One of the oldest variations of poker is Five Card Draw Poker. In this poker game there is no banker or a house, all players play against each other. Before the rise of popularity of Texas Hold`em during 2025s, five card draw poker was one of the most popular poker variations.

The Deal and The First Betting Round

The game is played with standard 52 card deck. In some variants of the game there are wild cards. In this game usually one of the players deals the cards. There is a new dealer every hand. Before the deal players must pay the blinds. Blinds are paid only from the two players that sit on the left-hand side of the dealer. There is a small blind and a big blind. Usually the big blind is double the value of the small blind. When the blinds are paid the deal begins. Every player is dealt five cards. All cards are face down. The first player to act is the one sitting on the left side of the big blind. The player has the right to fold (discard his cards and stay away), to call (pay the amount of the big blind and stay in the game) or to make a raise bet (to increase the bet at least twice of the big blind). If a player makes a raise and nobody calls, the player wins the pot (all the blinds and call bets before) and a new hand begins. When two or more players make a call, the next draw begins.

The Draw and The Second Betting Round

All the active players left have the right to exchange as many cards as they want. This is called the draw. First to draw is the first active player left from the dealer. If the player doesn't want to exchange any card the situation is called ''stand pad''. The draw ends when all active players receive new cards. When the draw ends, the second betting round begins. The second betting round is the same as the first betting round, but with one difference. Players have the right to make a "check" (don't make bet). Afterwards the showdown begins.

The Showdown

The showdown is the end of the hand. First to open the cards and show his hand is the player who has made an aggressive bet or raise bet last. In case nobody of the players has made an aggressive bet, but only called and/or checked, the first to show his cards is the first active player on the left from the dealer. The strongest hand wins the pot.