Of all the draw pokers, five card draw is the most popular. It is frequently the only non-low-ball form of draw poker offered, either in Las Vegas poker rooms or online. It was the game being played by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back. He held pairs of aces and eights, a combination now known as “dead man’s hand.”

Five card draw has many, many rule variations. It can be played with antes or blinds or both. In home play, the first person to bet (“open”) must have at least a pair of jacks. Wild cards or the joker are sometimes used, which greatly increase the probability of strong hands. In another variation, the deuce through the six is taken out of the deck, so that only the 32 highest cards remain. This “cut” deck also permits players to form strong hands. At a five-person table, only four players play. Usually the dealer sits out. With four active players, the deal plus an average three card draw will exhaust the whole deck.

Most rule variations permit a player to draw once, after a betting round, asking for as many as 5 new cards. The dealer will issue up to three cards in turn, and then go back to complete a four- or five-card draw after tending to all the other players. If necessary, the discards are gathered and reshuffled, and one to three cards are burned before the final draws are doled out.

After draws have been satisfied, another betting round occurs, followed by a showdown. Most places impose the rule that the maximum betting in a round is four raises.

Five card draw is popular because players must depend upon just three sources of information to analyze adversaries: the betting, the number of cards drawn, and tells. No cards are ever shown face up unless a showdown is required.

Five Card Draw Tips, Strategy, & Information

Five Card Draw Basics
Draw poker is a different animal from the family of stud poker games or the community card games, like Texas Hold'em and Omaha. The fundamental element of stud poker and Texas Hold'em is the existence of "board cards," either unique to each player, as in seven-card stud, or common cards, as in Texas Hold'em. Draw poker is altogether different... more»
Five Card Draw Rule Variations
While it is possible to play games with more or fewer than five cards in the deal, five card draw is overwhelmingly the most popular draw poker game in casinos. Rules variations can modify not only how the game proceeds, but also the strategy with which it should be played. Common variations are: Limit the draw to three cards. When everyone... more»
Five Card Draw Rules
When poker was new, apparently the dealer gave out five face-down cards to each player, and then betting took place, followed by a showdown. This soon became boring, as there was not enough information on which to base sensible bets. One of the earliest variations was the ability to exchange some or all of the cards in the hand for new ones. (... more»
Five Card Draw Strategy
Deciding to Play a Hand Sometimes in draw poker a concept called "openers" is employed. It means there is a minimum hand that will justify an opening bet. In home games it is invoked as a rule so that people do not play garbage hands just to play them. In casinos it is rare to encounter a "rule" about openers. But every good player has an... more»
Five-Card Draw Probabilities
Draw poker players have to ask themselves about two different kinds of probabilities. The methods are the same, but the contexts are different. The first is "What are my chances of being dealt a [whatever kind] of hand? More commonly, you may need to ask yourself something like, "Given that I hold a pair, what are my chances of improving my hand... more»