Draw poker - 5 card draw

This poker variant most probably first surfaced during the westward spread, the game has seen after its Mississippi riverboat phase, and it's presently one of the most common poker variants played world over.

It was the first ever poker game I learnt as a kid, it is also the most popular poker variant with video poker machines.

The difference between draw poker games and all other types of poker is, that the former allows for hands to be improved by exchanging certain cards from them, during the game.

In 5 card draw, every player is dealt a full hand of five cards from the very beginning, (unlike in other poker genres). These cards are all dealt face down, and when they're picked up by the players, extra caution will be taken to properly conceal them. An ante or blinds are placed before the first betting round starts. Players can call raise or fold according to the value of the hand they're holding (or according to their personal strategy and playing style), players who stay in the game after the first round, will get a chance to have their hands improved. Since they're already in possession of complete five card hands, the improvement can only come by means of exchanging some of the cards. Every player needs to state the number of cards he/she wishes to discard, as the dealer starts handing them the new cards (exactly as many as they discarded) in a clockwise direction starting with the person on his immediate left.

A card is burnt every time the dealer takes hold of the deck, and there's even a special rule that no player may receive more than three cards in a row from the deck. If someone decided to drop off four cards, (sometimes only three cards are allowed to be discarded) the dealer would have to deal him three then move on, give everyone their cards, burn a card from the remainder of the deck and then hand our guy his last replacement.

The deck is protected while not in use by the dealer, by a chip placed on top of it. The bottom card from the deck is never dealt to anyone as it is theoretically possible for someone to take a wink at it while the dealer handles the deck. In case the dealer runs out of cards before – let's say – handing the last of the players his/her replacement cards, he'll shuffle the bottom-of-the-deck card together with the burn cards and the discards from all other players (not the ones the player in question discarded, though) and pay him off from there.

The act of replacing the cards is called the Draw. The Draw is followed by the second round of betting where players can once again call, raise or fold, and then the showdown. The betting rounds are always started by the player on the left of the dealer (the one who placed the blind).

The person to show down the best 5 card hand wins the pot. Of course 5 card draw has quite a few variations of its own, out of which the most popular ones we'll take a look at separately.