How To Play Poker 5 Card Draw

4/5/2022

How To.play 5 Card Draw
How To Play Five-card Draw
How To Play Poker 5 Card Draw

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One of the simplest variants of poker, and one that is many poker player's first introduction to the game of poker, is 5-Card Draw.

Understand 5-card draw poker rules and strategy so that you can play and enjoy this great poker variant. This game-type can be played online or in home games.
The rules for how to play 5 Card Draw poker and lists of the best draw poker sites for players.

More common in home games than it is in casinos, 5-card draw has been overtaken in the popularity by games such as Texas hold'em and Omaha poker.

But there are still plenty of 5-card draw fans around the world — particularly in the online world where several online poker sites offer cash games and tournaments.

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How to Play 5-Card Draw Poker

If you have played any other form of poker, 5-card draw rules are similar in that the aim of the game is to make the best five-card poker hand.

Like Texas hold'em, the poker hand rankings, from weakest to strongest, are as follows:

High card
One pair
Two pair
Three-of-a-kind
Straight
Flush
Full house
Four-of-a-kind
Straight flush
Royal Flush

When it comes to preflop betting, there are two different methods used in 5-card draw.

Either all players pay an ante before receiving their cards (this is more common in home games), or there is a small blind and big blind similar to hold'em and Omaha games (this is the most common on online poker sites and in casinos).

Three different betting structures exist for 5-card draw, too.

You can play 5-card draw poker as:

Fixed-limit
Pot-limit
No-limit

While all three formats play to the same poker rules, the different betting structures mean your strategy needs to be adapted.

For example, some hands that you wouldn't play in fixed-limit 5-card draw become playable in no-limit 5-card draw because in the latter you can bet enough to force your opponent to fold.

Regardless of the betting structure, this is how to play 5-card draw.

Five-Card Draw Basics

Once everyone has paid the ante or the blinds, each player receives five cards face down.

A round of betting then occurs.

If more than one player remains after that first round of betting, there follows a first round of drawing.

Each active player specifies how many cards he or she wishes to discard and replace with new cards from the deck.

If you are happy with your holding and do not want to draw any cards, you 'stand pat.'

Once the drawing round is completed, there is another round of betting.

After that if there is more than one player remaining, a showdown occurs in which the player with the best five-card poker hand wins.

As you can see, the rules for 5-card draw are simple and make for a fast-paced game, which is why the game is popular with new, less experienced players.

Basic 5-Card Draw Strategy

The fact you can learn how to play five-card draw poker in a few minutes doesn't mean that you will not need to practice to go from beginner to pro.

The best way to do that, is to practice online — possibly with some free games. If you have a few minutes to try a game or two, have a look at 888poker.

You can play with a no deposit bonus on signup that you can use to discover 5-card draw poker and master all the basic and advanced strategy tips that follow.

One trap lesser-skilled 5-card draw players often fall into is playing far too many hands, particularly hands drawing to a straight or flush.

In many cases, the saying 'tight is right' applies when it comes to starting hand selection in 5-card draw.

As in games with community cards, your position in relation to the button is also important in 5-card draw poker.

The closer to the button you are, the wider the range of hands you can play profitably.

Regardless of your position, you should almost always enter the pot with a raise because limping in usually results in several other players limping behind, which in turn means you need a much stronger hand to win the pot.

Play tight from early positions and raise with hands such as aces or kings.

As your position improves, you can add other high pairs such as queens, jacks, tens, and nines, so long as the latter has a good kicker to back it up.

Those of you fortunate enough to have been dealt two pair or three-of-a-kind should always come out raising whether you're under the gun or on the button.

Meanwhile be wary of holdings such as four to a straight or flush, because these are hands with which some players bleed away their bankroll.

With one card to come, you're around a 4-to-1 underdog to hit your hand, and often you won't have the correct pot odds to attempt filling your straight or flush, particularly in a short-handed game.

What Should I Discard in 5-Card Draw?

Knowing what cards to discard during the drawing round is what makes and breaks a 5-card poker player.

On a basic level you should consider the following:

What you hold	What you should do
One pair	Draw three cards
Two pair	Draw one card
Three-of-a-kind	Draw two cards

The above list is only scratching the surface of what you should draw in 5-card draw. Adhering to it, particularly in low-stakes games, should yield positive results.

Advanced 5-Card Draw Strategy

Once you have a grasp of the basics and are feeling more confident with how to play 5-card draw, you can start applying some more advanced strategies to your game.

There is a large psychological element to 5-card draw thanks in large part to the drawing element of the game.

