# Ranking poker variants easiest-hardest

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [September 6, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855 "2010-09-06T23:41:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855/1 "2010-09-06T23:41:52Z")

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How would you rank poker variants, by difficulty? My Ranks:

7-Card Stud (Hardest)  
Omaha  
Texas Hold 'em  
Razz (Easiest)

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**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855/2 "2010-09-07T00:08:10Z")

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I have never thought too much about the difficulty level so I will go with how much I think about the games when I play them. For the record, I have only play Hold’m and Omaha 8 or better for real money, in a casino. I used to play Stud for real money at some home games, years and years ago.

1. Razz (Hardest)
2. Omaha
3. 7-card stud
4. Texas Hold’m

YMMV.

I think **Omaha 8 or Better** is easier than straight Omaha and its the game I prefer in home games.

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**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855/3 "2010-09-07T00:26:24Z")

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> [@notfrommensa](#):
>
> I think **Omaha 8 or Better** is easier than straight Omaha and its the game I prefer in home games.

That is my favorite variant of poker, and by far the easiest I have played.

Once you reach a certain skill level (which isn’t that high) you have an enormous advantage over bad players, while there are diminishing returns for further skill increases so you aren’t at much of a disadvantage against better players.

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**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-poker-variants-easiest-hardest/552855/4 "2010-09-07T01:05:46Z")

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I think Hold Em is the easiest. It is the only one for which I could write a set of rules to win at low stakes that an unskilled player could break even playing. This is if you aren’t counting draw poker, which is trivially easy if it wasn’t so damn boring.

The hardest in some sense is Stud Hi-Lo, it is the one where your instinct for how to play is most likely to be wrong. The natural tendency is to play decent high starting hands and to stick in with three cards to a low. The winning strategy is focuses much more on maximizing money in the pot with your best low hands, which will counterfeit better high hands often enough to be profitable.