to 4 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand | Receive 1 extra hole card on the flop and 1 on the turn | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards |
| Hold'em Bomb Pot | Community card | 2 | 2 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand on each board (pot split per board) | None (bomb ante, no preflop betting) | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board (each board separately) |
| PLO Bomb Pot | Community card | 4 | 2 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand on each board (pot split per board) | None (bomb ante, no preflop betting) | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards (each board separately) |
| Squid | Community card | 2 | 3 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand on each surviving board (pot split per board) | None (lowest river board eliminated) | Hold'em: any 0-2 hole cards + board (each surviving board) |
| Octopus | Community card | 4 | 3 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | High hand on each surviving board (pot split per board) | None (lowest river board eliminated) | Omaha: exactly 2 hole cards + 3 board cards (each surviving board) |
| Dramaha | Draw + community | 5 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-6 | Split: five-card draw high / Omaha high | 1 draw after flop betting, up to 2 cards | Draw half: final 5 hole cards; Omaha half: exactly 2 + 3 |
| Bodigiha | Draw + community | 5 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-6 | Split: Badugi / Omaha high | 1 draw after flop betting, up to 2 cards | Badugi half: final hole cards; Omaha half: exactly 2 + 3 |
| 2-7 Triple Draw | Draw | 5 | None | Fixed-Limit | 2-6 | Deuce-to-Seven low | 3 draws, 0-5 cards each | Final 5 hole cards, lowest hand wins |
| Badacey | Draw | 5 | None | Fixed-Limit | 2-6 | Split: Ace-to-Five low / Badugi | 3 draws, 0-3 cards each | Final 5 hole cards, scored two ways |
| 31 and Under | Draw + community | 2 to 6 | 1 | Pot-Limit | 2-7 | Split: Omaha high / highest hole-card total at or below 31 | Optional draw before the flop, one card at a time, up to 6 cards; over 31 busts | Omaha half: exactly 2 + 3; 31 half: all hole cards |
| Studaha | Stud + community | 3 down + 4 up | Shared 3-card flop | Fixed-Limit | 2-7 | Split: Stud high / Omaha high | None (Stud streets with a shared flop) | Stud half: best 5 of 7 personal cards; Omaha half: exactly 2 down cards + the 3 shared cards |
Hole cards shows a range where the game adds or removes cards during the hand. Players is the seat range the table accepts for that game; a mixed table seats as many as its smallest game allows.
Five ways poker variants differ
Number of hole cards
Hold'em deals two private cards, Omaha four, the five-card draw games five and Sophie's Pick six. Omaha requires exactly two hole cards, while Hold'em allows zero, one or two. Some games change the count mid-hand: Pineapple discards down to two, Crossing the Border grows from two to four. Texas Hold'em vs Omaha and Pineapple vs Crazy Pineapple cover these two comparisons.
Community cards and boards
2 of the 20 games here have no board at all, 13 use a single board (Super Hold'em adds a sixth card to it and Studaha shares only a three-card flop), 3 deal two boards and 2 deal three. With more than one board each board is evaluated separately and pays its share of the pot. Multi-board poker and bomb pots and double-board poker explain the mechanics.
Betting structure
4 games are No-Limit, 13 are Pot-Limit and 3 are Fixed-Limit. No-Limit lets any player bet their whole stack; Pot-Limit caps a bet at the size of the pot; Fixed-Limit sets a small bet and a big bet by street with one bet and three raises per round, the traditional structure for draw and Stud games. Bomb pots replace preflop betting with an ante from every player. Each game's betting structure is part of its rules; the hosting guide shows where blinds, antes and timers are chosen when you create a table.
Drawing and discarding
Draw games let you exchange cards: three draws of up to five cards in 2-7 Triple Draw, three draws of up to three in Badacey, a single draw of up to two after the flop in Dramaha and Bodigiha. Discard games remove a card instead (Pineapple before the flop, Crazy Pineapple after it), Expose reveals one hole card per street, and 31 and Under draws toward a card total rather than a poker hand. Draw poker games with a twist compares the four draw games.
Showdown rules and pot splitting
Hold'em-style games let you use any zero, one or two hole cards; Omaha-style games require exactly two hole cards and three board cards. 6 of the 20 games split the pot between two objectives, such as high and 8-or-better low, Badugi and Omaha, or Stud high and Omaha high, and a player who wins both halves scoops. Multi-board games split by board instead. Split-pot poker games walks through how each half is awarded.
What is Dealer's Choice poker?
In a Dealer's Choice game the player on the button picks the variant for the next hand or orbit, so one table can move from Hold'em to Omaha to a draw game and back. On SophiesPick, choose Mixed games when you create a table, select two or more variants, and set the rotation to Dealer's choice or Random. The table seats as many players as the smallest game in the mix allows. How Dealer's Choice works, with all twenty games to call.
SophiesPick originals
Six cards, three pairs and two picks: the games you can only play here.
