Five Card Draw Poker
Long before there was hold’em, Omaha and all the rest of the poker games played today, there was the granddaddy of them all – five card draw poker. This game which was the genesis of modern day poker has fallen out of favour for the more action packed versions. Draw poker has no exposed cards and there are only two rounds of betting, one before the draw and one after. Each player is dealt five concealed cards and then will have the opportunity to replace (called the draw) up to three cards to improve his hand. There are many versions of five card draw poker including: with a joker using a fifty three card deck, high and low, no openers required and Jacks or better to open. This discussion will focus on the best known version, Jacks or better to open using a fifty two card deck, with the highest hand winning at the show down.
Please note: It is assumed you are familiar with the basic rules of poker as we won’t be explaining all the terms in this lesson. If you’re a total beginner to poker then please see the “Basic Rules of Poker” lesson from the beginner level of our hold’em course.
The Basic Rules of Five Card Draw Poker
Starting with the first player to the left of the dealer, a player needs to hold at least a pair of Jacks in order to qualify to open the pot. Players also are allowed to split openers but need to announce that is what they are doing and put the discarded card on the side to prove they did have openers at the end of the hand. This might occur when the opener has a pair of Jacks and four of a suit and elects to draw to the possible flush. If no one has the minimum to open the pot, then the cards are re-dealt until someone can open. When someone opens each player has the opportunity to fold, call or raise and does not need to have openers to participate. Normally each player has the opportunity to draw up to three new cards or stand pat with his original five cards. Another round of betting takes place resulting in a showdown with the highest poker hand winning. The game can become one of much dealing coupled with infrequent confrontations involving significant pots, hence the main reason it has lost favor to more exciting forms of poker.
Recommended Opening Values by Position
As in all forms of poker, position is important. Once the pot is opened, the player under the gun must act first and, in essence, “describe” his hand by his draw. If, for example, he draws three cards he is “announcing” to the rest of the table that he has one pair versus if he draws two cards, he is leading opponents to believe he has three of a kind. While this can add some deception to your play it is normally recommended to draw appropriately to your hand values to maximize your potential improvement. If a late position opener had a pair of Aces which contained a four flush, he would have the opportunity to adjust his draw to that of his opponents.
Early Position
With a minimum of Aces or Kings you can open from any position even under the gun. With either of these premium pairs you figure to have the best starting hand. A word of caution – if your opening bet is raised, you are probably behind to two pair, trips or a made hand. Calling is usually in order and the key to what you may be up against is the number of cards your opponent draws.
Middle Position
Now a minimum of Queens would be an acceptable hand with which to open the pot.
Late Position
In late position opening with the minimum of Jacks is acceptable. Notice the corollary to this is that if the pot is opened in early position by a solid player, Jacks should now be folded in late position. Another caution would be if you have opened in late position with Jacks and are now raised pre-draw it would indicate trouble. We call this move slow playing but back in the day it was called sandbagging and would incense some opponents.
The main reason that it is not recommended to open pots with Jacks in early to middle position is that it is better than even money that if you do, there is another opening hand behind you that is superior. The flip side of this caveat is that if you do pass with your Jacks in early position, there is a 37 percent chance of no one opening, meaning you could have won the antes in an uncontested pot. Don’t let this fact persuade you to open with weak values, as the risk of holding what is already an under pair and possibly facing a raise makes this play a loser in the long run.
Five Card Draw Odds (The Odds of Improving)
When Drawing Three Cards to One Pair:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Any improvement | 28.5 | 2.5-1 |
| Making two pair | 16.6 | 5-1 |
| Making three of a kind | 11.11 | 8-1 |
| Making a full house | 1.02 | 97-1 |
| Making four of a kind | 0.27 | 359-1 |
When Drawing Two Cards to a Pair and a Kicker:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Any improvement | 25.0 | 3-1 |
| Making two pair | 16.6 | 5-1 |
| Making three of a kind | 7.69 | 12-1 |
| Making a full house | 0.83 | 119-1 |
| Making four of a kind | 0.09 | 1,080-1 |
When Drawing Two Cards to Three of a Kind:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Any improvement | 10.52 | 8.5-1 |
| Making a full house | 6.06 | 15.5-1 |
| Making four of a kind | 4.25 | 22.5-1 |
When Drawing One Card to Three of a Kind Plus a Kicker:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Any improvement | 8.33 | 11-1 |
| Making a full house | 6.25 | 15-1 |
| Making four of a kind | 2.12 | 46-1 |
When Drawing One Card to Fill in a Four Card Straight:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Filling and inside or gut shot straight | 8.33 | 11-1 |
| Filling an open ended straight | 16.6 | 5-1 |
When Drawing to Fill in Three and Four Flushes:
| The Odds Against… | Percent % | The Odds |
| Filling in a four flush when drawing one card | 18.18 | 4.5-1 |
| Filling in a three flush when drawing two cards | 4.16 | 23-1* |
* This draw is included for completeness but is not a recommended action.
Five Card Draw Strategy Tips
Having overviewed appropriate opening hand values by position and taken a look at the drawing odds, let’s now move to some key strategic concepts to help you excel at Jacks or better draw poker. Since there are only two rounds of betting you need to make the most of them. There are two main ways to mislead your opponents: one is by how you bet and the other is masking the true strength of your hand by how many cards you draw.
- If you have no need to disguise your hand then you should draw the maximum number of cards to enhance your odds of improvement.
- If you desire to disguise your holding for strategic purposes, you may draw a different number of cards. As an example, if you hold three of a kind, instead of drawing two cards you might draw one. Your hand now looks as if you have two pair or a four card draw to a straight or flush. In fact, the odds that you will draw to a full house are actually slightly enhanced with this move. Of course your chance to draw quads sky rockets. See the above tables.
- Don’t bet into a one card draw without a made hand. Your trips might beat your opponent’s unimproved two pair but usually you will only get called or even raised by a superior hand. Check and call to snap off a bluff on occasion.
- Don’t try to outdraw the opener. This is obvious but often ignored by players that have too much gamble in them. It’s an uphill struggle that is usually lost. Save your chips for a better spot.
- If the pot is already opened, raise with any two pairs. However, if your two pair is Queens up or better and you have players behind you to act then slow play.
While all old timers who have been playing poker for decades remember draw poker well, many of the young newcomers are not familiar with it as it is rarely played in public games these days. Learning the game will give one the necessary underpinnings of a good poker education relative to strategic concepts and odds that apply to all forms of poker. Understanding this game will also be of benefit when you find yourself sitting at a Jacks or better draw poker machine on your next trip to Las Vegas.