The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) offers up some of the biggest online no limit hold’em tournaments of the year – but that’s not the only game in town.

A wide variety of other poker variants are catered for throughout the SCOOP 2025 schedule and they’re all well worth your time, even if you’ve little to no experience.

Here’s why.

For starters, non-hold’em poker games – especially mixed game tournaments where the game switches each orbit – are a lot of fun. They require your attention (you don’t want to try and make a razz hand when you’re playing stud, for example) but they’re always entertaining and, on average, you get to play a lot more hands.

Secondly, non-hold’em events almost always have smaller fields and that means becoming a SCOOP champion isn’t quite as daunting a task.

In this article, we’ve picked out five non-hold’em poker variants running throughout SCOOP 2025 and highlighted the best events on the schedule for those variants.

We’ve also outlined the rules and linked to some strategy articles to help you get started.

Good luck!

BADUGI

Good hands gone bad… 

WEDNESDAY, 28 MAY

SCOOP 102-L: $22 Badugi, $7.5K Gtd
SCOOP 102-M: $109 Badugi, $10K Gtd
SCOOP 102-H: $530 Badugi, $15K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

Making the lowest four-card hand that you can is the goal in Badugi while avoiding duplicates in both rank and suit. A “Badugi” happens when the very best hand occurs – A-2-3-4, all in different suits.

Players have three draws and can throw away as many cards as they wish to get the best hand possible. Knowing when to chase is as important as knowing when to fold with Badugi, and this comes down to a good draw strategy and hand selection.

As ever, bluffing plays an important role in Badugi. Drawing weak cards can hint at strength to other players.

PL 5 CARD OMAHA (PLO5)

It’s just like regular PLO but with an extra card for more shenanigans…

THURSDAY, 29 MAY

SCOOP 107-L: $11 5-Card PLO, $15K Gtd
SCOOP 107-M: $109 5-Card PLO, $40K Gtd
SCOOP 107-H: $1,050 5-Card PLO, $100K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

To play Pot Limit 5-Card Omaha (PLO5), each player is dealt five private cards instead of the usual four. Players must use exactly two of their hole cards and three community cards to make the best five-card hand.

The game proceeds with a series of four betting rounds, including pre-flop, flop, turn, and river. Betting is pot-limit, meaning players can only bet up to the size of the current pot. Strategic nuances include hand selection, understanding pot odds, and managing the complexities of multi-way action.

RAZZ

Low cards, high entertainment…

WEDNESDAY, 21 MAY

SCOOP 63-L: $11 Razz, $8K Gtd
SCOOP 63-M: $109 Badugi, $20K Gtd
SCOOP 63-H: $1,050 Badugi, $40K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

It’s another lowball game here with Razz – making the lowest five-card hand from the seven cards dealt is the goal. The holy grail of hands is A-2-3-4-5 with straights and flushes not being a negative here, plus aces are always low.

Patience is a desired trait with Razz as it’s all about reducing risk and ever so slowly constructing a low hand.Likewise, a razor-sharp memory is an asset in being able to remember other players’ upcards and working out the “dead cards” still in play. Razz is one for the calm and collected individual who is in no rush.

SEVEN CARD STUD

The OG of poker, before Texas hold’em rode into town…

MONDAY, 2 JUNE

SCOOP 129-L: $22 Limit Stud, $7.5K Gtd
SCOOP 129-M: $109 Limit Stud, $15K Gtd
SCOOP 129-H: $530 Limit Stud, $25K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

Making the best possible five-card hand from the seven cards dealt (three down and four up) – that’s Seven Card Stud in a nutshell. Unlike Texas Hold’em there’s no flop or community cards, so it’s all about the cards you’re dealt and then the betting rounds between them.

In Stud there are several attributes players should attempt to master, with discipline, memory and position being the standouts. Keeping an eye on folded cards and other players’ upcards can help players create a decent strategy. And, just like comedy, in Stud, timing is everything.

NL 2-7 SINGLE DRAW

It’s often called the purest form of poker…

TUESDAY, 27 MAY

SCOOP 95-L: $5.50 NL 2-7 Single Draw [Progressive KO], $4K Gtd
SCOOP 95-M: $55 NL 2-7 Single Draw [Progressive KO], $10K Gtd
SCOOP 95-H: $530 NL 2-7 Single Draw [Progressive KO], $25K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

In No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw, each player receives five private cards, and the goal is to make the lowest possible five-card hand with no pairs, with the ace counting as the highest card.

After an initial pre-flop round of betting, players have the option to discard and draw new cards to improve their hands. The draw is followed by another round of betting. In a no-limit format, players can bet any amount so you can play for stacks and huge pots. The lowest hand wins at showdown.

This game is all about knowing the odds and understanding pre-flop hand strength (i.e. which hands to play).

If no limit is too wild or you like more than one draw, there’s also a fixed limit 2-7 triple draw event running on Tuesday, 20 May.

LIMIT VERSION

TUESDAY, 20 MAY

SCOOP 57-L: $55 FL 2-7 Triple Draw, $15K Gtd
SCOOP 57-M: $215 FL 2-7 Triple Draw, $20K Gtd
SCOOP 57-H: $1,050 FL 2-7 Triple Draw, $40K Gtd

NL OMAHA HI-LO (NLO8)

Go big or go home. NLO is the wild cousin of PLO…

SATURDAY, 31 MAY

SCOOP 116-L: $5.50 NLO8 [Progressive KO], $8K Gtd
SCOOP 116-M: $55 NLO8 [Progressive KO], $25K Gtd
SCOOP 116-H: $530 NLO8 [Progressive KO], $50K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

In No Limit Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha Eight or Better or NLO8), players aim to make the best high hand and/or the best low hand, splitting the pot between the highest and lowest hands if certain conditions are met.

HIGH: High hands (Hi!) are the same as they are in no limit hold’em or regular pot limit omaha.

LOW: To be considered Low, you must have a five-card hand of different values from eight down. Straights and flushes aren’t a thing here, and the ace is low. Therefore, the best Low hand is A-2-3-4-5 (aka a “wheel”), regardless of suit. The next best is A-2-3-4-6.

In NLO8, strategies involve understanding hand strength for both high and low, managing pot odds, and assessing opponents’ potential holdings.

HORSE

Five games for the price of one…

SATURDAY, 31 MAY

SCOOP 114-L: $22 HORSE, $12.5K Gtd
SCOOP 114-M: $109 HORSE, $20K Gtd
SCOOP 114-H: $530 HORSE, $25K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

HORSE is a mixed poker game rotating between five different variants: Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better.

There’s one full orbit of a game before moving to the next variant.

HORSE requires players to be proficient in multiple poker disciplines, testing their adaptability and strategic versatility. Success in HORSE often depends on a player’s ability to adjust their tactics to the specific nuances of each variant.

8-GAME MIX

Let’s mix it up…

SATURDAY, 24 MAY

SCOOP 77-L: $11 8-Game [Progressive KO], $12.5K Gtd
SCOOP 77-M: $55 8-Game [Progressive KO], $20K Gtd
SCOOP 77-H: $215 8-Game [Progressive KO], $30K Gtd

HOW TO PLAY:

8-Game Poker is a mixed game rotation that encompasses eight different poker variants: Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Hold’em, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better, No-Limit Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Omaha.

The game typically rotates every orbit, allowing players to experience a diverse range of poker disciplines. Each variant presents unique challenges and strategies, testing players’ skills across different betting structures, hand values, and gameplay dynamics.