No matter what the style or version of Poker being played, there are some elements common to all poker games. The most important are:

Betting is particularly important, as it is the main method by which players communicate. It enables one player to evaluate the cards of another. Thus, bluffing becomes an essential feature of poker. Without bluffing, the winner of a poker hand would be the one with the best cards. It would reduce poker to not much more than another game of chance, like any main floor table game.

The features that will vary from game to game are:

With only a couple of minor exceptions, the rank order of poker hands for determining a winner does not change with the game selected.