Draw Poker TOPICS Draw Poker Five Card Stud Seven Card Stud Community Card Other Fun Poker Non-Poker Games Rules of the Igloo  Variant Ideas BACK TO HOME   Got a great game? See an error? I love to get feedback! Please write me at chilcoot@mtaonline.net Draw poker is generally regarded as the standard poker form. It is usually played by three to seven players. In draw, each player receives a set number of cards and later has the opportunity to replace some or all of them.   Five Card Draw PLAYERS Up to six. INITIAL DEAL Five down cards to each player PLAY There is a betting round after the deal, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. After the betting round, each player may exchange up to three cards. Another round of betting ensues, followed by the showdown. With fewer than six players, a player may draw four cards if they first show that their remaining card is an Ace. WINNER High hand. VARIATIONS Lowball. Lowest hand wins. High-Low Split. The highest hand and lowest hand split the pot. Shotgun. Same as draw, but only first deal three cards, then bet. Fourth card. Bet. Fifth card. Bet. Draw and continue as in five card draw. Double-Barreled Shotgun. Same as shotgun, but after draw, each player exposes a card. Bet. Expose. Bet. Continue until showdown. Good high/low. I'm An Idiot. Players may draw up to three, but must pay a certain amount for each new card. Drawing continues around the table until either all cards are gone or all players are content. Thanks to TDDOM! Kings and Little People Kings and low cards are wild. Before the draw, an in-or-out declare is held. In players draw as normal. High hand wins the pot. Others participating in the showdown must match the pot, perhaps capped at a certain level. Game repeats until only one player declares "in." At that moment, before a draw, dealer deals five cards face up on the table, called "Grandma." If player's hand beats Grandma, player wins pot. If Grandma beats or ties player's hand, player must match pot, and game continues. Thanks to James Young! NOTE Although it's important to know how to play this most basic version of poker, it's not much fun! Jackpots PLAYERS Up to six. INITIAL DEAL Five down cards to each player. PLAY Beginning with the player to dealer's left, each player may open the betting, but only if player has a pair of jacks or better. If no one opens the betting, hand is declared over, cards are reshuffled, players re-ante. If a player opens, continue as five card draw above. WINNER High hand. VARIATION Jacks Over Trips. Winner must have at least three of a kind to win. Helm's Game: Winner must split the pot with the player who has the highest spade in his or her hand. (Thanks to Erich Schach, who thinks that Helm is some guy in Ohio.) NOTES The player that opened must show openers before discarding hand or at showdown. If player that opened draws cards and discards one or more of the cards comprising the required openers, player must show openers at time of draw. Spit in the Ocean PLAYERS Up to seven. INITIAL DEAL Four cards down to each player, one card up in the middle. PLAY As in five card draw, but each player receives only four down cards. While the dealer is dealing these four cards, someone has to say "spit," which causes the dealer to throw the next card face up into the middle of the table. The card in the middle is shared by all players and, along with all other cards of the same rank, is wild. Therefore, if the spit card is a six, all sixes are wild. WINNER High hand. VARIATIONS Phlegm. Same as spit, but cards are rolled at the end, with a bet after each roll. High Tide/Low Tide. Game is played high-low, with the spit card wild. Aces may be high or low. NOTES This game introduces the concept of a "community" card, namely the center spit card. The card is called a community card because every player shares that card as one of their own. Lots of games employ community cards; see the "Community Card Games" page. Community cards aren't always wild like they are in this game. Hurricane PLAYERS Up to thirteen. INITIAL DEAL Two down to each player PLAY Bet. Players may draw up to two cards. Bet. Declare. Bet. Showdown. WINNER High and low hands split. VARIATION Deuces wild. Three Legged Race PLAYERS Up to eight. INITIAL DEAL Three down to each player. PLAY Bet. Draw up to three cards. Bet. Showdown. Player with high hand and player with low hand each receive a leg. Flushes and straights are ignored. Note that since aces are both high and low, it is possible for a player to have both the highest and lowest hand, and a player can receive two legs with one hand. Ante, reshuffle, and redeal. Continue until one or more players has three legs. WINNER First player with three legs. VARIATION Three Card Double Draw Lowball. Played straight low, either with or without multiple legs. After the deal, bet. Players may then each draw up to two cards. Bet. Players may all draw one card or stand pat. Bet. showdown. If fewer than eight players are involved, additional cards may be drawn. NOTE This game introduces the concept of a leg. A "leg" is awarded to a player who wins a round in a game with multiple rounds. The pot is won by the player who first wins the specified number of legs. Three Card Monte PLAYERS Up to eight. INITIAL DEAL Three cards face down to each player. PLAY Bet. Players may then draw up to three cards. Bet. Declare. Bet. Showdown. WINNER High and low hands sptil the pot. High hands are ranked from high to low as as follows: Three of a Kind Little Bobtail (three sequential cards of the same suit) Pair Three Flush (three nonsequential cards of the same suit) Three Straight (three sequential cards not all of the same suit) High card. In evaluating low hands, ignore straight and flush issues. Best low is A-2-3 regardless of suit.