Sophie's Pick
6 Cards / Build 3 Pairs / Make Your Pick
Six cards locked into three pairs; you sacrifice one pair after the flop and another after the turn, so only two cards reach showdown.
2-7 playersDouble Sophie
6 Cards / 2 Boards / Make Your Pick
The same final pair plays two separate boards, and each board pays half of every pot.
2-7 playersHold'em and Pineapple family
Two or three hole cards, one board, Hold'em showdown.
No-Limit Hold'em
2 Cards / Classic Hold'em
Two hole cards and any 0, 1 or 2 of them at showdown: the baseline every other game here is measured against.
2-7 playersPineapple
3 Cards / Discard Before Flop
Three hole cards, but you choose one to discard before the flop and play the remaining two under Hold'em rules.
2-7 playersCrazy Pineapple
3 Cards / See the Flop - Then Discard
Keep all three cards through the flop betting, then discard one before the turn.
2-7 playersSuper Hold'em
2 Cards / Sixth Board Card / No Extra Betting
After river betting a sixth board card is dealt and the hand goes straight to showdown with no further betting.
2-7 playersOmaha family
Four hole cards, exactly two of them at showdown.
Pot-Limit Omaha
4 Cards / Exactly 2 + 3
Four hole cards, and exactly two of them must be used with exactly three board cards.
2-7 playersOmaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
4 Cards / High + 8-or-Better Low
Pot-Limit Omaha where the pot splits between the best high hand and the best qualifying 8-or-better low.
2-7 playersExpose
4 Cards / Reveal as You Go
Omaha where each player exposes one hole card on the flop, turn and river; all four cards stay live at showdown.
2-7 playersCrossing the Border
2 to 3 to 4 Cards / Finish as Omaha
Starts with two hole cards, adds one on the flop and one on the turn, then finishes under Omaha showdown rules.
2-7 playersMulti-board and bomb pots
Two or three boards, each surviving board paying its share of the pot.
Hold'em Bomb Pot
2 Cards / 2 Boards / Straight to the Flop
Everyone posts a bomb ante, there is no preflop betting, and two boards each pay half of the pot.
2-7 playersPLO Bomb Pot
4 Cards / 2 Boards / Straight to the Flop
The bomb-pot structure with four hole cards and Omaha showdown on each of the two boards.
2-7 playersSquid
2 Cards / 3 Boards / Lowest River Eliminated
Before river betting, boards tied for the lowest river card are eliminated; if all three tie, all survive and share the pot.
2-7 playersOctopus
4 Cards / 3 Boards / Omaha Rules
Squid's three boards and elimination rule, played with four hole cards under Omaha showdown.
2-7 playersDraw and split-pot games
Draw games with a twist, most of them splitting the pot two ways.
Dramaha
5 Cards / Draw + Omaha
Five hole cards and one board: half of the pot goes to the best five-card draw hand, half to the best Omaha hand.
2-6 playersBodigiha
5 Cards / Badugi + Omaha
Dramaha's structure with the draw half scored as Badugi (low, different ranks and suits) instead of high.
2-6 players2-7 Triple Draw
5 Cards / 3 Draws / Deuce-to-Seven Low
No board and three draws; the lowest hand wins, with Ace high and straights and flushes counting against you.
2-6 playersBadacey
5 Cards / 3 Draws / Ace-to-Five + Badugi
Three draws, no board, and a pot split between the best Ace-to-Five low and the best Badugi.
2-6 players31 and Under
2 to 6 Cards / Omaha + 31 / Bust Loses Both
Draw toward a hole-card total of 31 without busting, then play the board as Omaha; each objective takes half of the pot.
2-7 playersStud
Seven-card Stud streets with a shared flop.
Studaha
3 Down / 4 Up / Stud + Omaha / Shared Flop
Seven-card Stud streets plus a shared three-card flop; half of the pot to Stud high, half to an Omaha hand built from your down cards.
2-7 playersHow these rules are maintained
Every rules page in this library is rendered from the same rules registry that powers the in-game rules drawer, and the card counts, boards, betting structures and seat limits come from the game catalog the engine uses to set up a table. The registry is validated when the site is built and again in the automated test suite against the engine's list of playable games: a game cannot be added to the engine without rules, and no rules entry can exist for a game that is not playable. Each page carries the date its copy was last verified against the engine. How the SophiesPick engine works.
Which poker games are not here
This library covers the 20 games SophiesPick runs rather than every poker variant ever invented, so each page can be checked against a working implementation. Well-known games not currently offered include Razz, Seven-Card Stud (standalone), Five-Card Draw (standalone), Badugi (standalone), Short Deck Hold'em and Chinese Poker. Several of their ideas do appear here in combined form: Badugi scoring inside Bodigiha and Badacey, Stud streets inside Studaha, and Five-Card Draw hands inside Dramaha. Mixed poker games explained covers how HORSE and 8-Game compare with the rotations SophiesPick does run.