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I am aware there are many different variants of poker. Having recently learnt "Texas Hold 'em", I am wondering whether this is the most common game, or which others are the most popular ones?

To clarify:
I am not being specific to one site or place because I am tied to none, nor I am looking for peoples preferences. I am asking for a credible source (which, according to community guidelines does not include Wikipedia) which states the worldwide most played poker variant.

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    Poll questions like these are not are acceptable. Per the FAQ:Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site. This question could be appropriate if you limited the scope to one location. IE what is the most common variant played at the Bellagio? In MonteCarlo? On PokerStars.com?
    – Chad
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:27
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    @Chad: It's not a poll. It's a question that has an objective answer : )
    – TacticalCoder
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:32
  • @user988052 - The answer depends on quite a few different factors and more importantly invites discussion.
    – Chad
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:37
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    I disagree that it invites dicussion. I am looking for a statistic, say "pokerprofessional.com states that people play Texas Hold 'em 12x more than any other variant." I don't see how that "invites discussion".
    – Lewis Goddard
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:49
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    You kind of lose credibility when you say "I am asking for a credible source" and then accept an answer that states "I think...is the most popular...It is played in every casino I've ever been in..."
    – Rebecca Chernoff
    Jan 10, 2012 at 20:33

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I think Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular. In recent years it's been popularized by televised games, and by the online poker industry. It is played in every casino I've ever been in, and other games rarely are. The second most popular in my experience is Omaha.

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  • I have researched Texas Hold'em a little more, and found it is the most popular in the UK, USA, and is the game of choice for the Poker World Series. As such, i think this answer bets answers my original question.
    – Lewis Goddard
    Jan 10, 2012 at 20:06
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From Wikipedia:

The three most popular poker variants are spread in casinos and poker rooms worldwide and can be divided into the following groups:

Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is Five-card draw.

Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are Seven-card stud and Five-card stud.

Community card poker: Games in which each player's incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these are Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em.

I couldn't find a definitive source, but several search hits confirmed my gut feel that Texas Hold'em is currently the most popular variant.

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    These are all very broad categories.
    – configurator
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:38
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As of 2012 and since a great many years, the most common variant of Poker played in the western world is, and by very far, Texas Hold'em.

In any casino I've been (both in Europe and in the U.S.) "No-Limit Hold'em" was always the most played game. It is also the most commonly played variant on the various online poker sites. It is also the most commonly played poker game when people organize private games. And it's also the most commonly shown poker variant in movies (for example in "Rounders", from 1998, where John Malkovich and Matt Damon battle in several No-Limit Texas Hold'em games) and on TV (including in poker shows).

This can be verified by installing online poker clients and checking the games that are available and the number of tables opened for the various games or by checking any poker show on TV.

Texas Hold'em is by far the most common. Typically it's No-Limit Texas Hold'em ("cap limit" games and "fixed limit" games can be found too, but they're less common). Then there are additional variant, like "cash game" or "tournament", deep-stack or not, with an ante or not (even for cash games), etc.

I guess that many years ago at one point five-card draw was the most common (it's for example quite common in much older movies) but I have no numbers about that.

So to answer your question:

What is the most common variant of poker?

Texas Hold'em. Typically No-Limit Texas Hold'em (both in cash games and in tournaments).

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Texas Hold'em which is my favorite.

There are also other link's which support this. Like the following :

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  • Answers shouldn't just be a personal preference, nor a wikipedia link.
    – Lewis Goddard
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:44
  • That is the one that is the most played kind of poker.
    – radu florescu
    Jan 10, 2012 at 19:47

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