Caribbean Draw Poker is a five-card poker game where you play against the Dealer. You place an Ante (initial bet), receive a hand, and decide whether you would like to bet against the Dealer’s hand. One of the Dealer’s cards is dealt face up so your decision will have to be made on the card showing and the strength of your five-card poker hand. At this point, you may fold. If you fold, you forfeit your Ante. If you choose to bet against the Dealer, you are given the opportunity to exchange two of your cards when you raise. After you raise, the dealer is also given the opportunity to exchange two cards. To win, you must not only beat the Dealer’s hand but the Dealer must also “qualify” by having a pair of 8s or better. If the Dealer does not qualify, you are paid 1 to 1 on your Ante and your “Raise” is returned to you as a push. If your hand beats the Dealer’s hand and the Dealer qualifies, you’re paid on the Ante and your Raise. The payoff of the Ante is 1 to 1. The payout on your bet will be determined by the quality of your hand (see Payouts below for more details). If the Dealer beats your hand, you lose both your Ante and your bet. In the event that you and the Dealer have the same hand, the next highest card (kicker) determines the winner.

Depending on the rank of your hand, you can also win the progressive jackpot if you make the additional bet on it. Caribbean Draw shares a progressive jackpot with Caribbean Holdem and Stud, allowing the jackpot to accumulate quickly.

Game Play

Click the chips to place a bet within table limits and then click Deal. Table limits are displayed in the upper left-hand corner.

Hand Ranks/Payout Amounts

Hands are ranked according to standard poker rules.

*The dealer qualifies with a pair of eights or higher only.

Button Descriptions

Deal

Clicking on the Deal button after placing the initial bet starts a new game.

Call
Clicking the Call button makes an additional bet that is twice the Ante.

Fold
Clicking Fold forfeits the Ante and ends the game.

Progressive Jackpot (Optional)

The Progressive Jackpot is a “side bet” that allows a Player to share in a Jackpot regardless if the Dealer “qualifies” or not. The payout for the jackpot depends on the rank of your poker hand. Progressive Payouts are awarded on pre-draw hands only.

Example: If you receive a Flush, but the Dealer does not qualify, you would only receive a 1 to 1 payout on your Ante, not 5 to 1. If you play the Progressive Jackpot you would win $75 regardless of the size of your bet, and regardless of whether the Dealer qualified or not (if the Dealer did qualify, and you had a better hand, you would win both bets.)

To play for the progressive jackpot, click the coin slot before clicking Deal. The coin slot lights up when you place a progressive bet. To remove your bet, click the coin slot again.
There are only five hands that qualify for Progressive Jackpot:
•    Flush – any five cards of one suit.
•    Full House – 3 of a Kind with a Pair.
•    4 of a Kind – any hand of four like cards.
•    Straight Flush – Five consecutive cards of the same suit in a row.
•    Royal Flush – 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit.

PLAY FOR REAL MONEY

Played with one joker which acts as a bug. Must be played with antes and no blinds. Each player is dealt five cards. The first betting round begins with the player to the dealer’s left, who may check or open with anything. If any player opens, the game continues as traditional five-card draw poker. If the first round is passed out (that is, no one opens), then the player to the dealer’s left may now open if he chooses, but the game has switched to California lowball. On the rare occasion that the deal is passed out yet again, players re-ante and deal again. This game plays well head-up (that is, with only two players). When the game is played that a pair of jacks or better is required to open on the first high-hand round, the game is called “Jacks back”.

Some examples might help clarify: On the first deal, players ante and Alice deals five cards around. Bob sees that he has a 6-high straight, which is a very good hand for both high and low. He also wants to be deceptive about the value of his hand, so he checks. Carol opens for $1, David folds, Alice raises to $2, and Bob (who now realizes that Carol and Alice want to play high hands) reraises to $3, which is called by Carol and Alice. Bob announces that he “stands pat” (draws no cards). Carol draws three cards, and Alice draws two. Bob bets $2, Carol folds, Alice raises, and Bob calls. Bob shows his straight, but Alice has made a full house and wins the pot.

