The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word STUD POKER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
T
U
D
P
O
K
E
R
More clues leading to the result STUD POKER
- Someone prodding boss in card game
- Game, one prodding virile chap?
- Boss, one stirring up game for the better?
- , 23 Which calls for show of hands from boss, Rod
- Rod follows boss in card game
- Sport duke plays is game with many variations
- Boss overlooking fire-raiser’s game?
- Almost read fire-raiser's game
- Turk posed playing card game
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "game with many variations" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case game with many variations = stud poker.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.