In this article, I will introduce you to the basic rules of the card game 5 Card Draw Poker and show you how to play. The object of the game is to be the last person standing.
Setup
Each player is given an equal amount of chips. If you are playing for money, each player would have to pay for their set of chips. Players manage their chips throughout various rounds of play.
Pick an ante price before the game begins. This will be the ante price for the entire game. In order to play around, the player must pay the ante to the middle of the table called the pot where all the bids are kept in order to receive cards.
Play using a standard 52 card deck of playing cards without Jokers. Cards are ranked from high to low ace, king, queen, jack, ten down to two. An ace can also be played below it too.
Gameplay
Shuffle the deck and deal five cards to each player who paid their ante. This is the player’s hand. Players look at their hands but do not show them to others. All poker hands contain five cards. The highest hand wins.
For a detailed breakdown of poker hand ranks and what beats one please check out this article on poker hands ranks. There are four suits spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. However, no suit is higher than another. If a player’s hands are identical they tie and they split the pot. Otherwise, the player with the highest hand wins the pot and takes all the chips in it.
Round of betting
After each player is dealt with five cards a round of betting occurs. The player left of the dealer goes first then play proceeds clockwise. On your turn of betting you have one of three choices call, raise, or fold.
Call your bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet.
Raise. You first bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet then you increase the bet another amount of your choice. There is typically a limit to how high you can raise determined before the game begins.
Fold. You drop out of the current hand losing any possibility of winning the pot. But, you don’t have to put in any more money into the pot. When you fold you do not show your cards but discard them facedown. If all but one player folds then the round ends and the remaining player takes the pot. Otherwise, once all the remaining players have put in the same amount into the pot the first round of betting ends.
End of game
Players discard facedown up to three cards or four if their final card is an ace. And, the dealer gives them the same number of cards from the deck face down. Players look at their new cards but do not show them to others. This is followed by a final round of betting.
If all but one player fold then the remaining player wins the pot. Otherwise once all the remaining players have put in the same amount into the pot the final round of betting ends.
All players still in play reveal their hand and the highest hand wins the pot. All the cards are gathered together and shuffled and the dealer rotates rolls by one clockwise. When you run out of chips you are eliminated from the game. The last player standing wins.