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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.

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

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The game of poker has many variations, most of them created in the United States in the mid-1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds. Any game may also use any betting structure.

They can be divided into the following groups:

• Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is Five-card draw.
• Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are Seven-card stud and Five-card stud.
• Community card poker: Games in which each player’s incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these is Texas hold ‘em and Omaha hold’em.
• Miscellaneous poker: Other games, or hybrids of the foregoing games.

It is not uncommon for players in home games to invent ad-hoc variants during a playing session. Such games rarely achieve the popularity of the well-known variants, for the good reason that the well-known variants have been selected for playability over many years. “Playability” varies with the players, though, so it is quite common for a single group of players with shared tastes to become accustomed to one of these variants. When joining an established group as a new player, it is important to fully understand the rules of any such game that they commonly play.

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

dark

Describing an action taken before receiving information to which the player would normally be entitled. I’m drawing three, and I check in the dark.

dead blind

A blind that is not “live”, in that the player posting it does not have the option to raise if other players just call. Rarely used.

dead button

A dealer button placed in a position where there is no player. This occurs in some casinos when the player who would otherwise be entitled to the button leaves the game (other casinos move the button forward to the next player). This occurs frequently during poker tournaments, due to player elimination.

dead hand

A player’s hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal for some reason, such as having been fouled by touching another player’s cards, being found to contain the wrong number of cards, being dealt to a player who did not make the appropriate forced bets, etc.

dead man’s hand

A dead man’s hand is the famous hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot and killed in 1877, consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights of the black suits (spades and clubs); but often refers to any two pairs of aces and eights.

dead money

1. Money placed into a pot that does not represent equal bets and calls by active players in the pot. This can be the earlier bets of players who have folded, or money placed in the pot before the deal.
2. By extension, it is used as a derogatory term for money put in play by unskilled players who are legally eligible, but unlikely, to win it back. Can also refer to the player: Let’s play that stud game–Joe and Diane are dead money.

deadwood

The muck.

deal

1. To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played.
2. A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a “hand” (though both terms are ambiguous).
3. An agreement to split tournament prize money differently from the announced payouts.

dealer

The person dealing the cards, or the person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game, even though someone else might be physically dealing. In the latter case, that player is often marked with a button, and may be called “the button”.

dealer’s choice

A version of poker in which the deal passes each game and each dealer can choose, or invent, a new poker game each hand.

declare

To verbally indicate an action or intention.

decloak

To raise after having sandbagged for a time (making it clear that you were, in fact, sandbagging).

deep

Describing a large amount of money, either in play or having been lost. How deep are you? (meaning “How much money do you have”, in anticipation of making a very large bet). I won that large pot, but I’m in much deeper than that.

defense

1. Playing to minimize investment or loss rather than maximize a win; for example, with a drawing hand that is risky but that you think should call an opponent’s bet, you might make a smaller “defensive bet” yourself that you think your opponent will just call, rather than checking and calling a larger bet, or showing weakness.
2. Occasionally calling with weak hands to discourage opponents from bullying, especially when in the blinds.

deuce

1. A 2-spot card.
2. Any of various related uses of the number two, such as a $2 limit game, a $2 chip, etc.

deuce-to-seven

A method of evaluating low hands.

discard

To take a previously dealt card out of play. The set of all discards for a deal is called the “muck” or the “deadwood”.

dog

Underdog; that is, a player with a smaller chance to win than another specified player. Frequently used when the exact odds are expressed. Harry might have been bluffing, but if he really had the king, my hand was a 4-to-1 dog, so I folded.

dominated hand

A hand that is extremely unlikely to win against another specific hand, even though it may not be a poor hand in its own right. Most commonly used in Texas hold ‘em. A hand like A-Q, for example, is a good hand in general but is dominated by A-K, because whenever the former makes a good hand, the latter is likely to make a better one. A hand like 7-8 is a poor hand in general, but is not dominated by A-K because it makes different kinds of hands.

donation

A call made by a player who fully expects to lose; made either out of boredom or irrational optimism.

donk, donkey

Epithet for an inexperienced, unskilled, or foolish poker player. I played that hand like a donkey.

donk (verb)

To play a hand poorly. I donked off 15 bucks on that last hand.

door card

1. In a stud game, a player’s first face-up card. Patty paired her door card on fifth street and raised, so I put her on trips.
2. Window card.

double-ace flush

Under unconventional rules, a flush with one or more wild cards in which they play as aces, even if an ace is already present.

double-board, double-flop

Any of several community card game variants (usually Texas hold ‘em) in which two separate boards of community cards are dealt simultaneously, with the pot split between the winning hands using each board.

double-draw

Any of several Draw poker games in which the draw phase and subsequent betting round are repeated twice.

double gutter, double belly buster

In games involving six or more cards, a draw to a straight that can be filled by two ranks, but that is not an open-ender. For example, K-J-10-9-7, which can become a straight with any Q or 8.

double through, double up

In a big bet game, to bet all of one’s chips on one hand against a single opponent (who has an equal or larger stack) and win, thereby doubling your stack. I was losing a bit, but then I doubled through Sarah to put me in good shape.

downcard

A card that is dealt facedown.

down to the felt

All in, or having lost all of one’s money. Refers to the green felt surface of a poker table no longer obscured by chips.

