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Five card draw is one of the most historic poker games in the world. It was the chosen game of the 1800s in the United States as poker became not just a pastime but a vocation. Some of the most famous outlaws in the world played poker in the saloons and river boats of the old West. Almost all of them played five-card draw. The game was the most popular in the world until the 1900s, when seven-card stud took over.
However, five-card draw remained a common home game, and is now played in variations in racetracks and casinos as video poker.
The rules of five card draw are simple:
1) All players put an ante in the pot.
2) Cards are dealt, from the left to the right side of the dealer. Each player receives five cards and they are face down. These are not community cards.
3) All players examine their cards, and there is a round of betting. Players can fold or stay in.
4) After the round of wagering, players are allowed to discard some of the cards in their hand in order to make a better hand. In fact, they can discard as many as they like. Players do no have to discard any cards at all. If you already have a strong made hand – or wish to represent one for wagering purposes, you do not need to discard.
5) Players now take their new five card hand, and another round of wagering ensues.
6) The player with the best five card hand wins.
7) Traditional poker hand rankings apply: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair, high card.
The appeal of five-card draw is that it is a game that is made for bluffing. Many times a player will attempt to hit a draw. When they miss, they have to gauge the relative strength of another hand.
For instance, let’s say you have four clubs in your hand, discard one in an attempt to hit the flush, but you miss. Your opponent took three cards, representing a pair.
This is where you can bluff your opponent by thinking you have two pair and not a missed draw by playing aggressively. But if you do this too much, you will get caught, too.
The best strategy is to play starting hands that have pairs of 10s or higher, four to a straight or four to a flush.
Players who take two cards and are solid players are to be feared, because it represents three of a kind. More than perhaps any other form of poker, players can represent hands they do not have. This, of course, is one of the appeals of the game in that the strategy is reliant on your ability to read other players in addition to your ability to bet.
Also, many games use jokers, which increase the possibilities for big hands. In 5-card draw, the level of winning hand is often pretty low. Two pair is a strong holding in most instances. Straights and flushes are very strong and rarely beaten. Five-card draw is a simple game, but one that uses many skills beyond just the cards. It is fun and can be played relatively inexpensively.
It is especially fun in home games with family.
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