Why should you learn how to play 5 Card Poker? The answer is fairly simple. Learning the rules and basics of 5 Card Poker not only gives you a grounding in a popular game, it sets you up for success in other variants of poker, including Texas Hold’em.
If your goal is to become a strong all-round poker player, there are certain things you must know about 5 Card Draw. If you know how to play 3 card poker, you still need to learn this variation, as there are differences.
What is 5 Card Poker Online
5 card poker, which is also known as 5 card draw, is a classic poker variant where every player gets 5 cards. You make hands by holding cards and exchanging them with the dealer. It is different from community card games like what you’re used to in Texas Hold’em, or even if you’ve learnt how to play Omaha.
The aspect of no community cards can be different and challenging if you are more used to Texas Hold’em. That wrinkle of the game creates different strategies. It would be wise to learn about those wrinkles as you continue to read this article before starting to play 5 card poker on offshore poker sites.
History of 5 Card Poker
The history of 5 card poker is somewhat complicated to trace. There are threads that trace it back to Mississippi in the late 19th century, while others go as far back as the mid 1800s in the old American west.
5 card poker really began to spread in the 1870s and 1880s in the “Wild West” and became a staple in poker. For a long time, five card draw was the game synonymous with “poker” and was often the first game that people would teach to others.
5 Card Poker Rules
5 Card Poker rules are not complicated and can be understood quickly. Each hand starts with two players putting in forced bets known as antes or blinds.
Some rare 5 Card Draw rules require everyone to put in an ante before any cards are dealt, but it is more common for two people to put in antes called the small blind and big blind.
Once the antes have been posted, everyone receives five cards face down, known as hole cards. They are only visible to the players who they have been dealt to.
You can look at your hand and assess your situation at this point and then make one of the following moves:
- Fold: give up the hand
- Call: match the current largest bet
- Raise: increase the size of the current bet
Once everyone gets a chance to act, one of these two things will happen:
- A player raises, and no one calls. This player wins the pot without a showdown.
- At least two players match the current biggest bet and the hand continues on.
If two or more players remain active in the hand, they can make one of two moves:
- Stand Pat: keep all 5 of their cards
- Draw: discard any number of cards and exchange them for new ones
Anyone who draws gets their cards before a second betting round takes place. If two or more players continue after the draw, then the cards are shown which is known as a “showdown”
The winner of a 5 Card Draw showdown has the highest-ranking hand, which will be explained soon. This process is the very foundation of knowing how to play 5 card poker.
5 Card Poker Hands – Poker Hand Rankings
The standard hand rankings of poker fit into 5 card poker perfectly as they are the same in 5 card poker as many other poker games such as Texas Hold’em. Here is an easy look at how the different hand stack up:
| Poker Hand Rankings | Example |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠ |
| Straight Flush | Q♦J♦10♦9♦8♦ |
| Four of a Kind | 7♣7♠7♦7♥K♣ |
| Full House | J♦J♣J♠5♣5♥ |
| Flush | K♣J♣9♣4♣3♣ |
| Straight | 9♦8♣7♠6♥5♦ |
| Three of a Kind | A♣A♠A♦7♣6♥ |
| Two Pair | Q♦Q♣8♥8♠5♥ |
| One Pair | 10♠10♣8♠6♣2♥ |
| High Card | A♥K♣9♠7♦3♣ |
One of the interesting aspects of 5 card poker hand rankings, as you can see in our poker cheat sheet vs other variants, is that you will be using all five cards in your hand to make your best hand. In other variants like stud or Texas Hold’em, there are seven cards in your completed hand and you use the five best, but in 5 card poker there are no cards that you do not use.
How to Play 5 Card Poker Online
In order to play 5 card poker successfully online you must understand not only how to play 5 card poker but also how a typical hand plays out.
