Six Card Draw Rules

Six Card Draw was devised by Jeff Cross and published on pagat.com. Except where these rules say otherwise, it follows the rules of Five Card Draw.

Between two and eight players may take part.

The game uses two standard 52-card decks shuffled together, a total of 104 cards. There are no jokers and no wild cards.

A player's hand is all six cards they hold. The object is to win the pot, either with the best six-card hand at showdown or by making a bet that no other player calls.

Each player antes, and the dealer deals six cards face down to each player, one at a time, clockwise from the dealer's left.

There is a round of betting, as in Five Card Draw.

Each active player in turn may discard up to five cards and receive the same number of replacements from the deck.

A player who wishes to replace all six cards shall first pay a further ante into the pot.

After the draw there is a second round of betting, followed by the showdown.

Hands are ranked by the table above. Note that a six-card flush and a six-card straight both rank above four of a kind, and three pair ranks above a full house.

Identical cards. Because two decks are used, a player may hold two cards of the same rank and suit. When two hands would otherwise tie, a pair made of two identical cards beats a pair of the same rank in different suits.

The source does not give a full tie-break procedure for hands of the same type. The usual practice is to compare the most important group first (for example, the rank of the four in a four-and-two), then the remaining cards from highest to lowest. The source also does not say whether an ace may count low in a straight (A-2-3-4-5-6). Both points shall be agreed before play.

If more than one player remains after the second betting round, the remaining players show their hands and the best six-card hand wins the pot.

If all but one player folds at any point, the remaining player wins the pot without showing.

Hands that are still exactly equal after applying 3.2 and 3.3 split the pot.

The game may also be played with a single 52-card deck. Six of a kind and five of a kind are then impossible, and the identical-card rule (3.2) does not apply. A group that plays both versions may keep the same ranking for both, so that players need learn only one order.