Learning the Basics of Poker:

Poker has become one of the most popular card games in casinos all over the world. However or wherever the game is played, it all started with Five Card Draw. If you have plans of joining a game soon, it would be best to have a firm foundation of the original game.

Five Card Draw

As with all poker games, Five Card Draw does not start until all players have placed their bets or ‘anted up.’ After the bets are in, the dealer distributes five cards, face down, to each player. In Five Card Draw Poker, no one is allowed to see other players’ cards until the hand is done – which means no one really knows how good or bad the other players’ cards are.

Going in a clockwise direction, the player next to the dealer bets, checks (doesn’t bet but he remains in the game) or folds (he gives his hand up and turns in his cards, face down). If this player bets, the next player to his left cannot check. This means he only has the option of calling (betting the same amount), raising (increasing his bet and the size of the pot) or folding. The betting goes around the table and all players are given the opportunity to call, raise, or fold.

The Draw

After everybody has made his move, the players who haven’t folded have the option of discarding one to four of the cards they’re holding and replacing these with new cards. The player to the left of the dealer draws first or takes replacement cards for his discarded cards and the other players take their turn after that.

Drawing new cards is simple. Simply select the cards you don’t want, hand them to the dealer and state how many cards you’re asking for. Bear in mind, however, that you can only ask for as many cards as you discard.

The Fun Begins

This is where the fun begins. You’ve made bets, been dealt cards and are about to discard and replace cards – all without knowing what the other players are holding. You have absolutely no information to draw on – except the so-called ‘tells’ (are your opponents exhibiting nervous tics, mannerisms or a total lack of such), the bets they’ve made (which ones raised – and raised again?), and the number of cards held – or discarded and replaced. You won’t know anything for sure, until the hand is played and the cards shown.

Very few people ask for replacement of four cards – an opponent who does that would probably be holding on to an Ace. Given the probabilities, you and the others would be hedging your bets and call for one to three card replacements. You can also choose not to replace any of your cards.

The objective in poker is to get the others at the table to fold even before the cards are revealed. This is done through an ingenious combination of strategy, strong betting/raising and a ‘poker face.’

When everyone has drawn their cards, the final round of betting begins with the player who started the previous betting cycle taking on the same role. The end of the betting round signals the end of the hand – if more than one player is still playing, this is the time the cards are laid face up on the table, and the dealer determines the winner.