Here is an example of a 5 card poker hand in a simulated cash game:
Game: 5 Card Draw
Stakes: $1/$2
Number of Players: 5
The Initial Deal
- Seat 1: posts the $1 small blind and receives 5 cards
- Seat 2: posts the $2 big blind and receives 5 cards
- Seat 3: receives 5 cards
- Seat 4: receives 5 cards
- Seat 5: receives 5 cards
First Betting Round – Action starts with Seat 3
- Seat 3 folds
- Seat 4 calls the $2 big blind
- Seat 5 folds
- Seat 1 calls the big blind by putting in $1 more
- Seat 2 checks
The Draw – Action starts with Seat 1
- Seat 1 draws 1 card
- Seat 2 draws 2 cards
- Seat 4 draws 1 card
Second Betting Round – Action starts with Seat 1
- Seat 1 bets $4
- Seat 2 folds
- Seat 4 raises to $8
- Seat 1 calls the extra $4
Showdown
- Seat 1 shows: J♦J♥9♠9♣3♦ (two pair)
- Seat 4 shows: 8♣7♠6♠5♦4♦ (straight)
- Seat 4 wins the pot
5 Card Poker Strategy
It is important to know how to play 5 card poker outside of just hand rankings and rules. You must utilize strategy as well in order to be successful. Knowing a few basic strategy guidelines will help you as you start to play 5 card poker online:
Play a Tight Range
Hand selection is a key aspect of all poker variants and the same applies when learning how to play 5 card poker. You do not want to overplay and throw your money away chasing unlikely hands with bad cards. You can learn all about poker hand ranges with our guide.
A good starting point in 5 card poker is a hand that includes at least a pair. Not the greatest hand on it’s own but it can be a good starting point to try and make three of a kind or even a full house.
Outside of a pair, if your hand contains at least four cards to a flush or a straight then it is a hand worth going for because of the strength of a completed flush or straight. Do not chase flushes or straights if you have just three cards making up what is needed as the odds of receiving the two cards needed are very slim.
Know Your Position
Just like other variants of poker like Texas Hold’em, position is key. You can play a wider range and be more aggressive in later position vs in early position. Being in late position gives you more information as to what you are up against.
Another advantage of being in late position is facing fewer opponents and being able to assess their play based on the amount of cards they discard or keep.
Know Which Cards to Discard
Something that makes 5 card poker different from is the feature of discarding cards which is not something that you deal with in other poker variants. One basic thing to keep as a general rule is to discard as few cards as you can. If you are in a position where you are discarding three or more cards, then you should probably just fold instead.
Knowing which cards to discard is the next step. Let’s say you are dealt four cards to a flush, 4 diamonds, you would discard the one card that is not a diamond in hope of being dealt a 5th diamond.
It is also important to try and assess what your opponent is drawing to as well. If they draw just one card, they are likely drawing to a big hand like a straight, flush or full house. If they draw two or more, they could just be holding on to a pair or something weaker.
Other Variants of 5 Card Poker
There are several other variants of 5 card poker and they will be touched on just briefly here.
Ace to five lowball
This variant of five card poker is the opposite of five card draw in terms of hand rankings. In this game, the lowest value hand wins and not the highest hand. Straight and flushes are ignored and the ace plays as a low card. So the strongest hand possible is A-2-3-4-5.
2-7 lowball draw
This variant is the most popular of the five card variants and is often regarded as a game of high skill. The lowest hand value wins the pot just like ace to five but it differs significantly in other ways.
The ace plays as a high card and straights and flushes do count, so you do not want to make those when trying to get the best hand. The best hand in this game is 2-3-4-5-7, non flush. It is the lowest hand and also unconnected.
Both 2-7 no limit lowball draw draw and 2-7 triple draw are both high-profile bracelet events at the World Series of Poker. The two games make up four bracelets and are both played at the $1,500 and $10,000 buy-in level.
Advantages of 5 Card Poker vs Other Variants
There are a few reasons why you should learn how to play 5 card poker and jump into this variant. It is the simplest form of poker to master if you are completely new to poker. It is the game that many players have started out on.
There is less betting pressure in 5 card poker than many other variants. There are fewer betting rounds which means you have a bit more freedom to focus on the poker aspects rather than always worrying about your stack, which can be daunting for a new player.
At the end of the day, the main benefit of 5 card poker is that you can focus on the fundamentals of making strong hands. There is overall less focus on the betting compared to Texas Hold’em where betting is a whole concept to master on its own. 5 card poker mastery can lead you to become a very strong overall poker player.
Conclusion
Overall 5 card poker is a great and classic variant of poker that is well worth your time to learn how to play. The history of the game proves that it has stood the test of time and remains a loved game in the lore of poker overall. The simplicity keeps it as a great game for newbies to learn first.