Draw Poker games are any games where players get at least one opportunity to discard a certain number of cards from their hand in exchange for new cards from the deck. It gives each player the chance to get rid of cards that are doing nothing to help their overall hand and hope for something better. The draw of cards also allows the possibility for other players to guess what kind of hand that player has. A player who draws one card, for example, is probably trying to complete a flush or straight, as opposed to a poker player who draws three cards who is probably only holding a pair, but one can only guess.
Where Can I play draw poker online
Most of the top poker sites offer draw poker games, as well as hold’em, Omaha and Texas Hold’em.
Drawing:
The dealer determines how many cards players will be allowed to draw from the deck, and how many opportunities players will have to draw cards from the deck. “Two draws of two cards”, for example, means that players will have two opportunities throughout the course of the game to draw as many as two new cards from the deck each time. “One of three, one of one” would mean that on the first draw, each player can draw as many as three new cards from the deck, and on the second draw, as many as one new card. When determining draws of cards, the dealer must make sure that there will be enough cards in the deck should each player choose to exercise their maximum allowed number of cards on each draw.
Wild cards:
The sky is the limit with Draw Poker games. The dealer can designate that any card of his or her choice (before looking at his or her hand, of course) is wild. “Twos and Threes are wild”, for example. A player dealt a Two or a Three can make that card any of the 52 cards in the deck he or she chooses. The point to bear in mind is that the more wild cards there are, the better a hand will need to be in order to have a fighting chance in the game.
‘Deuces Wild’ will produce some fairly modest hands, whereas ‘Acey Deucey One-Eyed Jacks, and the Man with the Battleaxe’ (count ’em, that’s 11 wild cards in total, out of a deck of 52 cards), or worse yet ‘Pregnant Threes’ (TWELVE wild cards altogether) will produce some very competitive hands where, most likely, nothing less than a four of a kind will cut it. In Roll Your Own, each poker player chooses which card in his or her hand will be wild. In Kings and Little Ones, Kings and the smallest card in each player’s hand is wild.
Betting:
Typical poker Draw games involve at least two betting rounds, one before and one after each draw. Two draws would involve three rounds of betting, one before the first draw, one between draws, and one after the second draw. There is always one more betting round than there are draws. Because the dealer can call any stipulation he or she likes, some tables play Draw games with only one betting round, after the draw. However, betting rounds are what keep players “honest” and make sure they are paying their dues in order to stay in the game…you can rarely bluff or scare somebody out of a game with one betting round only.
Pay for Your Draw:
This is a feature that can be added to any Draw poker game. It helps increase the pot and tends to keep hands lower, which is especially helpful in draw games that include wild cards. When the dealer calls this feature, he or she also calls the price of each card drawn. If, for example, the price of each drawn card is a quarter, and a player decides to draw 3 cards at the appropriate point in the game, then that player would have to throw 75 cents into the pot. A maximum draw can still be called by the dealer, but players must now pay for each card that they wish to draw from the deck.
Roll ‘Em:
When this feature is added to a Draw poker game, the game is played as normal up until the showdown. At that point, each player lays their hand face-down before them. On the count of three, each player reveals one card of their hand. The highest card showing opens a betting round. On the count of three again, each player reveals a second card from their hand. Best hand showing opens a betting round. This continues for a third and a fourth card, after which the best hand showing opens the fourth and final betting round.
In essence, this adds a Stud element to the Draw game. As this adds four betting rounds to the game, it is best used in poker games that do not have enough betting rounds, such as Pass the Trash. One variation of Roll ‘Em is that less than the entire hand is rolled off; for example, the dealer may specify that each player only roll off 3 of the 5 cards in their hand. Yet another variation is Seven Card Draw, where each player rolls off five of their seven cards; the cards that they roll off need not necessarily be ones that they use in their five card hand at the showdown.
How to play Draw Poker Game Variants – Guides and Rules
How to play Standard 5-Card Draw
This is five-card Draw Poker without any stipulations, except for designated wild cards. The dealer determines if there will be any wild cards at all. The dealer also determines how many draws there will be, as well as the maximum number of cards each player will be allowed to draw each time. “Two draws of two”, for example, would mean that each player will have two opportunities to discard as many as two cards in exchange for two new ones from the deck.
Typically, a betting round precedes and ensues each draw, so there is always one more betting round than there are draws. Two draws, for example, would mean three betting rounds (deal, 1st betting round, 1st draw, 2nd betting round, 2nd draw, 3rd and final betting round, showdown).Straight Draw Poker means there are no wild cards.
How to play the Draw Poker game “Dr. Pepper”
Dr. Pepper is a new addition to poker games. In this draw poker game the Twos, Fours, and Tens are the Wild cards.
How to play “Heinz 57” Draw Poker
In Heinz 57 Poker game the Fives and Sevens are the Wild cards, Heinz 57 is a new addition to poker games.
