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5 Card Draw |
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Before Texas Hold'em
became the household
game of choice, 5-Card
was the standard poker
game for home games. It
is the simplest
variation of poker and
generally the first type
of poker people think of
when they hear the word
"Poker". |
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To start, each player
places an ante into the
pot before any cards are
dealt. The ante is
generally a very small
amount and can be
anything from a nickel
on up depending on the
stakes. The ante is used
because it guarantees
that a player will
always win something on
each hand. |
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Once everyone has anted,
the dealer deals the
cards face down around
the table, starting with
the player to his left
and continuing clockwise
until each player has 5
cards. The dealer should
always deals to himself
last so he will receive
his 5th card last.
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Once each player has
received their 5 cards
they look at his or her
cards, and then the
first player places a
bet. In most games the
player that starts the
action is the one
sitting immediately to
the left of the dealer.
There are 2 scenarios
when it is your turn to
bet. |
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You are first to bet
or no bets have been
placed prior to your
turn.
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There is a bet in
front of you.
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If there are no bets in
front you, either
because you are the
first to act or because
the players ahead of you
have checked, then you
have 3 options: |
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You place a bet (any
amount up to the
limit if there is
one)
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You check (this
means you pass on
your turn to bet,
you may not do this
if a bet is on the
table)
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You fold (usually
you would never fold
without a bet being
on the table)
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If on the other hand
there is a bet when it
is your turn, then you
have 3 options: |
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You call the bet
(you match the
amount of the
largest bet on the
table)
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You raise the bet
(depending on limits
you raise the amount
of the existing bet
placed by the other
player)
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You fold
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Betting continues in a
clockwise direction
until all bets match the
highest bet. For
example, if player1 bets
20 and no one else
raises, then players
that want to continue in
the hand must match that
bet and each player must
match it until it comes
back to player1. If
player1 bets 20 and then
player2 raises the total
to 40, bets go around
the table matching the
40 including player1 who
must add the additional
20 to his bet to
continue playing.
Players always have the
option of folding no
matter the
circumstances, however
they will always lose
any and all money that
they have put into play
for that hand. (Of note,
never fold out of turn,
it can greatly affect
what players do when it
is their turn, only
announce your intentions
of folding, betting,
calling or raising when
it is your turn) |
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After this initial round
of betting player still
in the hand have the
option of drawing new
cards. Each player in
turn starting with the
person left of the
dealer can rid their
hand of some of their
cards. |
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It is important to
mention the most common
rule is that no one may
discard more then 3
cards from their hand.
However, house games
vary quite a bit so some
games may allow
discarding 4 or even
drawing an entirely new
hand.
What does this mean? The
player to the left of
the dealer begins by
discarding 0, 1, 2 or 3
cards from their hand
that they do not wish to
keep. You must return
these cards face DOWN
back to the dealer and
in return you receive an
equal amount of cards
back from the top of the
unused deck. Players do
this one at a time until
the dealer has received
their new cards. The
final round of betting
begins. |
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This round of betting is
performed in the same
manner as the first
round. Once all bets are
matched players turn
over their cards to
reveal who has the best
hand. The winning hand
takes the pot. |
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Final Notes: 5-Card
draw, unlike 7 card
variations of poker such
as Texas Hold'em and
7-Card Stud, have much
lower percentages for
getting hands above 3 of
a kind. Although
Straights and Flushs do
occur in 5-Card Stud,
because these and the
hands even higher in
rank to those require
all 5 cards to be of a
certain value, a high
pair or 3 of a kind is a
very good hand. |
