How to Play 5 Card Poker

When people are initially learning how to play poker games, 5 Card Draw is the game many players start with. Why is 5 Card Poker so popular? 

5 Card Draw is popular because it features the same winning hands as traditional Poker variations, but since 5 Card Draw Poker user fewer cards, the game is faster and a bit easier to start playing.

Recently online card sites have seen a rise in popularity of 5 Card Poker games, but home-based poker players have been enjoying 5 Card Poker games for many decades and, soon, you too can join the fun. 

How to Play 5 Card Poker

Before we outline How To Play 5 Card Draw, it may be helpful to reference the winning hands by reviewing our article, How to Play Poker for Beginners.

in 5 Card Draw Poker, each player antes up in order to start the game. The amount of the ante is either determined by the group of players’ consensus, or by the two players sitting next to the dealer.

Play begins and each player is dealt 5 cards. Cards are dealt face down, so players see only their own cards. 

Betting in 5 Card Poker

Following the deal, players have a chance to place bets. At this point, a player can choose to Check (pass), Raise, (increase bets so that you are raising another player’s wager), Call (match bets from other players), or Fold (quit).

Next each player specifies if they want to discard any of their existing cards, and if so, how many. Each discarded card is replaced with a new card from the dealer.

For example, in 5 Card Poker, you may choose to discard two of your original five cards, and the dealer would then deal you two new cards from the deck. 

If you are happy with your original five cards you were dealt, then you can choose not to take any new cards. 

5 Card Poker Showdown

At this point, any remaining players will bet again based on the strength of the cards in their hands, using the the same betting process as earlier. 

This process leads up to the “showdown”, which is when all players reveal their cards to see who has the best hand of 5 cards. 

If your hand is the best, you win!