How To Play Five-Card Draw
It’s you against the computer, one on one. You each have a stack of chips and are dealt five cards. Win chips by making the better five-card poker hand at the showdown — or by betting hard enough that your opponent folds. Take all of your opponent’s chips to win the match.
A hand, step by step
- Ante & deal. Both players put a small ante into the pot, then each is dealt five cards face down. You can see yours; your opponent’s stay hidden.
- First betting round. Bet on the hand you were dealt (see the actions below).
- The draw. This is what makes it “draw” poker: you may discard any number of your cards (from none up to all five) and draw fresh ones to replace them. Keep what helps your hand, throw away what doesn’t.
- Second betting round. Bet again on your improved (or not!) hand.
- Showdown. If neither player folded, both hands are revealed and the best hand wins the pot. If someone folded earlier, the other player takes the pot right away.
Betting actions
- Check
- Bet nothing and pass the action — only allowed when no one has bet yet this round.
- Bet
- Put chips into the pot, making your opponent match to stay in.
- Call
- Match the current bet to stay in the hand.
- Raise
- Match the bet and increase it, putting the decision back on your opponent. (Bets and raises are a fixed size, and there’s a cap on raises per round.)
- Fold
- Give up the hand. You lose whatever you’ve put in, but risk no more — your opponent takes the pot.
Hand rankings (best to worst)
At the showdown, the higher-ranked hand wins. If both players have the same type of hand, the higher cards decide it. Aces are high.
- Straight flush
- five in a row, all one suit (an Ace-high one is a royal flush).
- Four of a kind
- all four of one rank.
- Full house
- three of one rank plus a pair of another.
- Flush
- any five of the same suit.
- Straight
- five in a row of mixed suits.
- Three of a kind
- three of one rank.
- Two pair
- two cards of one rank and two of another.
- One pair
- two cards of the same rank.
- High card
- none of the above; your highest card plays.
Strategy
- On the draw, a common move is to keep a pair and swap the other three, giving yourself fresh chances to improve.
- Holding four cards toward a straight or flush? Drawing one card to try to complete it is a classic gamble.
- You don’t need the best hand to win — a confident bet can make your opponent fold. And you don’t have to draw at all: standing pat (keeping all five) suggests real strength.
