5 CARD DRAW VARIATIONS

As with most forms of poker, human ingenuity has led to a number of variants of the 5 Card Draw form of poker. As 5 Card Draw nowadays tend to be played mainly for small stakes or just for fun (as in strip poker), many of the variations are rather colourful such as Strip Poker. Below are just some popular variants of the standard 5 Card Draw game.

STRAIGHT DRAW POKER

It is played like basic 5-Card Draw except that players can not checking (player "check" when he wants to stay in the game, but does not want to bet). Each player is dealt five cards face down. In the first betting round that followed after that, the first player to the dealer's left must either bet or quit. Each remaining player may draw and discard (up to 5 cards). There is a final betting round (players can not check) . The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

ROLL 'EM

It is played like the basic 5-Card Draw except the showdown. There is no showdown. At this point, on the count of three each player turns one card face up. There is another betting round which begin by the highest face up card. Again, on the count of three each player turns one card face up. There is another betting round. This continues until just one card remains face down. After every "turning up" there is a betting round that is opened by the player with the highest face up hand. At this point each player has 4 cards face up and one card face down and 4 betting round after the showdown.

JACKS OR BETTER

It is played like the basic 5-Card Draw except that the initial betting may only be made by a player has a pair of Jacks or higher. If no one can open the initial betting, the cards re-shuffled, and re-dealt and each player re-ante. In some tables the players at this point, need a pair of Queens or higher to open, then Kings or higher, then Aces or higher, and then back to Jacks. But this is a less popular version. Usually the rounds continue with Jacks or better until one player gets it. The player that make the initial betting must show the Jacks before drawing and discarding the hand. Some time a "Trips to win" is add to the game. Trips to win requires a player to have least a Three-of-a-Kind at showdown to win the pot.

5 CARD DRAW WITH JOKER AS WILD

This variation is played as basic draw poker with one joker in the deck (it called the "bug"). The joker can be used as any missing card in a straight or flush or as an Ace.

NEW YORK DRAW

Any five-card draw that played with "outside straight" . Outside straight is a hand with four cards in numerical sequence or four cards to a straight. In this game variation the Outside straight consider as higher than Pair but lower than two Pair. Interesting combination is when the Outside straight is add to "Jacks or better". In this combination a player with Outside straight can open the betting round.

CANADIAN DRAW

A New York draw that played with "Four flush". Four flush : four cards of the same suit or four cards to flush. The outside straight higher than Pair, the four flush higher than outside straight, but Two Pair higher than four flush.

SPANISH DRAW

The Spanish draw is played without the Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes. The is leaving only 32 cards that are played according to the standard 5 Card Draw rules.

TREES

This game is played the same as draw poker except that the players draw and discard by exchanging cards with the other players on the table. The number of cards traded must be the same as what is received. The card exchange continues until there is no tow players that wants to trade any more cards. The second betting round, followed by the showdown. The player with the higher hand win the pot.

ALL FOR ONE

In this game, After the initial betting round, each player has the option to discard and draw one card or all five cards. As in basic draw, after the draw there is a second betting round, and then, the showdown. Each player reveals his cards. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

ITALIAN DRAW POKER

This game starts as usual draw poker. After the first betting round, two cards are dealt face up in the table center with an indicator on one of them. Those cards are known as community cards and every player can use them while discard and draw. Every player can discard one or two cards using the community cards only. If a player chooses to draw just one card, the dealer gives the player one card (the card with the indicator on it), puts the indicator on the second card, and flip new card to the center. After all players draw cards in this method, there is second betting round follow by the showdown. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

DRAW POKER WITH WILD CARDS

The idea of wild card is that a player can make that card any card that in the deck he chooses. For example if the wild cards if Four, a player that has a Four can make this cards to any card he chooses. Usually the dealer chooses the wild card or the wild cards and he do it before looking at his hand, of course. The more wild cards in the game, The higher a hand will need to be in order to have a good chance in the game.