Five Card Draw

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Rules of

Five Card Draw

Although the exact origins of poker remain somewhat murky, Five Card Draw is regarded as the "original" game of poker. Five Card Draw, for instance, is the form of poker that gunslingers were playing in saloons in the Wild Wild West.

Today, Five Card Draw is losing traffic and mindshare as more people gravitate towards Texas Hold'em. Nevertheless, Five Card Draw can be a very enjoyable poker game, especially when you are playing casually and maybe you're even having a few cocktails.

Also, Five Card Draw is a great way for a stone cold beginner to learn the game of poker.

The Ante

Five Card Draw is not played much at all in casinos or tournaments. Mostly this game exists today for home games, so we will focus here on home game Five Card Draw rules.

In home games, Five Card Draw begins with the ante. Every player must throw a small bet into the pot in order to create some action and make the game worth playing.

Five Card Draw clarifies the purpose of the ante in the game of poker and that purpose is to entice people into wanting to play so they can at least win the antes.

The Deal

Next comes the deal. In home games, players may take turns dealing and in fact Five Card Draw is popular in home games precisely because it is quite easy and low pressure to be the dealer.

The dealer simply gives each player five cards face down, what could be simpler?

Each player then picks up their hand and has a look to see what they have.

First Round of Betting

Now it's time to bet, based on what you currently have in your hand but also on what cards you could possibly acquire in the upcoming draw.

Betting moves from right to left with the player to the left of the dealer starting the betting.

Players can bet, call another player's bet, raise, fold, or check, just as in other forms of poker. Once everyone has either folded or matched the big bet of the round, it's time for:

The Draw

The draw occurs when each player is given the opportunity to discard unwanted cards and pick up new ones from the deck. In most games, you can only trade in three of your cards. However, if you have an ace, you are usually allowed to trade in all four of your other cards.

If you do draw zero or only one card, it can be assumed that you either have a nice hand or you are bluffing and you can expect that your opponents will be wondering which one it is.

Not drawing any cards is called "standing pat."

A big part of playing Five Card Draw is learning how to draw to a specific hand and then if you do hit your draw, getting the most money out of your opponents that you can. This is a key concept in all forms of poker and Five Card Draw is a good training ground in this respect.

Five Card Draw also does involve more luck than most forms of poker, hence the phrase "the luck of the draw."

Second Round of Betting, Last Call

Now it is time for another round of betting after everyone sees what hand they have after the draw. Frequently, numerous players will fold at this time, especially if some bigger bets come into the pot making it expensive to play past the draw.

Players can raise and re-raise back and forth as the pot grows. Some home games allow unlimited betting in this spot but a lot of times there is a limit.

Next comes the showdown, when players who have not folded show down their hands and see who's got the better one according the hand rankings of the game of poker.

Learning hand rankings is another reason why Five Card Draw is good for beginners.

A Visceral Game

Five Card Draw sees many heads up, one-on-one showdowns.

When you do go heads up in Five Card Draw and you have some real money on the line or maybe you just dislike or really want to beat your opponent, you can still feel some of the danger and thrill that old time saloon types must have experienced as they attempted to take each other's horses, houses, and women.

Indeed, Five Card Draw is a pretty visceral, even primal game. You don't have to be smart to play it and it's even OK if you've had one too many whiskeys, but you do have to have some cojones if you're playing for bigger dollar figures and/or pride is on the line.

Why Five Card Draw Will Never Die

As noted, Five Card Draw has been decreasing in popularity over time. However, Five Card Draw will never die if only because learning the rules of Five Card Draw allows beginners and purely recreational players to have fun with poker and learn the basics of the game.

Five Card Draw may be a simple game, but sometimes, simple is exactly what you want.