Poker for Beginners – 5 Card Draw

5 Card Draw Poker is just about the most legendary form of the game and although it has largely been replaced by stud and Hold’em formats of the game, it still features at some live events and can be played online at certain poker sites.

In essence this is the easiest form of the game to learn, though it still posses a number of strategic and tactical challenges. On http://www.onlinevideopoker.com people can easily learn video poker in order to get a feeling for the game.

As in other forms of poker, the dealer is on the button. Small and big blind bets are posted by the two players on the left of the dealer in order followed by each player being dealt five face-down cards. Betting proceeds as in poker variants such as Hold’em.

Once betting has been completed each player has the option of changing his or her cards. This round is known as the draw. A player may choose to change none of his cards, all of them, or any number of them. Play proceeds from the player to the immediate left of the dealer and in a clockwise fashion. Cards are discarded face down and are replaced from the top of the deck.

There is just one more round of betting before moving on to the showdown between remaining players. It is important to stick to the correct showdown order as losing players may wish not to reveal their cards. The last person to raise should be the first to show his or her cards. If nobody placed any bets after the draw, then the first person to show their cards should be the one on the immediate left of the dealer. Rankings are as in all normal poker types and the card’s suits do not play a part.

The biggest challenge in 5 Card Draw is deciding which and how many cards to exchange. This is a game where bluffing is often crucial to success as nobody sees any cards until the showdown. Often beginners make the mistake of not exchanging any of their cards in an attempt to fool the other players into thinking they have a very strong hand. Please don’t bother with this trick – it rarely works except of course when you really do have the nuts.