Five Card Draw Poker Rules

Learn Poker the five card draw way with our guide to five card draw poker rules.

How to Play Five Card Draw

Five card draw is a variant of Poker, typically using a standard 52 card deck. A maximum of 8 players are allowed, but usually 5-6 players is a more common format. There are 2 different variants commonly played online, one using antes and a more popular method using blinds. There are only 2 betting rounds whichever variant is used.

Here are the 2 tabling formats used in 5 card draw.

Blinds Method - (Betting Round 1)

A small round disc called the dealer button is used to indicate which player is the dealer, the small blind sits directly to the left of the dealer and directly to the right of the big blind. The small and big blinds are both forced to make fixed bets before any cards have been dealt; the big blind equates to one minimum bet and the small blind is half the minimum bet; if the blind level was 10/20, the minimum bet would be 20 chips. Each player then receives 5 cards face down, known as their hole cards. The hole cards dealt to you are personal to your own hand, only you can use them. Once every player has received their 5 hole cards, the first round of betting ensues, starting with the player directly to the left of the dealer button and moving clockwise.

Ante Method - (Betting Round 1 Alternative)

In order to be dealt in, a player must first 'ante up', this is a small forced bet that occurs before a player has seen any cards. Each Player then receives 5 cards face down, known as their hole cards. Again, the hole cards dealt to you are personal to your own hand. Once every player has received their 5 hole cards, the first round of betting ensues, starting with the player directly to the left of the dealer button and moving clockwise.

The Draw - (Betting Round 2)

Remaining players have the opportunity to trade some of their cards for new ones. Again, there are different variations of how many cards can be swapped, some sites allow from 1-3 cards to be changed, while other sites allow from 1-5 cards to be replaced. After players have done this, a final round of betting occurs, starting with the player directly to the left of the dealer button and moving clockwise. All players still in the hand after the final round of betting has finished must showdown their Poker Hands, the player with best hand according to Poker Hand Rankings wins and scoops the pot.