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| Draw Poker - The Theme |
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The Theme
The basic premise behind Draw Poker is that all cards are dealt face-down to players, who have the option to change a certain number of the cards dealt to them for new cards from the deck. For many, this is the first style of poker learned, typically from Five Card Draw. In Five Card Draw, five cards are dealt to each player and in sequence, each has the option to exchange for new cards from the deck. Players are obviously trying to improve the state of their hand by discarding those cards that add the least value.
The typical structure of a Draw Poker game is that cards are dealt to each player, followed by a betting round. Those players that get through the betting round are allowed a draw of cards from the deck. The draw is followed by another betting round, and then, showdown. Some players are accustomed to a draw before the first betting round. It is however preferable to have a betting round before the draw so that players must first pay the price to get to the draw.
The dealer calling the game will typically determine how many cards each player is allowed to draw. When making this decision, the dealer needs to ensure that there are enough cards in the deck to allow each player their maximum draw.
The dealer may call more than one draw. For example, five card draw with two draws of two cards. This would mean that players are going to have two opportunities to exchange as many as two cards with new ones from the deck. An additional draw round means an additional betting round. In this case, there would be three betting rounds: one before the first draw, one in between the two draws, and the last after the second draw.
The number of cards that a player takes on the draw should also be used as one predictor of the player's hand. A player taking one card, for example, likely has two pairs, or four cards to a straight or flush.
The features that follow can be added to any Draw Poker game, including regular old Five Card Draw. Each is a variant on the game, thus creating a new game. Through experience, you will find which features (if any) best suit the games most often played at your table.
Roll Your Own
Draw Poker games are popular with wild cards, determined in advance by the dealer. This variant allows players to determine what card they want to have wild in their hand. Obviously, if they have two or three cards that match, they will determine that that card is wild in their hand. Or, one low card and a pair of Aces becomes three Aces.
Pay For Your Draw
This is a feature that can be used to build the pot of any Draw Poker game. The dealer attaches a 'price' to drawing a card. For example, the dealer determines that it costs one dollar for each card that a player wants to draw. A player drawing three cards would have to put three dollars into the pot on top of the amount accumulated from betting.
Leg Poker
This feature is more like two games in one. Most commonly played as double-legged poker, this variation requires that a player win the game twice before he can collect the pot. The game plays as it normally would, except that when a player wins with the best hand, that player does not yet collect the pot. Instead, that players has earned a leg towards winning the pot. The pot remains in the center of the table, and the same game is dealt again, complete with betting rounds. The first player to win two legs wins the giant pot. A Three-Legged Race is triple-legged poker, where a player must win three legs before claiming the pot.
High / Low
This feature is 'split-pot poker', where the pot is split between TWO winning players. In High/Low, the pot is split between the player that has the best hand at the table, and the player that has the worst hand at the table.
Lowball
This is 'all-low poker'. The worst hand at the table wins the pot. It is especially challenging in Draw Poker, where you may draw higher cards than the ones you threw away, or where you may accidentally pair up with one of the cards in your hand.
Roll 'Em
This is a feature that can be used to increase the number of betting rounds in a Draw Poker game. When players 'roll' their cards, they reveal them from their hand ONE CARD AT A TIME. After each player has shown a card from their hand to the rest of the table, a betting round follows opened by the player with the best hand showing. Players reveal their cards simultaneously so that there is no advantage gained. In this way, it is a Draw game being played like a Stud game.
New York Draw
Made popular by John Scarne, in this game, an outside straight, that is four cards in numerical sequence without break, beats a pair but loses to two pairs. This variant offers (or is meant to offer) more reason to chase a straight.
Canadian Draw
This game plays the same as New York Draw, on top of which a fourflush, that is four of your five cards are of the same suit, beats an outside straight but loses to two pairs. Therefore, the hierarchy of hands in this game is Pair, Outside Straight, Fourflush, Two Pairs. Evidently, Scarne believed that people in Canada play poker like this.
Spanish Draw
This variation, which can be added to any poker game, means that all Twos to Sixes are removed from the deck. That means twenty cards out of play, and 32 cards remaining. Everything otherwise plays the same.
With A Qualifier
When a qualifier is added to a Draw Poker game, it means that for a player to open the betting round before the draw, that player must have a hand of minimum value determined by the dealer. For example, if the dealer determines that a pair of Jacks or better are required for a player to open the first betting round, then the player wishing to bet must show the other players at the table the cards from his hand that meet the qualifier. That player then returns the cards to his hand and opens the betting round. The betting round is followed by the draw. If no player has the qualifier, then nobody can open the first betting round, in which case the game is 'reset'. That is, all cards are re-dealt and all players must 're-ante'. This continues until somebody has the qualifier to open the first betting round.
With The Bug
This is a feature usually used for the entire night. In it, one Joker is put into the deck. That Joker is called 'the bug', but it has limited wild card value. It can only be used to complete a Straight or a Flush. Otherwise, it has no value. This would be stipulated as opposed to tables that play with Jokers as wild cards that have no limited wild card value and can be designated as any card to complete any hand.
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