Five Card Draw Rules

Five Card Draw is the classic poker game most of us learned at a young age. I can still remember sitting at the kitchen table with my grandfather one spring break when I was about 10 years old, drinking a beer and learning how to play poker. The game is pretty much dead online but it’s a nostalgic game and you can still find a few poker sites that offer 5 Card Draw.

The game is easy to learn so it’s popular at home games and casual players. The one thing holding this game back from widespread popularity is that there’s not as much strategy involved in Five Card Draw as there is in other games. But even so, there’s still a surprising amount of strategy involved in the game. If you take the time to learn it well, you’ll mostly be up against casual poker players (fish).

The Blinds / Antes

There are two ways to set up the antes in 5 Card Draw. Home games usually just have each player place a small amount of money in the pot at the beginning of every hand. Casinos usually use the same blinds system that’s used in Texas Holdem.

The Deal and First Betting Round

Each player is dealt five cards face down. These are called the “hole cards” and they should not be shown to anyone else.

If you’re playing according to the Texas Holdem blind system, the first player to the left of the big blind starts out the betting on this round. This player may call the minimum bet to stay in, raise or fold. The betting then continues around the table clockwise until everyone has either called the largest bet or folded.

In the home game ante version, the betting on this round begins with the player to the left of the dealer. This player may check, bet or fold.

The Draw and Second Betting Round

Now the players may discard up to 3 or 5 cards (depending on where you’re playing) and receive new cards from the deck.

If you’re playing according to the blind system, the second betting round begins with the first player to the left of the big blind. This player may check, bet or fold. If any player makes a bet or raise, all the other players at the table must at least match that bet or fold their hands.

If you’re playing with antes, the first person to act during the second betting round is the first person who made a bet during the last round. If nobody made a bet in the last round, the action starts with the player to the left of the dealer.

Showdown

After the last betting round has been wrapped up, the players still remaining in the hand show their cards. The player with the best five card poker hand wins the pot. If there is only one player remaining after the last betting round, that player may choose not to show his cards.

Best Poker Site for 5 Card Draw

PokerStars is currently the best poker site for 5 Card Draw. Most poker sites don’t even offer 5 Card Draw but of the ones that do, none of them have any action worth mentioning. PokerStars just has so many players in general that you’re able to find tables at any game and at most stakes.

Click here to play 5 Card Draw at PokerStars