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5-Card Draw Poker Rules

If you’ve ever seen poker on movies or TV, it’s most likely 5-Card Draw Poker. Out of all the card games, it’s the simplest and the first one that new players learn. You can also find Bitcoin poker strategies while learning 5-Card Draw poker rules. If you have trouble remembering all the 5-Card Draw poker rules, here’s a refresher.

Rules of Five Card Draw Poker

5-Card Draw poker rules are simple to follow. You use a standard deck of playing cards. In one game, up to eight players can play. When you’re reaching seven or more players though, you can run out of cards. Six is the sweet spot of this game.  You can win the pot in two ways:

  1. Have the best five card poker hand
  2. Force everyone else to fold

Everyone’s given five cards. You can also opt to exchange some of the cards. One game can have two betting rounds. But if everyone except one player folds, the hand can end.

It’s easier to follow the 5-Card Draw poker rules if you know the rankings of each hand. The best hand you can have is a royal flush, and the lowest rank is the high card.

Blinds or Antes

Before playing a 5-Card Draw, you need to know if you’ll be using blinds or antes. Choosing to play with antes means you’ll pay a forced bet when each hand starts. Choose blinds, the player sitting to the dealer’s left pays a forced bet. That’s the “small blind.” If you’re sitting on their left, you pay the “big blind.”

Then everyone needs to agree with the size of the ante or the bet. After the big blind, the first player can choose: fold, call or raise. From there, the action continues clockwise.

After the first betting round next is the draw. If there are any cards you want to discard, choose them now. Everyone discards their cards going clockwise. Then the second betting round begins.

Besides the 5-Card Draw poker rules, knowing the sequence helps. It’ll give you the clues you need to understand and play poker with Bitcoin quickly.

Game Sequence

  1. Everyone is dealt 5 cards
  2. The first round of betting. If you’re to the left of the big blind, you start.
  3. Draw
  4. The second round of betting. It starts with the first active player to the left of the button.
  5. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

If the draw pile thins out before the game ends, you can reshuffle the cards and continue playing. Armed with practice and knowledge of the 5-Card Draw poker rules, you’ll be ready to grab the pot in no time.