Know when to hold 'em

When Ereck and I threw a dinner party last weekend, we contemplated getting a card game going. That didn't happen -- at the party, it was late by the time someone brought up the idea -- but beforehand I did indeed do a little preparation for the only card game I know how to play in a group of seven or so, poker. I made sure I had enough chips, and I reviewed the rules of a few variants.

Among the variants I reviewed was Texas hold 'em, the game that, as anyone with basic cable television knows, is an ongoing fad. But let it be said: I have never played Texas hold 'em. Back when I was a regular poker player, ten or so years ago, it had not become a national obsession. So when a group of us got together for a nickel-ante game once or twice a month, we mostly played the fancifully named stud variations familiar to generations of living-room gamblers, like baseball, Kankakee and -- my personal favorite -- follow the queen. The matches were fun and had far more to do with enjoying the company of friends than they did competitiveness (with the exception of one particularly memorable round of guts).

My question is, now that Texas hold 'em has so thoroughly permeated poker consciousness, is it considered gauche, even at a friendly living-room game, to play anything except Texas hold 'em? Can a dealer still call follow the queen and not be razzed mercilessly? What if said dealer really, really likes follow the queen?

My other question is, what aside from poker is a good card game for a group of seven or so?