Card Game Guides
Last reviewed · CardLore editorial
Eight games, each explained from the deal to the showdown. Four are poker variants, where players bet against each other on the strength of a hand. Three are trick-taking or matching games played for points rather than a pot. One, blackjack, is played against the house rather than the table.
Every guide follows the same shape, so once you have read one you know where to find the same information in the others.
All guides
- Texas Hold'em
Two private cards, five shared cards, four betting rounds. The game that defines modern poker.
Players: 2–10Cards each: 2 private
- Pot-Limit Omaha
Four private cards, but you must use exactly two of them. Bigger hands, bigger pots.
Players: 2–10Cards each: 4 private
- Seven-Card Stud
No shared cards at all. Three down, four up, and a memory test on every street.
Players: 2–8Cards each: 7 (3 down, 4 up)
- Five-Card Draw
Five cards, one chance to swap, two rounds of betting. The oldest poker most people know.
Players: 2–6Cards each: 5 private
- Blackjack
Beat the dealer without passing 21. One decision at a time, with a fixed house routine on the other side.
Players: 1–7 vs dealerCards each: 2 to start
- Gin Rummy
Collect runs and sets, shed the leftovers, and knock before the other player does.
Players: 2Cards each: 10
- Hearts
A trick-taking game you win by losing. Every heart costs a point and the Queen of Spades costs thirteen.
Players: 4Cards each: 13
- Spades
Bid what you can win, then win exactly that. Spades are always trump and overbidding is punished.
Players: 4 (2 teams)Cards each: 13
Which game is which
The quickest way to tell these games apart is to ask what you are trying to end up with, and who you are playing against.
The eight games compared
| Game | Family | You are trying to | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Hold’em | Poker, community cards | Make the best five-card hand, or make everyone else fold | 2–10 |
| Pot-Limit Omaha | Poker, community cards | Same, but using exactly two of your four cards | 2–10 |
| Seven-Card Stud | Poker, stud | Make the best five of your seven cards, some of them face up | 2–8 |
| Five-Card Draw | Poker, draw | Improve a five-card hand with one exchange | 2–6 |
| Blackjack | Banking game | Finish closer to 21 than the dealer without passing it | 1–7 vs house |
| Gin Rummy | Matching game | Arrange your cards into sets and runs, then knock | 2 |
| Hearts | Trick-taking | Avoid winning tricks that contain points | 4 |
| Spades | Trick-taking | Win exactly the number of tricks you bid | 4 |
What every guide contains
- Quick facts — players, cards dealt, and how many rounds of betting or play.
- What you are trying to do — the goal of the game in two or three sentences.
- Order of play — one hand described step by step, in the order it happens at the table.
- Rules that catch people out — the points where new players most often make an illegal or costly move.
- Terminology — the words used in that game, defined on the page where you need them.
- Common questions — the questions dealers answer most often.
For the ideas shared across several games — rankings, betting, position, odds — see the table topics section.