Everyone loves no-limit Texas Hold’em. It is the Cadillac of Poker, after all. But that’s not the only game you can play at Bodog Poker. All the “flop” games are available – Hold’em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo – and you can play fixed-limit, pot-limit or no-limit versions of those games. Go to a live casino, and if it’s busy enough, you can also play “draw” games like Razz, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw, Badugi – the list is almost endless.

So why do so many people play no-limit Hold’em and nothing else? Is it the challenge of learning a new game? The fear of missing out on a profitable NLHE session while playing a less familiar variant? It’s probably a mixture of both, with other reasons thrown in. But here are three good reasons why you should be playing these other poker games in addition to Hold’em.
 

Softer Games
It’s been almost 15 years since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. People have gotten pretty good at NLHE since then. Omaha is a tougher nut to crack, and because of the way the game is structured, there are a lot of “whales” out there who would rather play with four cards instead of two. There are also plenty of old-school players who still prefer the draw games that were popular before the Moneymaker Era. If you are competent in all these variants, you’ll have your pick of the softest tables in the room.
 

Education and Experience
It might not seem like it at first, but there really isn’t that much difference between one kind of poker and another. However, the games are different enough that each one will teach you something new about poker, something that can give you a fresh perspective on how to play Hold’em. The concepts you learn playing Omaha are especially valuable when you come back to NLHE.
 

WSOP Glory
Want one of those shiny World Series of Poker bracelets? Your best chance of winning a WSOP tournament is to enter as many of them as possible, with the smallest fields possible. There were 364 entrants for this year’s $1,500 Dealers Choice Six-Handed event, and 266 players at the $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw tournament. Compare that to the field of 1,739 for Event No. 12: $1,500 No Limit Hold’em. If you want to improve your odds of winning – and meeting some of the world’s most famous players – you know what to do.