Five Card Draw Poker is a long-standing and simple variant of poker that was once popular in the western United States and was the first poker game introduced to many players. It does not have public cards like Texas Hold'em, and its core gameplay revolves around hand swapping and two round betting.
Basic Settings
Equipment and number of participants: Typically, standard 52 playing cards are used, excluding size kings. The desktop can generally accommodate 2-6 people to participate, and in home entertainment games, the maximum number can be increased to 8 people. However, most online platforms limit the number of people to ensure the pace of the game.
Core feature: Unlike Texas Hold'em, this gameplay does not have public cards, and the player's victory or defeat is completely determined by the 5 cards in their hand. The game includes two rounds of betting and an intermediate card changing stage, with a simple process and low threshold rules.
Game process
Opening of the game: Before the game begins, players need to complete mandatory bets, commonly in the form of small blind bets and large blind bets. Some private games may use a bottom bet mode. Afterwards, the dealer will issue each player 5 cards with the back facing up, and players need to keep their hands on their own to avoid opponents seeing them.
First round betting: The betting starts from the player on the left side of the blind bet and moves in a clockwise direction. Players can choose to place a bet (matching the current bet), raise (increasing the bet amount), discard (giving up the game and losing the already bet chips), or choose not to place a bet and skip if there has been no previous raise.
Card exchange stage: After the first round of betting is completed, the card exchange process begins. Players can independently decide to discard any number of cards in their hand, and even maintain their original hand without discarding any cards. The dealer will issue new cards based on the number of cards discarded by players, ensuring that each player still holds 5 cards in the end. Some entertainment bureaus have special rules, such as allowing up to three cards to be discarded unless one A is kept, in order to avoid running out of decks.
Second round betting: After the card exchange is completed, the second and final round of betting will be initiated, with the same betting rules as the first round. This round of betting will ultimately determine the player who remains in the game.
Showdown Winning: If there are still two or more players remaining after the second round of betting, it will enter the showdown stage. All players display their 5 cards and determine the winner based on the standard card size. The player with the best card size wins all the chips; If there is a situation where the card types are the same, the chips will be divided equally among the tied players.
Card size
The size of its card type is consistent with mainstream poker gameplay such as Texas Hold'em, with the order from strong to weak being: Straight>Four (Iron)>Gourd>Straight>Three>Two Pair>Pair>Loose. If the card types are the same, the size of the numbers on the card face will be compared (A>K>Q>J>10>9...), and when the numbers are also the same, the color will be compared (spades>spades>grass flowers>square pieces).
Gameplay features
Suitable for beginners and leisure: Due to its simple process and lack of complex public card calculations, it often becomes an entry-level gameplay for beginners to learn poker, especially in private leisure games such as family gatherings. However, its appearance rate in casinos and large-scale events is much lower than that of Texas Hold'em.
The strategy focuses on hand optimization: the game strategy focuses on card changing decisions and betting psychological games. For example, if a player holds a pair, they can confuse their opponent by adding a moderate bonus; If the hand is poor, you can choose to discard and stop loss in a timely manner. Reasonable switching is the key to improving the winning rate.
Flexible rules: There are many flexible rules in the game, such as casinos usually not allowing continuous drawing of 5 cards, and private games may add special settings such as wildcard cards to adapt to different gaming needs in different scenarios.
