Draw poker is the variation most people think of as a game of poker. Draw poker
tends to be predictable when skillfully played, and is much more popular in
people’s homes than casinos. A game may comprise anywhere from 2 to 8
participants.
The standard game of draw poker is known as Five Card Draw. In Five Card
Draw, each player is dealt a hand of five cards. Everyone antes up a prescribed
amount, and the first round of betting starts. Play starts with the first
person to the left of the dealer. Each round the active player may check,
call, fold, or raise; they can also exchange cards from their hand with
remaining cards from the deck. In most home games, there is a limit to
the number of cards which can be exchanged, usually three. The first card
at the top of the deck, also known as the deck stub, is known as the burn
card, and it is discarded at the beginning of every hand. Play continues
for typically anywhere from 2 to 5 rounds. Using just one round, or more
than 5, decreases the skill involved in the game.
A common house rule, is to not use the bottom card in the deck stub as
a replacement. This is in case anyone saw the card while the dealer was
shuffling.
If the deck stub becomes exhausted, it is typical to randomly draw replacement
cards from the discarded cards of the other players; because of this,
the discarded cards should remain face down.
