How to Play - Five Card Draw

The object of Five Card Draw is to create the best five-card hand.

Dealer, Blinds and Table Limits

As with Texas Hold'em a dealer button is used to indicate from which seat the deal is being made. The player to left of the dealer button has to pay a compulsory bet known as the Small Blind, and the player 2 seats to the left of the dealer button has to pay the Big Blind.

The values of the Blinds are shown below:

Small Blind - half the value of the lower limit bet.

Big Blind - equal to the lower limit bet.

The Dealer Button moves a seat at a time round the poker table, in a clockwise direction after each hand.

Both the Small & the Big Blind are considered live bets, this means that when the action comes round to them they have the option of checking/calling, raising or folding when it is their turn to act.

When a player first joins a table they are required to post the equivalent of the big blind, or alternatively they can sit out and wait for the big blind to move round to them. This is to prevent players from leaving the table when they are on the big blind and then joining again under the gun, thus missing the compulsory bets.

Betting Rounds

Five cards are dealt face-down to each player. The first betting round is started by the player sitting to the left of the Big Blind, this player is also known as 'under the gun'. The player to the left of the dealer will be first to act in all subsequent betting rounds.

The first betting round is followed by a draw, where players are allowed to change as many cards as required, be it no cards (known as "stand pat") or up to five cards. The players draw cards in turn, with the first being the player to the left of the dealer and so on. The draw is followed by a second and final betting round starting with the player to the left of the dealer button.

After the final betting round is complete there is a showdown. The player with the best 5 card hand wins.