Draw Poker

Poker Draw

Playing Draw Poker

Draw Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck. Standard poker rankings apply. Players are dealt five cards face down, one at a time, in rotation. A round of betting begins (check, bet, call, raise, or fold). The remaining players may discard any number of their original cards and have the same number of cards replaced by the dealer. Another round of betting occurs. The player with the highest ranking five-card poker hand wins. In the event of a tie, the pot is split equally.

Check

A check passes the action to the next player. If all players check, the next card is turned and the player's options repeat.

Bet

Initiating action by placing a bet.

Fold

You fold when the cards that you hold are so lousy that to remain in the game would spell certain doom. Correct way to fold: You gently place your cards in front of you face down on the table. Incorrect way to fold: You launch into a string of superlatives and demonstrably throw your cards into the air while pushing yourself away from the table in tears.

Call

In order to "call" you are required to contribute the equivalent amount of chips as the other players since your last bet. The player to the left of the dealer has the ability to "check" because the value of the pot has not been established. This is applicable on the first round of betting.

Raise

Similar to a "call" except this time you get to increase the value of your bet when the chance to do so arises since the last time you bet. This is a good strategy if you feel that you have a strong hand or want to see who's "bluffing" and who's not. There is generally a maximum limit that you can raise per round.

Ante

An ante is a forced bet in which all players put an equal amount of money or chips into the pot before the deal begins. Often this is either a single unit a one-value or the smallest value in play or some other small amount; a proportion such as a half or a quarter of the minimum bet is also common. An ante paid by every player ensures that a player who folds every round will lose money though slowly, thus providing all players with an incentive, however small; to play the hand rather than toss it in when the opening bet reaches them.

Antes are the most common forced bet in draw poker and stud poker but are uncommon in games featuring blind bets see next section. However, some tournament formats of games featuring blinds impose an ante to discourage extremely tight play. Antes encourage players to play more loosely by lowering the cost of staying in the hand calling relative to the current pot size, offering better pot odds. With antes, more players stay in the hand, which increases pot size and makes for more interesting play. This is considered important to ensure good ratings for televised tournament final. Most televised high stakes cash games also use both blinds and antes. Televised cash games usually have one of the players pay for everyone, normally the dealer, to accelerate play. If there are six players for example, the dealer would toss six times the ante into the pot, paying for each person.

In live cash games where the acting dealer changes each turn, it is not uncommon for the players to agree that the dealer or some other position relative to the button provides the ante for each player. This simplifies betting, but causes minor inequities if other players come and go or miss their turn to deal. During such times, the player can be given a special button indicating the need to pay an ante to the pot known as posting; see below upon their return. Some card rooms eliminate these inequities by always dealing all players into every hand whether they are present or not. In such cases casino staff or neighboring players under staff supervision will be expected to post antes and fold hands on behalf of absent players as necessary.