
Five card draw may be among your most favorite poker games to play, and many people love five card draw because it is so easy to learn. Choosing the best hand to play in five card draw can be tricky. And while there is no exact formula carved into stone that should regulate your 5 card draw play, there are certainly some guidelines for you to follow when you choose the best cards to play during five card draw. The cards you choose for your five card draw hand may easily represent the most relied on factor in five card draw strategy.
Because five card draw is basically a rudimentary poker game, the standard hand rankings that you will find in poker are applied to the game. You will have an opportunity through two drawing rounds to build a better hand. To refresh your memory on standard poker rankings, the following rankings (from high to low) usually apply to five card draw:
1. Royal flush consisting of ace – king – queen – jack – and ten of the same suit. All suits are considered equal in a royal flush which makes all royal flushes pack the same power. It would be a one in a million occurrence for two players at the same table to have a royal flush.
2. Straight flush consisting of five cards in consecutive order, such as eight – nine – ten – jack – and queen, each of the same suit. If two players or more have a straight flush, the winner of the game is the player who has the highest card. Aces can count on either the low or high end of the straight flush.
3. Four of a kind, which is simply four cards of the same value, such as four tens. The highest four card combination is the winner.
4. Full house, consisting of three of a kind combined with a pair of cards. If two or more players have a full house, the winner is declared based on which set of three of a kind is higher in value. For example, 10-10-10-2-2 would beat 9-9-9-3-3, which is also referred to (consecutively) as tens over deuces and nines over threes.
5. Flush is made of five cards of any value of the same suit. To compare the hands of two players with a flush, the highest card determines the highest hand, and if the cards are of equal rank in two players’ hands, the second card determines the highest hand. As an example, a spade flush containing queen – jack – six – eight – seven would outrank a diamond hand of queen – ten – six – eight – seven.
6. Straight – five consecutive valued cards in mixed suits. When comparing two straights, the straight with the highest ranking card is the winner.
7. Three of a kind or three cards of the same value, such as three tens. Three of a kind is also referred to as “trips”. The highest three card combination is the winner.
8. Two pair.
9. One pair.
10. High card.
Other 5 Card Draw Articles: