Table Of Contents

1. Basic Draw Poker Rules For Beginners
2. Basic Draw Poker Rules How To Play
3. Basic Poker Rules 5 Card Draw
4. Draw Poker Basic Rules

Other Poker Game’s Rules:

5 Card Draw is the original game of poker, and the easiest to play. With Draw poker, players are dealt a complete hand that only they can see and have the option to improve it by replacing cards. Players ante up, five cards are dealt face down one at a time, there are two rounds of betting and a showdown. It's elegantly simple. Texas Hold'em Rules. The easiest guide on the planet to play Texas hold'em poker. Omaha Poker Rules. Omaha poker is an action game often played as a pot-limit or fixed-limit game.

Learning how to play poker should not be difficult. If you want to understand why so many people love this game, this beginner's guide to the rules and the basics of poker is all you need.

Poker is a simple game to learn, but the poker rules can be challenging for a complete beginner.

But don't let that put you off. It is not hard to learn how to play poker, and you can move from the basics of the game to the tables of the top online poker sites in no time.

Here's everything you'll learn in this guide on how to play poker:

1. And lots more

Before you move to the 'practical' side of this guide on how to play the most popular variants of this game, you need to learn the basics of poker.

When most people say they want to know 'how to play regular poker,' they imply that they want to learn the basics of Texas Hold'em.

Texas Hold'em is (by far) the most popular poker game out there and it's the one you find at every online poker site.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. With so many poker variants to play online and offline, the only proper guide on how to play poker for dummies is the one that gets you access to all the best games out there.

Not just to the most famous one.

Many poker rules are consistent from game to game, although among the dozens of variants such as Texas hold'em, Omaha, and seven-card stud you will find some ket differences you need to kno.

Let's have a quick look at the poker rules of the most played poker games online:

How to Play Texas Hold'Em

Also called the 'Cadillac of Poker,' Texas hold'em is the one you are going to play over and over again.

This is the most popular poker game online and it is also the one you are most likely to play with our friends in your next home game.

Whether you play it in the form of a tournament or as a ring-game, the basic poker rules and the hand rankings don't change.

> Discover how to play Texas Hold'em

How to Play Omaha Poker

The second-most popular poker variant. Omaha poker finds its roots in the game of Texas Hold'em, although the rules of the two games are slightly different from each other.

Many players find learning how to play poker Omaha to be the natural step to take after they have successfully mastered the basics of Texas Hold'em.

In the poker rules page dedicated to the game, you find the perfect beginner's guide to moving your first steps in the world of Omaha.

> Learn how to play Omaha poker

How to Play Seven-Card Stud

Before Texas hold'em became king, anyone who wanted to learn the basic poker rules and how to play poker had to go through the game of seven-card stud.

As the name suggests, this is a variant of stud poker. 7-card stud is also the 'S' game in the H.O.R.S.E. poker — but if you are still learning how to play poker, it's probably too early for you to jump on that.

> Discover how to play seven-card stud poker

Other Poker Rules to Learn

If you want to go deeper and you want to learn how to play even more poker games, PokerNews is the right site for you.

Pick one poker variant to learn from the list that follows and find out how to play some of the most exciting and lesser-known poker games out there!

Use these guides to learn how to play poker and master not only the most 'obvious' games like Texas hold'em bu also all the other different variants out there.

In our guides for beginners, you find the official poker rules, the basic strategy tips, and the hand rankings — because knowing how to calculate points is key if you want to win at poker.

Common Traits of Most Poker Rules

The Value of Poker Hands

One element used in most poker variants is the system of hand rankings.

The highest ranked hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten), followed by a Straight Flush (five cards of the same suit of consecutive ranks).

The third-best combination is the Four-of-a-kind, which is then followed by the Full House (three of a kind plus one pair), the Flush, the Straight, the Three-of-a-kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card or no pair.

When a hand reaches the showdown, the player with the highest-ranked hand wins the pot.

That's true of Texas hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, and five-card draw.

Of course, in 'lowball' games like razz or deuce-to-seven triple draw, the hand rankings are turned upside down and the 'worst' hand according to traditional hand rankings is the winning one.

Poker Hands Ranking

• Royal Flush10JQKA
• Straight
  Flush56789
• Four Of
  A Kind3333K
• Full HouseJJJKK
• Flush2459K
• StraightA2345
• Three Of
  A Kind45777
• Two Pair499KK
• One Pair3QK1010
• High Card248QK

Suggested Readings

• Poker Hands Chart: The official classification of all poker hands with a free pdf to download and print.
• What Beats What in Poker: the perfect starting guide to learn how to count points in poker and discover the real value of each hand.

Blinds and Ante Bets

Games like hold'em and Omaha feature small and big blinds, so called because they are 'blind' bets players have to make before they are dealt any cards.

Meanwhile stud games usually use 'antes', which also involve players putting chips in the middle before the hand begins.

From there players bet more as the hand progresses, thereby creating larger pots.

Limit vs. No Limit Poker Games

Some games are played with no-limit betting, which means players can bet as much as they like at any point in the hand, including going 'all in.'

Pot-limit betting means that the current size of the pot creates an upper limit on how much a player can bet.

Games that are played with fixed-limit betting have predetermined amounts from which players cannot vary when they make their bets and raises.

The Action

There are other terms that tend to be used in all different poker games, including many having to do with the actions you perform when playing.

When the action is on you, you can:

• Check: Decline to bet
• Fold: Withdraw from the hand, if someone else has bet already
• Bet: Place a wager on the table
• Raise: Add more chips by matching your opponent's bet and putting in a greater amount.
• Call: Match the bet of your opponents to stay in the hand and continue to play.

All of those terms are an important step in your journey to learn how to play poker since they tend to come up in all poker variants.

The Betting Rounds

In games with community cards like hold'em and Omaha (also sometimes called 'flop games'), the betting rounds are referred to as:

• Preflop: The bets made before any community cards are dealt
• Flop: The bets made after the first three community cards are dealt)
• Turn: The bets made after the fourth community card
• River The bets made after the fifth and last community card.

Suggested Readings

• How to bet in poker: a beginner's guide to betting in Texas hold'em.
• Texas hold'em betting tips: This short article gives you some actionable tips to learn how to play poker with your stack of chips.

The Table Stakes

One other poker rule common to just about every variant of the you'll play – whether you are playing live poker or online poker – is one called 'table stakes.'

Table stakes means that once a hand begins, you can only bet whatever amount you had on the table to begin the hand and are not allowed to add anything more during the hand as it plays out.

If you only have $100 on the table to begin a hand, you can't pull out your wallet and add more halfway through the hand – you can only play out the hand with whatever you had to start.

Practice Poker Online for Free

Now that you know the basic poker rules and you have links to go back to your poker guides when you need to, it's time to look for the best websites to practice poker online.

Don't start to play poker for real money right away. Try out the games for free first. That's the only way to discover if you have really learned how to play poker.

Looking for a site to practice online poker for free?

Don't miss the updated list of the best free poker sites in 2020!

There are countless options to give the game a test run, but the best way is to try out the real deal.

Sign up for a poker account with one of the big online poker rooms and give the freerolls a try.

That way, you can practice poker online without any risk; you're not wagering any money.

And if you want to try out cash games instead of tournaments, all major poker sites online have so-called play money tables.

That way you can practice the game, learn the rules, and figure out how the software works, readying yourself for the big stage.

Register a free gaming account and test your poker knowledge in the next freeroll!

• Deuces Wild - Wild Widow

Introduction

Five Card Draw is one of the oldest forms of poker and was by far the best known internationally until the sudden rise in popularity of Texas Hold'em at the end of the 20th century. The basic game will be described first, followed by some variations with extra opening conditions, winning conditions or wild cards. These can be combined in various ways - for example jacks or better and trips to win are often played with a bug or wild card. This page assumes some familiarity with the general rules and terminology of poker. See the poker rules page for an introduction to these, and the poker betting and poker hand ranking pages for further details.

Five Card Draw Poker

This basic game, with no restrictions on the cards needed to open or win, is sometimes known as California Draw or Guts, though Guts is also the name of another poker-like game. Because of this freedom it offers considerable scope for bluffing, especially if played for high stakes.

Players and Cards

Five Card Draw is played with a standard 52-card pack, and there can be from two to six players - six probably make the best game. It is possible for seven or or even eight people to play, but then there is the disadvantage that the cards may run out during the draw.

Ante, Deal and First Betting Round

Before the deal each player puts an agreed ante into the pot. Usually the ante is the same amount as the minimum bet.

After the shuffle and cut, the dealer deals the cards face down clockwise one at a time until each player has five cards. Players may look at their cards, and there is a betting round begun by the player to dealer's left. If everyone passes (checks) in this first betting round, the cards are thrown in, the turn to deal passes to the left, the pot remains and everyone adds another ante to it.

In fixed or spread limit games, the number of raises after the initial opening bet is usually limited to four.

The Draw

If more than one player remains in the game after the first betting round, active players have one opportunity to improve their hands by discarding some cards and obtaining replacements. Beginning with the nearest active player to dealer's left, each active player announces the number of cards to be replaced, discards that number of cards face down, and is dealt an equal number of cards face down by the dealer.

A player can discard from zero to three cards. The dealer should wait until the player has discarded the number of cards stated before starting to deal replacements. Discarding no cards at all and thus keeping one's original hand is known as standing pat. Naturally, it is in the players' interest to wait for their turns and not give away information in advance about how many cards they intend to draw.

In a game with more than six players it is possible that the deck will run out of cards (since each player can consume up to 8 cards - a hand of 5 plus 3 more drawn). If the dealer finds that not enough cards remain then the discards of the players who have already discarded are shuffled and cut to form a new deck from which replacement cards can be dealt to the remaining player(s). Reusing cards rejected by other players is not very satisfactory, and this is why six players is normally set as the maximum number for this game.

Until the second round of betting begins, any player is entitled to ask how many cards any other player drew, and be given an honest answer.

Second Betting Round

After all active players have had a chance to draw there is a second round of betting, begun by the player who opened the betting on the first round.

The minimum and maximum bets allowed in the second betting round are normally set higher than in the first betting round - typically double.

In a fixed limit or spread limit game, the second betting round, like the first, is normally limited to a bet and four raises.

Showdown

After the second betting round, if the pot has not already been won, players show their cards in clockwise order, beginning with the last player who took aggressive action (bet or raised) in the second betting round. If everyone checked in the second betting round, the player who opened the betting in the first betting round shows first.

Variations

Drawing more than three cards

Some allow a player to discard and draw four cards if the fifth card is an ace. Some allow a player to discard four or all five cards unconditionally. With these rules the likelihood of running out of cards during the draw process is increased. In practice, however, the difference is small since it is rarely if ever worthwhile to draw more than three cards.

Blinds

Some prefer to begin the pot with a blind bet instead of or in addition to the ante. In the first betting round, the player to dealer's left is forced to bet an agreed amount, irrespective of his cards. The next player to the left may be permitted to straddle by placing a blind bet of twice this amount, the next player to re-straddle and so on. Then the betting round begins with the player to the left of the player who placed the largest blind bet. Players may fold, call or raise. If all others call or fold, the player who placed the largest blind bet may check or raise. See the poker betting page for further details.

Five Card Draw - Jacks or Better

This game, also known as Jack Pots, a hand at least as good as a pair of jacks is required to open the betting. It is probably the most popular version of Five Card Draw Poker. There should be at least four players and preferably more, otherwise most of the hands will be thrown in without play. Opinions on the merits of this game have varied widely over the years. For example:

'The addition of jack pots has probably done more to injure Poker than the trump signal has injured Whist ... the whole system has become a nuisance, and has destroyed one of the finest points in the game of Poker - the liberty of personal judgement as to every counter put into the pool, except the blind.' (R.F.Foster: Handbook to the Card Games, 1897).

'It is essential for the stability of the game that a player have jacks or better when opening. If this rule is not enforced and a player opens the pot any time he feels like it, one of the greatest factors of skill in the game is automatically eliminated - which depends on knowing that the opener holds at least a pair of jacks.' (J.Scarne: Scarne on Cards, 1949).

The ante and deal are as in Five Card Draw, but in the first betting round, if no one has yet bet, a player who does not have a pair of jacks or better is obliged to pass. Once a player has opened the betting, others are free to call or raise irrespective of what they hold.

Note that the opener does not actually have to hold jacks, or cards higher than jacks. Any hand that beats a pair of tens is sufficient - for example you could open with 5-5-3-3-6 (two pairs) but not with 10-10-A-K-Q.

The draw is the same as in Five Card Draw, except that if the player who opened the betting discards cards that formed part of the qualification to open, this must be announced and the discarded cards kept separate from the cards discarded by other players. This is known as splitting openers. For example a player might discard the Q from Q-Q-10-7-6 in the hope of getting a flush, especially if some of the other players seemed to have good hands.

The second round of betting and the showdown are as in Five Card Draw. When the pot is awarded, the player who split openers must show the discarded card(s) to prove that the opening requirement was satisfied.

If no one has a good enough hand to open (or if those that do choose not to open), then the cards are thrown in and it is the next player's turn to deal.

If the opener wins the pot, enough of the opener's hand must be shown to prove that the opener really has jacks or better. This applies even if all the other players fold on the opener's bet. If the opener cannot show a qualifying hand, the opener's hand is dead. The opener cannot win the pot. If there was a showdown, the best of the other hands wins the pot. If everyone else has folded the pool remains for the next deal.

Some play progressive jackpots: if no one opens the minimum requirement for the next deal is increased to a pair of queens, and if this hand too is thrown in then kings and then aces, then back to kings, queens, jacks and so on.

Five Card Draw - Jacks or Better, Trips to Win

The rules are the same as Five Card Draw - Jacks or Better except that a player needs a hand at least as good as three of a kind to win the pot. If the pot is won without a showdown, the winner must expose enough cards to prove that the hand is at least as good as three of a kind. This of course further reduces the scope for bluffing.

If no one has a hand as good as three of a kind after the draw, the pot remains, but the players who folded before the draw are out of the game. The players who did not fold ante again and there is a new deal involving just these players.

Five Card Draw with a Bug

To increase the proportion of good hands, some players add a joker, to make a deck of 53 cards. The joker is not a true wild card but a bug: the holder can use it to represent an ace, or to complete a straight or flush. So for example 9-9-7-7-joker is not a full house but two pairs with an ace kicker.

In this game the highest hand is five aces: A-A-A-A-joker. This beats a straight flush.

When used in a flush the joker represents the highest card not already present, so for example A-K-J-4-2 beats A-10-9-8-joker because the bug represents the K not a second ace.

The bug can be added to any of the above versions: California (Guts) Draw, Jacks or Better or Trips to Win.

Five Card Draw with Deuces Wild

In this variation of Jacks or Better, the four deuces (twos) are wild cards. A deuce can be used as any card the holder needs to complete a hand. The highest hand type is Five of a Kind, which is better than a Straight Flush.

Except when making Five of a Kind, a wild card cannot be used to represent a card that is already present in a player's hand. The only case where this matters is when making a Flush, in which case if you have (for example) a natural ace, you cannot use a wild card as a second ace.

This variant is found mostly in home poker games and is usually played with the rule that players must declare their own hands (the cards do not 'speak for themselves' - see poker betting and showdown for details).

It is equally possible to play with any other set of cards wild as agreed by the players, or as specified by the dealer in a dealer's choice game. For example you one can play with fives wild, or with one-eyed jacks wild.

Wild Widow

This five-card draw variation is similar to deuces wild except that the wild card is determined during the deal rather than specified in advance. This is done by dealing a card dealt face up to the table, usually after the fourth card has been dealt to each player. The other three cards of the same rank as the face up card are wild.

Diablo

This is a five-card draw in which deuces are wild and players are not allowed to draw more than two cards. There is an extra rule that the player who opens (makes the first bet) must either win the pot or match it. In other words, if the pot is won by a player other than the opener, the opener must pay to create a new pot equal to the pot was just won. The deal then passes to the left (with no new antes) and the game is played for this new pot. This continues until a hand is played in which the opener wins the pot.

If this variant is played in a dealer's choice game, it continues until the opener wins the pot, after which the deal passes to the player to the left of the player who called Diablo, who can then select another game. To avoid the pot becoming too large, some groups may prefer to put a fixed limit on the size of the new pot that the opener must create after failing to win.

Jacks Back

This variation of Jacks or Better works well for smaller groups, say 3 to 5 players, in which case there will be many deals on which no one can open.

The game begins like Five Card Draw. Five cards are dealt to each player and there is a betting round, in which Jacks or Better are required to open. If someone opens the betting the game proceeds exactly like normal Five Card Draw, and in a showdown the highest hand wins the pot.

If no one opens in the first betting round the cards are not thrown in. Instead the players keep their cards and the game changes to Ace-to-five Lowball, and there is a new betting round begun by the player to dealer's left. Provided that the betting is opened in this new betting round, the players then have the chance to draw with the aim of making a low hand. After the draw there is another betting round, begun by the first active player to dealer's left. If more than one player stays in there is a showdown in which the lowest poker hand wins. Aces are low and straights and flushes do not count, so the best hand is A-2-3-4-5 (a 'bicycle'). A-A-2-3-4 is a pair, so it is worse than any hand without a pair, but better than any other pair since aces are low.

It may happen that no one opens in the first betting round, and then after the game changes to Lowball everyone checks again. In this case the cards are thrown in and the turn to deal passes to the left.

To avoid the possibility that a hand is thrown in, some clubs have a rule that when the game changes to Lowball the player to dealer's left must place a 'blind' bet, and the betting round begins with the next player to the left. The player who placed the blind may raise after everyone else has acted even if no one did more than call. The betting round after the draw is begun by the first active player to dealer's left as usual.

Some play that check-raising is not allowed in the Lowball part of this game, and also apply the betting sevens rule as for California Lowball.

Jacks Back is often played with a joker, which acts as a bug for high hands. When the game is played for low, the joker is known as a fitter, and it represents the lowest card not already present in the player's hand. Other forms of Lowball Draw Poker are described on the Lowball page.

All for One and One for All

In this game the drawing and betting can continue until the deck is all but exhausted.

Antes are placed and five cards are dealt face down to each player. There is a betting round.

Now there is a drawing round. Each active player, beginning to dealer's left, can either:

1. stand pat, or
2. discard one card face down and receive a replacement, or
3. discard all five cards face down and receive a new five-card hand.

The drawing round is followed by another betting round.

This process is repeated: there is a series of drawing rounds, each begun by the player to the left of the one who began the previous drawing round. Each drawing round is followed by a betting round.

There are restrictions to ensure that the cards do not run out:

1. A player is not allowed to exchange all five cards if this would not leave enough cards for all remaining active players in the current drawing round to exchange one.
2. If after a betting round there are fewer cards remaining in the deck than there are active players, there is no more drawing, but a showdown in which the highest hand wins the pot.

Basic Draw Poker Rules For Beginners

32-Card Poker

Sometimes known as Stripped Deck Poker, this version of Five Card Draw is popular in Southern Europe. The 32-card deck consists of cards from Ace (high) to Seven (low) in each suit. The main differences from normal Five Card Draw are as follows:

• Because a flush is harder to make than with a 52-card pack, it ranks above a full house and below four of a kind.
• When used as a low card, Ace is adjacent to Seven, so A-7-8-9-10 is a low straight (or straight flush).
• There is a ranking of suits, usually hearts (highest), diamonds, clubs, spades (lowest). When hands are otherwise equal, the suit of the highest card in the combination is compared. For example when two players have equal pairs with equal kickers, the pair containing the heart will win (the suits of the kickers don't count).
• The maximum number of players is five: usually there are four players or fewer.

Variants

The four-player versions of Italian Poker and Turkish Poker are forms of 32-card poker with some special rules.

The following variant is found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and perhaps other places. A player who asks to exchange four cards discards four and is first dealt three cards face down to look at. Then the dealer deals one card face up and one face down, and the player must choose which of these to take as the fourth card. If the face up card is chosen the face down card is discarded unseen.

Seven Card Draw Poker

Basic Draw Poker Rules How To Play

This variant is not widespread but it is played to a minor extent in the Netherlands. It is seen as a novelty game with a greater element of risk than 5 card draw, in that players have a better chance to make a high ranking combination. Because of the larger number of cards dealt, this game does not work well with more than four players.

Before the deal, the player to dealer's left places a small blind, and the next player to the left a big blind. The size of the blinds is agreed in advance - the small blind should be half the value of the big blind. The dealer then deals seven cards to each player and there is a first round of betting beginning to the left of the big blind.

After the betting round each surviving player in turn, beginning to the left of the player who placed the big blind, has one opportunity to discard from zero to four cards and obtain replacements from the dealer. If the deck runs out during this process, the cards already discarded are shuffled to a make new deck from which replacement cards can be dealt to the remaining player(s).

After everyone has had a chance to exchange there is a second betting round beginning with the player to dealer's left. As usual, it is possible just to check, but if anyone wishes to bet, the minimum is twice the amount of the final bet in the first betting round (twice the big blind if no one raised in the first round).

In the showdown, each surviving player discards two cards and keeps five. The best five-card poker hand wins the pot.

Basic Poker Rules 5 Card Draw

Variant: this game is often played with an ante placed by all players, in addition to the small and large blinds.

Draw Poker Basic Rules

Rules of Seven Card Draw Poker in Dutch are available on the Pokeren Online site.