Five Card Draw Rules

The object of the game is to win the pot, either by holding the best five-card hand at showdown or by making a bet that no other player calls.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings. Suits have no rank.

1.2(a) Some cardrooms, particularly in California, add a single joker known as the bug. The bug may be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight or flush. Where the bug is in play, five aces is the highest hand. A game with the bug shall say so on the table or in the posted rules.

Every player's hand consists of the five cards they hold. There are no community cards and no cards are dealt face up.

Between two and seven players may take part. Six is a comfortable maximum. With more players, the deck is more likely to run short during the draw (see 4.8).

A dealer button marks the nominal dealer. The button moves one seat clockwise after each hand. In home games without a house dealer, the player on the button deals.

Blind games. The player directly to the left of the button posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind. Blinds are live bets, and the big blind has the option to raise if no one else has, exactly as in Texas Hold'em.

Ante games. Every player puts an equal ante into the pot before the deal. Antes are dead money and do not count toward a player's bet.

A game may use both, for example blinds with a small ante from every player. The structure shall be fixed before the first hand and not changed mid-hand.

Starting with the player to the left of the button and moving clockwise, the dealer deals one card face down to each player at a time until every player has five cards.

Players may look at their own cards but shall not show them to other players during the hand.

The first betting round then begins:

3.3(a) In a blind game, the player to the left of the big blind acts first, and must call, raise or fold.

3.3(b) In an ante-only game, the player to the left of the button acts first, and may check or bet.

Action proceeds clockwise. Each player may check (if no bet has been made), bet, call, raise or fold. The round ends when every active player has either folded or put the same amount into the pot.

In fixed-limit draw, bets and raises before the draw are in the lower limit (the small bet), and bets and raises after the draw are in the upper limit (the big bet). Most cardrooms cap each round at one bet and three or four raises when three or more players are in the hand. See betting structures.

If all but one player folds, the remaining player wins the pot at once and does not show their cards.

After the first betting round, starting with the first active player to the left of the button and moving clockwise, each player in turn declares how many cards they wish to replace, discards that many face down, and receives the same number of cards from the top of the deck.

A player may discard and replace any number of cards from none to five. A player who keeps all five cards is said to stand pat, and may signal this by knocking on the table.

Limits on the number drawn. In cardroom play, a player may draw up to five cards. Some home games limit the draw, commonly to three cards, or to four cards only if the player shows that the card they keep is an ace. Such limits are house rules and shall be agreed before play begins.

A player shall draw in turn. A player who has been dealt replacement cards may not change the number drawn. If a player's discards have been accepted by the dealer but the cards not yet dealt, the player may still correct the number, provided no replacement card has been dealt to them or to the next player.

Discards shall be placed face down and are dead. A player may not retrieve a discard.

Many cardrooms burn one card before the first replacement card is dealt.

A card exposed by the dealer during the draw may not be taken by the player. It is placed with the discards and replaced. Venues differ on whether the replacement is dealt at once or after every other player has drawn.

Running out of cards. The last card of the deck is not dealt. If the remaining cards are not enough to complete the draw, the dealer gathers the discards, the burn card or cards and the last card, shuffles them, has them cut, and completes the draw from the new stack. The discards of the player currently drawing are not included.

Until there has been action after the draw, a player may ask how many cards an opponent drew, and the dealer or that opponent shall answer. The player who drew is not obliged to say anything else about their hand.

After the draw, a second betting round takes place. The first active player to the left of the button acts first, whether the game uses blinds or antes, and may check or bet.

If more than one player remains after the second betting round, there is a showdown. The last player to bet or raise on the final round shows first. If there was no bet, the first active player to the left of the button shows first.

The cards speak. Hands are read from the cards shown, whatever a player declares. A player who miscalls their own hand does not lose a pot their cards win, but should hold their cards until the pot is awarded.

Hands of the same rank are compared card by card on all five cards. If both hands are identical in rank, the pot is split equally. Suits are never used to break a tie.

When a pot cannot be split evenly, the odd chip goes to the first player in the tied hand to the left of the button.

Every player antes. There are no blinds. The first player to the left of the button acts first.

Opening requirement. The first bet before the draw, the opening bet, may be made only by a player holding a pair of jacks or better. Any hand that beats a pair of jacks qualifies, including a low two pair such as threes and twos. Four-card straights and flushes do not qualify.

Until the pot is opened, each player in turn may only check or open. A player who holds openers may check and still call or raise later if another player opens.

Once the pot is opened, any player may call or raise, whatever their cards. Only the opener needs a qualifying hand.

If no player opens, the cards are gathered and a new hand is dealt. The antes stay in the pot, and in most games every player antes again. A pot carried forward in this way is sometimes called a passed pot.

Splitting openers. The opener may discard part of the opening hand in order to draw to a better one, for example throwing a jack from a pair of jacks to draw to a straight flush. A player who splits openers shall announce it and keep the discarded card or cards separate, face down under a chip or in the dealer's care, so that the openers can be proved.

Proving openers. The opener shall show the opening hand to prove it qualified, whether or not the opener wins. An opener who wins without a call must still show openers. An opener who folds after the draw shall keep the cards needed to prove openers, and the dealer shall check them before they are mixed with the discards.

False openers. A player who opens without a qualifying hand has a dead hand and cannot win the pot. Any chips the player has put in remain in the pot. If other players have stayed in, the pot is played out among them. If not, the pot carries forward to the next deal. Cardroom rules on false openers vary in detail and should be posted.

A misdeal is declared, and the hand redealt, if the first or second card of the deal is exposed by the dealer, if two or more cards are exposed during the deal, or if a player is dealt the wrong number of cards and this is discovered before the first betting round is substantially under way.

A single card exposed by the dealer during the initial deal, other than the first or second card, is replaced after the deal is complete and the exposed card is placed among the discards.

A player with more or fewer than five cards at showdown has a dead hand.

A player who draws out of turn is responsible for the error. If the dealer has not yet dealt replacement cards, the action may be corrected; once cards have been dealt, the floor decides the fairest remedy.

Players are responsible for protecting their own hand. A hand that touches the discards and cannot be clearly identified is dead.