On the second deal, Bob has the same hand: a 6-high straight, and makes the same play, checking. This time, Carol also checks, as does David, and finally Alice. Now it is Bob’s turn again, but now they are playing lowball. He opens for $1. Carol folds, and David raises to $2. Alice folds, and Bob reraises to $3 (a 6-high is a very good low hand; much better, in fact, than a 6-high straight would be for high). David calls. Bob stands pat, and David draws one card. Bob bets $2 (he is required to bet under California lowball rules since he has a hand better than 7-high), and David calls. Bob shows his 6-5-4-3-2 low, and David shows 7-5-4-3-A low, and Bob wins with his 6-high.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Other forms of lowball

Five-card draw, with no joker, and deuce-to-seven low hand values is called “Kansas City” or “Low Poker” or even “Billy Baxter” draw in honor of the player who dominated the world championship in the event for many years. The 7-high rule and the no check-and-raise rule do not apply. In the eastern United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, ace-to-six low hand values are common.

California high/low split

Played as above, with a single joker, used as a bug. High hand and low hand (using the ace-to-five low values) split the pot. An 8-high or better low is required to win low. If no hand qualifies low, high hand takes the whole pot. Played cards speak, that is, players do not declare whether they intend to win the high or low half of the pot (or both); they simply show their cards and the best hands win. Because ace-to-five low values are used, a hand such as a low straight or flush can win both high and low, called “scooping” or “hogging” the pot.

High/low with declare

This is common in home games but is rarely found in casinos today. Played as are other versions of five-card draw, but after the second betting round and before the showdown, there is a simultaneous declaration phase. Each player takes two chips from his stack and takes them under the table, bringing up a closed fist that contains either no chips (indicating that the player intends to win the low half of the pot), one chip (indicating that the player intends to win the high half), or two chips (indicating that he intends to scoop). When everyone has brought up the closed fist, the players all open their hands simultaneously to reveal their choices. If any player shows two chips, and his hand is the best low and the best high, he scoops the pot. Otherwise, half of the pot goes to the player with the highest hand who declared high, and the other half to the player with the lowest hand of those who declared low. There is no qualifying hand to win either high or low, and if no one declares in one direction, the full pot is awarded in the other (for example, if all players declare low, the low hand wins the whole pot rather than half). A player who declares for a scoop must win both ends outright, with no ties. For example, if a player declares scoop, has the lowest hand clearly but ties for high, he wins nothing. The other player with the same high hand wins the high half of the pot and the next-lowest hand wins low (assuming he declared low–if no other player declared low, the high hand who declared high wins the whole pot).

This game can be played with deuce-to-seven low or ace-to-six low hand values, but in that case it is nearly impossible to scoop (though you can still win the whole pot if everyone declares the same direction).

Double-draw and Triple-draw

Any game above can be played with two or three draw phases and therefore three or four betting rounds. Double-draw California lowball is a particularly good game. Triple draw lowball, either ace-to-five or deuce-to-seven, has gained some popularity among serious players. The 2004 World Series of Poker included a deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball event.

Four-before

Another variation that can be applied to any game above, but that is especially suited to lowball. On the initial deal, only four cards are dealt to each player. A betting round follows, then each player draws one more card than he discards, completing his hand to five cards. Then the final betting round and showdown. Note that it is impossible to be dealt a “pat” hand, that is, a hand (such as a straight or flush) that is complete before the draw.

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Also sometimes known as Padooki, Badougi is a four card ace-to-five low lowball variant where traditional poker hand rankings are changed. A Badougi is a four card hand where all the cards are of different ranks and suits. Any cards which match another card in rank or suit does not play and the first criteria for evaluating hands is the number of cards which are playing. The following is the ranking of several example of hands from best to worst:

1. Ace of spades, 2 of clubs, 3 of hearts, 4 of diamonds: 4 card 4 high best possible Badougi
2. 4 of spades, 6 of hearts, 8 of diamonds, J of clubs: 4 card J high Badougi
3. Ten of clubs, J of hearts, Q of Diamonds, K of hearts: 4 card worst possible Badougi
4. Ace of hearts, Ace of diamonds, 4 of clubs, 5 of spades: 3 card hand, 5 high
5. Ace of clubs, Ace of spades, 4 of spades, 6 of spades: 2 card hand, 4 high

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

This was the primary poker game played in California during the heyday of Gardena in the 1970s. It is still played today, though its popularity has somewhat lessened since the introduction of stud poker and community card poker to the state.

