Long before Texas Hold 'em became the most popular form of poker in the world, 5-Card Draw was the game of choice for many players.
5-Card Draw is a draw poker game, meaning that players can choose to discard any of the five cards in their starting hand and draw new cards. As with Hold 'em, the goal in 5-Card Draw is to make the best five-card high hand.
Read below to learn about the basics of playing 5-Card Draw, or visit the Full Tilt Poker Academy to learn 5-Card Draw strategy from the world's best pros.
Blinds
Like flop-based games such as Hold 'em, draw games feature blinds to stimulate action at the table. The small blind and big blind are assigned to the players to the left of the dealer button, which determines the order in which cards are dealt.
When you first buy in to a 5-Card Draw game, you'll have the option of waiting for the big blind to reach your position before you begin playing or posting a blind equivalent to the big blind to be dealt in immediately.
The Deal and First Round of Betting
Once the blinds are posted, the hand is underway. With 5-Card Draw, five cards are dealt face down to each player in the hand, starting with the player to the left of the dealer button.
After the cards are dealt, the first round of betting ensues. Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player has the option to fold their hand, call the current bet or raise it up! If no one raises, the player in the big blind has the option to check their hand, meaning that player makes no bet but still retains their hand.
The amount you can bet or raise is determined by the betting structure of the game you're playing:
- If the game is No Limit, you can bet all of your chips at any point in the hand
- If the game is Pot Limit, you can bet up to the size of the pot at any point in the hand
- If the game is Fixed Limit, you can bet in increments of a predetermined betting limit that corresponds to the size of the blinds
The Draw
When the first round of betting is complete, all players still in the hand have the option to discard any or all of their cards and draw new ones. Click on the cards you want to discard, and then click the Discard button when it's your turn to act.
Alternatively, you can select the cards you want to discard and then check the Discard pre-action option, so your cards will be automatically discarded when it's your turn to act.
If you prefer not to discard any cards, you have the option to "stand pat". To do so, either check the Stand Pat pre-action option, or click the Stand Pat button when it's your turn to act:
Once all players have discarded, new cards will be drawn from the deck and each player will be dealt the same number of cards which they discarded.
Please note: In draw games, it's possible for more cards to be needed than are available in the deck. In this case, a reshuffling of the deck will take place. Learn about reshuffling the deck in draw games.
The Final Round of Betting and Showdown
After the draw, a final round of betting takes place, beginning with the first player to the left of the button. If no one has bet, you have the option to check your hand or make a bet. If you're facing a bet, you have the option to fold, call or raise.
At the showdown, the player with the best high hand wins the pot. If there is a tie for the best hand, the pot will be split equally amongst the tied players. Learn more about hand rankings.
If you like 5-Card Draw, be sure to check out our other draw games: 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw and Badugi.