For example, while it is statistically the best play to draw three cards when you hold a pair, if you always make this play your opponents will be able to read your hand easily and alter their strategy to defeat you.

You need sometimes only to draw to one or two cards with a pair in your hand — or even to stand pat — in order to represent a holding stronger than what you actually have.

Unlike in games such as hold'em, there is rarely any stone cold bluffing in 5-card draw.

Players usually have at least a playable hand when betting even if they are indeed bluffing. This is why it is vitally important to take detailed notes when playing 5-card draw because they are extremely helpful.

Should you make a note that a player only opens with a pair of jacks or stronger on the button, you can easily fold a pair of nines in the blinds instead of calling.

Where Can I Play 5-Card Draw Online

As mentioned at the start of the article, 5-card draw is not a game that enjoys as much popularity as the likes of hold'em, but there are quite a few websites where you can play 5-card draw online.

The safest option is to try one of three sites below and play some games there.

These poker sites are your best bet for finding both 5-card draw cash games and tournaments at a variety of limits.

It is also possible to hone your skills at the play money tables there and play 5-card draw online poker free of charge with no risk to your bankroll.

The Best Five-Card Draw Sites Online

Find the best games and play 5-card draw online for free or real money. The first bonus is on us!

^{Photo: Flush Poker Hand - Hearts, Guts Gaming. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.}

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Five-card draw is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now rare in casino and tournament play. The lowball variations make more interesting games and are more commonly played in casinos. Two to eight players can play.

How To.play 5 Card Draw

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values. They also make no assumptions about what betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use blinds; the first betting round thus begins with the player to the left of the big blind, and subsequent rounds begin with the player to the dealer’s left. In home games, it is typical to use an ante; the first betting round begins with the player to the dealer’s left, and the second round begins with the player who opened the first round.

Play begins with each player being dealt five cards, one at a time, all face down. The remaining deck stub is placed aside, often protected by placing a chip or other marker on it. Players pick up the cards and hold them in their hands, being careful to keep them concealed from the other players. The first “before the draw” betting round occurs at this point, starting with the player to the dealer’s left (or to the left of the big blind if blinds are used).

If more than one player remains after the first round, the “draw” phase begins. Each player specifies how many of his cards he wishes to replace, and discards that many from his hand. The deck stub is retrieved, and after a burn card is dealt, each player in turn beginning at the dealer’s left is dealt from the stub the same number of cards he discarded, so that each player again has five cards. It is important that each player discards the cards he wishes to replace before he takes any replacements, and that he take the same number of replacements as he discarded.

A second “after the draw” betting round occurs after the draw phase, beginning with the player to the dealers left or else beginning with the player who opened the first round (the latter is common when antes are used instead of blinds). This is followed by a showdown if more than one player remains, in which the player with the best hand wins the pot.

A common “house rule” in some places is that a player may not replace more than three cards, unless he draws four cards while keeping an ace (or wild card). This rule is only needed for low-stakes social games where many players will stay for the draw, and will help avoid depletion of the deck stub. In more serious games such as those played in casinos it is unnecessary and generally not used.

A rule that is used by many casinos is that a player is not allowed to draw five consecutive cards from the deck stub. In this case, if a player wishes to replace all five of his cards, he is given four of them in turn, the other players are given their draws, and then the dealer returns to that player to give him his fifth replacement (if no later player drew, it is necessary to deal a burn card first).

Another common house rule is that the bottom card of the deck is never given as a replacement, to avoid the possibility of someone who might have seen it during the deal using that information. If the deck stub is depleted during the draw before all players have received their replacements, the last players can receive cards chosen randomly from among those discarded by previous players.

For example, if the last player to draw wants three replacements but there are only two cards remaining in the deck stub, the dealer gives the player the one top card he can give, then shuffles together the bottom card of the deck, the burn card, and the earlier players’ discards (but not the player’s own discards!), and finally deals two more replacements to the last player.

Sample deal

The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; and David to Carol’s left.

All four players ante $.25. Alice deals five cards to each player and places the deck stub aside. Bob opens the betting round by betting $1. Carol folds, David calls, and Alice calls, closing the betting round. Bob now declares that he wishes to replace three of his cards, so he removes those three cards from his hand and discards them.

How To Play Five-card Draw

Alice retrieves the deck stub, deals a burn card, then deals three cards directly to Bob, who puts them in his hand. David discards one card, and Alice deals one card to him from the deck stub. Alice now discards three of her own cards, and replaces them with three from the top of the deck stub (Note: in a player-dealt casino game there is often a rule that the dealer must discard before picking up the deck stub, but this is a home game so we won’t worry about such details).