drag light

To pull chips away from the pot to indicate that you don’t have enough money to cover the bet. If you win, the amount is ignored. If you lose, you must cover the amount from your pocket.

draw

1. Draw poker.
2. To replace one or more cards in one’s hand with new ones from the deck stub, as in draw poker.
3. The act of staying in a hand in hopes of improving, usually to a straight or flush–on a draw.
4. A drawing hand.

drawing hand

In any game, an incomplete hand which is not likely to win unless future cards, received by whatever means the game specifies, improve it. For example, having four club-suited cards but no pair in a stud game, hoping that one of the cards to come will be a fifth club, making a flush.

drawing dead

Playing a drawing hand that will lose even if successful (a state of affairs usually only discovered after the fact). I caught the jack to make my straight, but Rob had a full house all along, so I was drawing dead.

drawing live

Not drawing dead; that is, drawing to a hand that will win if successful.

drawing thin

Not drawing completely dead, but chasing a draw in the face of poor odds. Example: a player who will only win by catching 1 or 2 specific cards is said to be drawing thin.

drink pot

A pot won by a player with the agreement that drinks will be bought from the proceeds.

drop

1. To fold.
2. Money charged by the casino for providing its services, often dropped through a slot in the table into a strong box.
3. To drop ones cards to the felt to indicate that one is in or out of a game like guts.

dry pot

A side pot with no money. Created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. Bluffing into a dry pot is a play that cannot possibly earn a profit, so doing so is considered foolish. It may also be unethical, because it serves to protect the all-in player at the expense of the bettor and the other players, and so is a form of collusion.

dump, dumped

To lose a large quantity of ones stack to another player on a particular hand or set of hands in short succession. I dumped half my stack to John after he cracked my Kings.

duplicate

To counterfeit, especially when the counterfeiting card matches one already present in the one’s hand.

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

The easiest method for a cheat, hard or soft, requires no ability of manipulation, but rather the profound nerve to blatantly cheat. Such methods include miscalling of hands, shorting the pot, and peeking at cards. Such cheating should not be tolerated. However, it is very difficult to prove because when confronted the cheat often calls the cheating an honest mistake.

A simple and fair way to go about preventing this kind of cheating is to simply follow the rules. For example, “Cards speak” is the common expression for the rule that no matter what the player says, it is the cards that determine who wins the pot. While it’s barely legal to call a bad hand a full house in the hopes that people will give up, the players should want to see this hand: they paid to look at it. Should such honest “mistakes” occur, it is best to ask the player to leave for that evening. If it was an honest mistake, he is in no condition to play poker (put aside your greed on this one – he will come back). If he did mean to cheat, he can’t do it from outside the game and is unlikely to come back.

The minimal skill methods of cheating occur far more often than one might suspect. It is common for a player who has folded to appoint himself tender of the pot, stacking chips, counting them, and delivering them to the winning player, just so he doesn’t have to get up. Nobody seems to notice the chip palmed in the hand of this helpful player. This is called check-copping. This happens a lot. In fact, odorless adhesive can be used for this purpose. Once again, the answer is to follow the rules. Only at the showdown should a player touch the pot. In fact, it is a considerate player who obeys the rule concerning placing chips in the pot; the player does not throw the chips in the pot (splashing) but places them in an easily counted stack in the center of the table.

Cheating can happen even when the cheat does not have the deal. In draw poker, a player can discard two cards, throwing these two in the pile of discards so as to avoid counting (or if there is no pile, throw them on top of another player’s discards), while calling for three. Not only does the cheat get the one card advantage in this hand, but before the showdown, he can ditch this extra card in his lap or vest, and thereby retain this one card advantage throughout the game. In this case, it is the dealer’s job to regulate the discards, and to ensure the fairness of the process. In a way, this is the most fair. In exchange for the huge positional advantage the dealer has, he has responsibilities to occupy his time.

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

Video: Poker cheat

Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the remaining player or players with the best combination of cards. Poker can also refer to video poker which is a single-player game seen in casinos much like a slot machine.

In order to play, one must learn the basic rules and procedures of the game, the values of the various combinations of cards , and the rules about betting limits. Some knowledge of the equipment used to play is useful. There are also many variants of poker, loosely categorized as draw poker, stud poker, community card poker (a.k.a. “widow game”), and miscellaneous poker games. The most commonly played games of the first three categories are five-card draw, seven-card stud, and Texas hold ‘em, respectively; each being a common starting point for learning games of the type. Dealer’s choice is a way to play poker where the dealer chooses what type of poker to play.

A game of Texas hold ‘em in progress. “Hold ‘em” is currently the most popular form of poker.

References

• Brunson, Doyle (1979). Doyle Brunson’s Super System, Cardoza. ISBN 1580420818.
• Sklansky, David (1989). The Theory of Poker (3rd Ed), Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685000.
• Vorhaus, John (2002). Killer Poker, Lyle Stuart. ISBN 0818406305.
• Ernest, James; Selinker, Mike; Foglio, Phil (2005). Dealer’s Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker, Overlook Press. ISBN 1585676543.
• Caro, Mike (1978). Caro’s Book of Poker Tells, Cardoza. ISBN 1580420826.

Links

• Yahoo Poker Directory
• Google Poker Directory
• Rec.Gambling.Poker Newsgroup

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