Poker tournament series in live casinos and card rooms or on internet poker sites like BetMGM Poker usually consist of all or mostly No Limit Hold’em events. Some series schedules don’t even list the names of the tournaments, as they are all No Limit Hold’em, which may also show as NLHE or NLH.

Some tournament series will include some Omaha action, which is typically in the form of Pot Limit Omaha, or more commonly written as PLO.

There are more ways to include Hold’em and Omaha in tournament series, as Limit Hold’em (LHE) is popular with some sets of players, and Omaha fans tend to enjoy variations like Omaha-8 – also known as Omaha Hi/Lo or Hi-Lo, Omaha 8-or-Better, or simply O/8. And with the rise of Omaha in many poker rooms and online tables, series can include games like 5-Card PLO or 5-Card PLO Hi/Lo, 6-Card PLO, or Courchevel poker.

But wait, there’s more!

There are many more types of tournaments, some appearing individually on tournament schedules but most commonly added in the form of a “Mixed Game” or “Dealer’s Choice” event. 

Draw Poker

One of the oldest forms of poker in the history of the game, Draw games set themselves apart by dealing a complete hand before any betting begins. In addition, players are allowed to draw new cards to replace some of their original ones if they choose.

Five-Card Draw

The most common Draw poker game one might find in a tournament series is 5-Card Draw. The action is rather straightforward.

• Each player pays an ante and then receives five cards, all face down.
• A round of betting ensues.
• Players still in the hand may discard up to four cards and receive replacements.
• Another round of betting takes place.
• The best five-card hand wins. 

Lowball

There are many variations of Lowball, all using the low hand as the goal to win the pot. The most common in tournaments are Ace-to-Five (A-5) Lowball to Deuce-to-Seven (2-7) Lowball, with even more sub-categories, such as Limit or No Limit, and the 2-7 option is often played as a Triple Draw version.

The basics of these draw games remain the same, complete with antes and betting order. Each player receives five cards face down after the initial betting round, and they can then draw up to four cards. The primary difference between A-5 and 2-7 is the hand rankings. The best A-5 hand is, obviously, 5-4-3-2-A, and the best 2-7 hand is 7-5-4-3-2 and aces do not qualify as low cards. Triple Draw allows for three rounds of discarding and drawing cards, with betting rounds to accompany them.

Badugi

One of the most recent additions to Draw Poker tournament lineups is Badugi. The game takes parts of Triple Draw Lowball, uses blinds, and creates its own game. 

The best card in Badugi is A-2-3-4 of all different suits, whereas the worst hand is four kings. If no player has a Badugi hand, a three-card Badugi hand can qualify, as can a two-card hand if there are no three-card Badugi hands. Aces are low cards, and rankings use Lowball rules.

• Each player receives four cards, face down.
• The initial betting round starts.
• Players can discard up to four cards and receive replacements from the dealer.
• Another round of betting leads to another round of drawing cards.
• A third round of betting leads to the third draw.
• A final round of betting determines the winner.

Stud Poker

This broad form of poker is also one of the most common in poker history. Five-Card Stud was the most popular at one time, but today, Seven-Card Stud is the most readily available version of the game. All Stud games involve some cards face down and some up throughout multiple rounds of betting.

The basics of play are not as straightforward as other poker variants.

• Each player receives two cards face down and one card up.
• The person with the lowest-ranking card opens with a bring-in, and betting ensues.
• The dealer delivers another face-up card to each player still in.
• A second betting round ensues, beginning with the player with the best face-up hand.
• The dealer gives another face-up card to each player.
• Betting ensues, followed by another face-up card dealt and another round of betting.
• The dealer gives remaining players one face-down card, and betting happens again.
• The player with the best five-card poker hand wins.

Razz

Often called the game that players love to hate, Razz remains popular, especially in mixed game settings. It is similar to Seven-Card Stud but played as a low game, so it actually resembles A-5 Lowball. 

Razz is a limit game with antes, aces as low cards, and each player receiving two face-down cards and one face-up card. The highest face-up card makes that player the bring-in player. Play and betting rounds continue until players have four face-up cards and three face down in total. 

The best possible Razz hand is 5-4-3-2-A, as in A-5 Lowball.

Mixed Games

With so many poker variants and so little time, poker tournament organizers often combine some of the games into a mixed game. The most common type of tournament in this arena is HORSE, which consists of:

• Hold’em (Limit Hold’em)
• Omaha Hi/Lo (PLO-8)
• Razz
• Seven-Card Stud
• Eight or Better (Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, Stud-8)

Other versions of this game play as HOSE to eliminate Razz, ROSE to eliminate Hold’em, or HOE to use only Hold’em, PLO-8, and Stud-8.

A common eight-game mix includes the above but also adds regular Pot Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold’em, and 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.

Finally, a Dealer’s Choice event can combine up to 18 or 21 games. This often includes variations of Badugi like Badeucy and Badacy, Big O, Five-Card Draw High, and 2-7 Razz.

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