How to Play Five Card Draw Poker Online
Chances are if you’ve played poker in the past, you’ll be able to pick up five card draw in no time.
Simply put, each player’s goal is to make the best possible poker hand by exchanging cards in their hands for ones from the deck. Hand rankings are very similar to other popular poker variations.
Read on for each step of a hand of five-card draw poker.
Deal, Ante & Blinds
In five-card draw poker, one of the players will be given the responsibility of acting as the dealer. This player will be referred to as the dealer or “on the button”.
In online games, this player will typically have a chip marked “dealer” placed near their cards. The cards will be dealt automatically, and the dealer button is only relevant for placement on the table.
Five-card draw can be played with blinds or antes.
Ante:
When playing with antes, each player is required to bet the same amount before any cards are dealt. This amount is known as the ante.
Blinds:
When playing with blinds, the two players to the left of the dealer are required to place bets before any cards are dealt. The player closest to the dealer will place the small blind (e.g. $5) and the next player to the left will place the big blind (e.g. $10).
Once the blinds or antes are settled, each player will be dealt 5 cards, one at a time, face down.
Pre-Draw Betting Round
After cards have been dealt, there is an initial round of betting.
Like in other poker variations, players can choose to either bet, raise, check, call, or fold, depending on the circumstance.
Fold:
To fold is to turn in all cards and forfeit the round, along with any bets the player has made
Check:
To check is to choose to remain in the game, but not bet. You can think of this as placing a $0 bet.
Bet:
To bet is to place a wager into the pot. All players will need to match this amount if they want to remain in the game.
Call:
To call is to match another player’s bet. If another player has bet, and you wish to remain in the hand, you will need to call.
Raise:
To raise is to match and increase another player’s bet. If you raise another player’s bet, all player’s must match this new amount if they want to remain in the game.
Once each player has had a chance to bet, and all players have either folded or committed the same amount to the pot, the game enters the draw phase.
Draw Phase
In the draw phase, players have a chance to improve their hand by trading cards from their hand for the equivalent amount from the deck.
Moving clockwise around the table, each player will have a chance to draw. When it is their turn, the player must choose how many cards they wish to discard. Note, should a player wish to keep all of their cards, they can ‘stand pat’ and choose not to draw.
Once the player has discarded, the dealer will deal that same amount of cards back to the player, ensuring they still have 5 cards in their hand.
Post-Draw Betting Round
Once all players have exchanged cards, there is an additional round of betting. During this round, players have all the same bet types available as they did in the pre-draw betting round – fold, check, bet, call, or raise.
Like in the pre-draw betting round, once all players have either folded or placed equal wagers, the betting round ends. Assuming there is more than one active player remaining, the game moves into the showdown phase.
Showdown
Like in other poker variations, once betting is complete, remaining players must “show down” – reveal their cards for the table to see.
Five-card draw poker is no exception – once active players have finished betting and drawing, their cards will be turned face-up, and the best poker hand takes the pot.
Read on for a list of five-card draw poker hand rankings.
