Texas Hold’em: There are many types and variations of poker, but the game of Texas Hold’em is probably the most popular in the U.S. and possibly the most popular poker game in the world.  The game itself is fairly easy.  It can be played with anywhere from two to ten people.  The game starts with a dealer dealing two face-down cards to each player.  Through the next four rounds, the dealer deals five community cards that each player may play off of.  Each player, depending on the cards they have in their hand and on the table, decide if they want to keep betting if they want quit the hand, known as folding.  At the end of the game the player with the highest hand, the best combination of five cards using both the cards in the player’s hand and the community cards, wins.

Five Card Draw: Five card draw can be played with between two and five players.  It is one of the oldest poker variations.  Each player receives five cards and after the first round each player may discard or replace up to five cards in hopes of achieving the best hand.  At the end of the game the player with the highest hand wins.

Omaha: Omaha Hi is similar to Texas Hold’em.  It can be played with two to ten players as well.  Instead of being dealt two cards, each player receives four cards.  The dealer then deals the five community cards.  The best hand must be comprised of two cards they hold in their hand and three community cards.  Omaha 8 is similar to Omaha Hi, but players may also bet on making the best five-card low hand.

There are other variations as well, but these are typically the top three that are played in the U.S.