How to play “Honky Tonk” Draw poker game
A High/Low Draw poker game where the pot is split between highest and lowest hands, Kings are wild in those hands called Low and Threes are wild in those hands called High.
How to play Jacks and Back
Jacks and Back: If no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, then the game is played as Lowball, with a draw and final betting round. A less popular version of this game states that on the first hand, if no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, than the game is re-dealt as Queens or Better, Trips to Win.
If nobody has Queens or better to open, then it becomes Kings or Better, Trips to Win, then Aces. After that, if the game continues, then it is back to Jacks or Better, Trips to Win.
How to play “Jacks or Better, Trips to Win”
Five cards dealt. Initial betting round can only be opened by a player holding a Pair of Jacks or higher. A player can only win the pot if that player is holding cards that are worth a Three of a Kind or higher. If no player can open the betting round, or if no player can win the game, then each player re-antes and the cards are redealt by the player to the left of the dealer.
Variations
An interesting variation to this game comes from Dave Meichsner. Any player who folds throughout any point in the game is out of the game until it’s over and somebody has won. If the game is re-dealt because nobody could open with Jacks or nobody could win with Trips, that player that folded is not dealt back in on subsequent re-deals. This helps keep people in the game.
Jacks and Back
If no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, then the game is played as Lowball, with a draw and final betting round.
A less popular version of this game states that on the first hand, if no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, than the game is re-dealt as Queens or Better, Trips to Win. If nobody has Queens or better to open, then it becomes Kings or Better, Trips to Win, then Aces. After that, if the game continues, then it is back to Jacks or Better, Trips to Win.
How to play “Kings Little Ones”
Kings are wild in everyone’s hand as well as the lowest card in each player’s hand. A hand of 10, Q, 5, K, Q would mean that the King is wild, as well as the Five of Spades, because it is the lowest card in the hand.
These two wild cards with the pair of Queens makes a hand of four Queens. NOTE: If a player is holding an Ace, whether it is High or Low is at the player’s discretion. An Ace can be used a Little One.
How to Play Pregnant Threes
In the game of Pregnant the Threes, Sixes, and Nines are wild cards.
Snowmen and Hockey Sticks
In Snowmen and Hockey Sticks Poker game the Sevens and Eights are the Wild cards, Snowmen and Hockey Sticks is a new addition to poker games.
How to play “Six Back to Five”
Six cards dealt. After the first betting round, each player draws as per normal Draw game rules. The exception is that each player draws one less card than they discard. This means that if a player wants three new cards, he is going to have to discard four cards out of his hand. If a player wants to discard three cards, then he is only going to get two cards back.
With each player drawing one less card than he or she receives, every player will now have a five card hand. A final betting round ensues and the best five card hand wins. This allows players to get better hands and hopefully, stay in longer, compensating for only two betting rounds.
Stedman’s (Woolworth)
In Stedman’s Poker the Fives and Tens are the Wild cards, Stedman’s is a new addition to poker games
Stormy Weather
Just edging on being a Community Draw Poker game, this one is played with three community cards that are dealt face-down. After the first betting round and draw, each community card is flipped over one at a time followed by a betting round.
At showdown, players make their best five card hand with the four cards dealt to them and any ONE card of the three community cards.
How to play “Three Legged Race” Draw Poker
A high/low triple-legged game, where the winner of the game is the first player to win three “legs”. At the end of each round, one leg is awarded to the player with the best hand at the table, ANOTHER leg awarded to the player with the lowest hand at the table. The first player to win three legs wins the pot. In the case of more than one player reaching three legs at the same time, the pot is split.
If dealt as seven card draw, then players have the option of calling “pig”. If one such player successfully has both the highest and lowest hand at the table, that player is awarded two legs.
Trees
Five cards dealt. Betting round. Players freely exchange cards with other players, always receiving the same number of cards as is traded away. When all players are finished trading, there is a final betting round. Best hand wins.
The only rule when trading is that the number of cards traded must be the same as what is received (“Who wants to trade 3 cards?”, “Does anybody want to trade 2 cards?”).
This trading round continues until no pair of players wants to trade any more cards. There is a second betting round, followed by a showdown.
Strategy
The best thing to do is remember which cards have been given to what players. Players interested in trading initially three, and then two, and then one card are most likely putting a straight or flush together. Passing a pair is obviously out of the question, but passing consecutive cards (for example, a Two, a Three, and a Four) or cards of the same suit to the same player may not be strategically wise.
Wild Widow
This is played as Spit in the Ocean, except that the Spit card and all matching cards in each player’s hand, are wild. The dealer may determine that the Spit card itself is not wild, but that its three matching cards are wild; the purpose of this is to keep each player from automatically having at least one wild card in their hand in the form of a wild Spit card.
