DRAW POKER RULES & TIPS
raw Poker is the basic form of Poker. If you are new to poker it is a good starting
point when introducing
to the game. The goal of Draw Poker is to build a hand from 5 cards. After the
initial round of betting you may discard some or all of your
cards and receive replacements. All cards are
dealt and discarded face down. The players cards should never be revealed until
the final Showdown, and are only then if absolutely necessary.
here are two main things to learn when it comes to Draw Poker. The
first is Poker's 5-card hands and their ranking. The second is the course of play
including when and how to bet.
Poker Hands
poker hand is made from the best arrangement of five cards and are ranked
as follows, highest first:
1. Royal Flush: A-K-Q-J-10, all same suit
2. Straight Flush: any five consecutive cards of the same suit
3. Four-of-a-Kind: four cards of the same value (e.g. four Kings)
4. Full House: Three-of-a-Kind and a Pair
5. Flush: any five cards of the same suit
6. Straight: any five consecutive cards
7. Three-of-a-Kind: three cards of the same value
8. Two Pair
9. Pair
10. No Pair: five dissimilar cards, mixed suit
here are no wild cards in Draw Poker
and all suits are ranked equally.
The Course of Play
round of Poker begins with determining the
Dealer. The Deal usually rotates
around the table from the right clockwise. E.g. if you have just dealt then the person on your
left deals next.
he Dealer receives the deck and shuffles. Each player pays
the "ante" which is a small, flat fee you pay to purchase the right to play that
round. If you don't ante it means you are "sitting out". These monies and all
others in the game go into the center of the table in a pile called "the pot".
Once the antes are in, the Dealer deals one card at a time, face down, to each
player around the table, beginning on the Dealer's left. The dealer continues
dealing the cards until each player has 5 cards, all face
down.
layers pick up their cards and assess their hand. The player to the Dealer's
left opens the betting round by either placing a Bet, indicating a Pass by
placing no bet, or Folding by discarding their hand.
he next player to the left now
can Bet, Pass or Fold.
If the previous players Passed then they can Pass too or place a Bet of their
own. If other players have Bet and they wish to stay in the round they must Call
by matching any outstanding bets. They can then Raise by placing a larger
bet.
he betting then moves to the next player on the left, then the next, and so
on back to and including the Dealer. Once the Dealer has placed their bet, the other players must Call any
outstanding bets or Fold. No Raises are permitted once the
betting has passed around to the Dealer.
layers may now Discard any or all of their cards based on their hopes of
building a better hand. Cards are discarded face down and collected by the
Dealer.
Replacements
he Dealer now
deals each player their replacement
cards, all face down. The player on the Dealer's left begins the betting and the betting
proceeds around the table.
gain, the Dealer gets the final Raise. Then everyone else must Call or Fold.
Finally, the remaining players are ready for the Showdown. If at any time there is only one player left in the game they take the pot.
This player is encouraged to keep their cards hidden and muck them to the
Dealer.
Showdown
fter the final betting round, and all the necessary Calls, the players still
in the game have reached the Showdown. The player's hands are revealed. The best
hand wins and the winner takes the pot.
f there are tied winning hands then the rank of the individual cards
determines the winner. For instance Full House of Kings over Jacks beats a Full
House of Tens over Jacks. If it's still a tie and there are no kickers then the pot is split.
f the rank of the cards doesn't determine the winner, then the kicker(s)
of higher rank determines the winner. If it's still a tie, the pot is split. If
there are no hands (listed above), e.g. all players have No Pair, then the highest
ranking single card is declared the winning hand. If it comes to a dead tie,
e.g. all cards have the same rank, then the pot is split.
hile hands and betting
are the basic rules. However, to be a successful Poker player you should learn
much more. Poker is not about having the highest ranking hand, it's about
winning the biggest pots. How you do that is your business and that is what
makes Poker the beloved game.
