James McManus, Columnist

How No-Limit Hold 'Em Conquered Poker

Texas Hold 'em is now the most dominant form of poker in the world. Here's the story of how it happened.

July 1, 2014 at 7:14 PM UTC

James McManus is the author of "Positively Fifth Street" and "Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker." He has written about the game for the New York Times, Harper's, the New Yorker, Foreign Policy, Esquire and Grantland. He teaches writing and literature at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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At this summer's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, players can test their skills in 16 modern variants of our 200-year-old national card game.

These include badugi, badeucy, seven-card stud, deuce-to-seven triple draw, pot-limit Omaha high-low-split eight-or-better, and even mixed-game events such as H.O.R.S.E. (Hold 'em, Omaha eight-or-better, Razz, Stud and stud Eight-or-Better).