Played as above, using ace-to-five low hand values, with a single joker in the deck. Always played with blinds rather than antes, so players may not check on the first betting round (but may on the second round). A player with a 7-high hand or better who checks after the draw forfeits his right to win any money placed in the pot after the draw. (In other words, you may not check a “seven” unless you intend to fold when someone else bets). Another common rule in low-limit games is that a player who checks on the second betting round may not subsequently raise on that round. This latter rule is never used in games with a pot limit or no limit betting structure.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Played as above, with standard hand values, and with a single joker in the deck acting as a bug. Always played with an ante and no blinds. On the first betting round, no player is allowed to open the betting unless his hand already contains a pair of jacks or a better hand. Other players who checked on the first round may subsequently call or raise if someone else opens. If no player opens, a new deal begins and everyone antes again into the same pot. The player who opened the betting keeps his discarded cards near him on the table so that he can prove, if necessary, that he had a sufficient opening hand. For example, a player with the K, J, 9, and 7 of clubs and the J of hearts has a pair of jacks and may open. He may wish to “break openers” in this case by discarding the jack of hearts in an attempt to make the club flush, so he keeps the discarded jack to prove that he was entitled to open.

The game is named after the city of Gardena, California, where this game was especially popular from the 1930s to 1970s (though it was always secondary to lowball). At that time, there were more public poker tables in that small city than in all the rest of the United States. Public poker rooms are still a big industry there, though Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and other locations now have many more poker rooms than they did at that time. Because “Jacks to open” was the primary form of high-hand draw poker played there, traditional draw poker was often described by the retronym “Guts to open”.

In home games, it is common that when a deal is “passed out” (that is, when no one opens), the players re-ante, and the qualifier to open is raised to a pair of queens. If that deal is passed out, the qualifier is raised to kings, and finally to aces. This is called “progressive” jackpots.

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Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing cards.

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values (both high and low variations). They also make no assumptions about what betting structure is used. In home games, it is typical to use an ante, and betting always begins with the player to the dealer’s left. In casino play, it is more common to use blinds; the first betting round thus begins with the player to the left of the big blind, and subsequent rounds begin with the player to the dealer’s left, thus draw games are very positional.

Some sample deals below will assume that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples, Bob, who is sitting to her left, Carol to his left, and David to Carol’s left.

Standard five-card draw

This is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now quite rare in casino and tournament play. When played skillfully, it can become monotonous. The lowball variations described later are more interesting games. Two to eight players can play.

Play begins with each player being dealt five cards, one at a time, all face down. The remaining deck stub is placed aside, often protected by placing a chip or other marker on it. Players pick up the cards and hold them in their hands, being careful to keep them concealed from the other players. The first betting round occurs at this point, starting with the player to the dealer’s left. If more than one player remains after this round, the “draw” phase begins. Each player specifies how many of his cards he wishes to replace, and discards that many from his hand. The deck stub is retrieved, and after a burn card is dealt, each player in turn is dealt the same number of cards he discarded, so that each player again has five cards. It is important that each player discards the cards he wishes to replace before he takes any replacements, and that he take the same number of replacements as he discarded. A second betting round occurs after the draw phase, followed by a showdown if more than one player remains.

A common “house rule” in some places is that a player may not replace more than three cards, unless he draws four cards while keeping an ace (or wild card). This rule is only needed for low-limit social games where many players will stay for the draw, and will help avoid depletion of the deck stub. In more serious games such as those played in casinos it is unnecessary and generally not used. A rule that is used by many casinos is that a player is not allowed to draw five consecutive cards from the deck. In this case, if a player wishes to replace all five of his cards, he is given four of them in turn, the other players are given their draws, and then the dealer returns to that player to give him his fifth replacement (if no later player drew, it is necessary to deal a burn card first).

Another common house rule is that the bottom card of the deck is never given as a replacement, to avoid the possibility of someone who might have seen it during the deal using that information. If the deck stub is depleted during the draw before all players have received their replacements, the last players can receive cards chosen randomly from among those discarded by previous players. For example, if the last player to draw wants three replacements but there are only two cards remaining in the deck stub, the dealer gives the player the one top card he can give, then shuffles together the bottom card of the deck, the burn card if any, and the earlier players’ discards (but not the three discards of the last player!), and finally deals two more replacements to the last player.

Example: Alice deals five cards to each player and places the deck stub aside. Bob opens the betting round by betting $1. Carol folds, David calls, and Alice calls, closing the betting round. Bob now declares that he wishes to replace three of his cards, so he removes those three cards from his hand and discards them. Alice retrieves the deck stub, deals a burn card, and then deals three cards directly to Bob, who puts them in his hand. David discards one card, and Alice deals one card to him from the deck stub. Alice now discards three of her own cards, and replaces them with three from the top of the deck stub. Now a second betting round begins. Bob checks, David bets $3, Alice calls, and Bob folds, ending the second betting round. David shows a flush, and Alice shows two pair, so David takes the pot.

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