Five-Card Draw Poker

Five-Card Draw

Blind Bets, like in Texas Hold’em. No Community cards, like in Stud Poker. Plus the possibility of exchanging cards from the deck.

Object of the Game
Cards
Combinations
The puck and the dealer
Blind bets
The 1st deal and betting round
The draw
The 2nd betting round
The Showdown
The Pot
Limits

Object of the Game

Using five pocket (player’s) cards, try to make a five-card hand whose value is ranked higher than the hands of the other players.

Between two and five players can play at the same Five-Card Draw poker table.

Cards

Five-Card Draw Poker is played with a 52-card deck. The value of cards in decreasing order is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2.

However, Aces can be used to make a Straight flush or an Ace-2-3-4-5 Straight. Cards are shuffled between games but not between betting rounds.

Combinations

In Five-Card Draw, combinations are as follows, in decreasing order of rank:

Click here to learn how to use the various combinations to make a poker hand.

The puck and the dealer

A marker, called the puck, is moved clockwise around the table one player position at a time as the game progresses, to determine the order of distribution of cards and the order during the betting rounds. When play begins, the puck is placed in front of the first active player next to the dealer, who is the equivalent of the traditional casino dealer.

Before any cards are dealt, the first player next to the puck in clockwise order places the small blind bet. The next player in clockwise order then places the big blind bet. The actual amounts of the blind bets will vary in accordance with the type of limits of the table.

The 1st deal and betting round

Starting with the first active player next to the puck, the dealer deals five face down cards one at a time to each player. Once all players have received their five cards (the "pocket" cards), the first betting round starts with the player following the player who placed the big blind bet. In each betting round, as the situation permits, players have the following options:

Check: If no player has placed a bet, you can check, i.e. not bet but remain in the game.

Bet: Add a bet to the pot.

Call: Put the same bet into the pot as the previous player.

Raise: Place a higher bet than the previous player.

Fold: Not bet and lose the right of winning the pot (forfeit the game).

If no player has raised the big blind, the player who placed the big blind has the option of checking or raising.

The next betting round starts once all players remaining in the game have checked (whenever this choice is available) or have put bets of the same amount into the pot.

The draw

After the first betting round, each player can discard up to five cards and draw new ones by clicking on the cards to be discarded–which will become grey and rise above the other cards–then clicking on DISCARD. Players who do not wish to replace their cards click on STAND PAT. The number of cards discarded by players will be displayed and this number is available for all until the second betting round.

The 2nd betting round

When all players have discarded and drawn new cards, the second betting round begins with the first active player following the puck, with the same options as before.

The Showdown

After the second betting round, all the players who still have their five cards show their hands to try and win the pot. The first player to show his cards is the player who bet or raised last. If no one bet in the previous round, the first active player next to the puck (in clockwise order) shows his hand first.

The Pot

The player whose hand is ranked highest in value in the showdown or when all other players have folded, wins the pot. The pot is shared equally among players having identical winning hands. Wins from the pot are added to the winning player’s total stakes on the table. If the player is sitting at a cash game table, total stakes will automatically be paid into his or her Espacejeux account upon leaving the table.