How to play 5 Card Draw Poker.

Poker is a card game that is played using a standard deck of 52 playing cards.  This particular type of poker can be played by two to eight players and is often the best type of poker game to begin playing as it is the most straightforward to understand.  The object of the game is to try and obtain the highest valued hand at the end of play.  There are a number of variations to the poker game and starting with the 5 card draw game will give the player a good basic understanding of how the game is played before going on to higher levels.

Before any cards are dealt, all players will put in an “ante” or “token bet” into a specified area and this can be of any monetary value.          Play starts with five cards being dealt to each player one at a time, face down on the table.  Once all five cards have been dealt, players are able to pick their cards up being careful not to let any other players see their hand.    Players will then place their first bets at this point.  This is often known as “before the draw” bets and players to the left of the dealer will be the first to place their bet.  Players can choose to place an “open” bet which means that they are placing the first bet or they can “check” which is where players can wait for other bets before deciding whether to place their own bet, this can only happen if no-one has opened the betting.

Once the betting has been opened, players can then choose to “see” another player by matching their bet.  Therefore, the player still wants to remain in the game but has to match the other player’s stake to stay in the game.  A player can “raise” after the first “see” bet which is basically adding additional stakes to the original “see” bet.  Alternatively a player can fold if their hand isn’t good strong enough to continue, their cards will be placed face down on the table to indicate that they are folding.

There has to be more than player in play after the first round for the game to continue.  It is often the case that players fold as they have been dealt a weak and therefore, can’t continue until the next game begins.  For the players that are still in play, the second round starts which is often referred to as the “draw” round.  At this point, players are able to discard up to three unwanted cards and draw up to three new ones.  This is all performed with the cards being face down allowing the players to keep their cards anonymous to other players.

After every player has had the option of drawing a further 3 cards, the betting will begin again.  This will be in exactly the same way as the previous round and players will then decide whether to see, raise or fold.  The game will come to an end when there are no more raises.  Every player that is still in play must now turn their cards over for other players to see their hands.  The player with the highest hand will take all the bets placed in the pot.