Does Anyone Play 5 Card Draw Anymore? (2 Viewers)

[Skeeter]

I realize hold 'em is the most exciting game for most people, but I still love 5 card draw. The problem is that NO ONE wants to play that anymore. I'd love to have a home game of 4 or 5 people who only play 5 card draw. I think it requires much more skill. Am I alone in this?

 

[Rhodeman77]

When we play mixed games someone will usually call it at least once per night. But no, I have zero desire to play it all night long.

Having no up cards of any kind and only 2 betting rounds are big negatives for the game.

 

[Lars]

We occasionally play double draw which I really enjoy.

 

[ekricket]

Evidently no one wants to even talk about five card draw!

Back before Holdem was televised we would get 6-8 guys together about once a month and play "poker" from about six in the evening until the sun came up. You were a puss if you left before then. 95% of time we played 5 card draw, with an occasional hand of five or seven card stud thrown in.

12 hours of five card draw, drinking coors and smoking cigars. We could only do it once a month because that's how long it took to recuperate.

 

[Shaggy]

I've not really studied five draw, but my recollection is that it was big in the early days of the California card rooms. It died out as Holdem came to prominence. I recall reading that mathematically, the optimal strategy has been essentially solved... Similar to blackjack's basic strategy... Very robotic at this point.

 

[slisk250]

Dramaha FTW

 

[Ghoti]

We often have double draw in the mix and it's pretty fun.

 

[Ronoh]

I realize hold 'em is the most exciting game for most people

Lol

 

[detroitdad]

Dramaha FTW

This. .....damn if my head doesn't hurt after an hour of doing it

 

[jbutler]

When I first moved to NJ 5 card draw was a popular game in the area to play short handed or heads up. I figured out later that it was primarily because of one giant degen who donated insane amounts to local poker economy. It went on for several years with this guy steady losing. Then one day he figured out how to play. He took a couple of guys for big numbers playing $75/150 limit double draw.

One of the guys was convinced he had gotten cheated so he set up a camera in his garage where they played and invited the guy back for another match. Sure enough, guy goes on a run again and gets up about $3500. The mark was smart enough to ask if he could write a check for the amount and the cheater said yeah sure. So he wrote the check, the cheat left, and the mark went to the camera. Sure enough, the cheat was dropping cards in his lap. I never got the full story on how that was possible but it was a self dealt heads up game. The mark texted the cheat, "I have you on camera holding cards. If you cash that check I'll kill you." The check never got cashed.

Both players were still regulars on the local scene when I left, but the cheat always got his ass out of there as soon as the mark showed up.

Anyway, long story short, yeah let's play some 5 card draw.

 

[dennis63]

Five card draw is my preferred game -- traditional, old-school poker. I like Holdem, too, but I prefer five card draw. I know I'm probably in the minority here.

I always understood that Texas Holdem really took off because it was ideal for television. With shared cards on the board, the result is statistically predictable early in the hand.

 

[Jambine]

We still play occasionally. Usually double or triple draw

 

[Parrothedd]

The main problem with 5 card draw was mentioned by @Rhodeman77 - only 2 betting rounds. We occasionally play a double draw version with high & low hands, then roll them back betting each card exposure. This can be fun as the pots get decent and there are always surprises at the end when the final card is turned up.

 

[ekricket]

Five card draw is my preferred game -- traditional, old-school poker. I like Holdem, too, but I prefer five card draw. I know I'm probably in the minority here.

I always understood that Texas Holdem really took off because it was ideal for television. With shared cards on the board, the result is statistically predictable early in the hand.

I think for most people holdem (or any community card game) is preferred because you can always see "what you would have got" even if you fold. So you can still participate and are interested in the rest of the hand because it still relates to you, even if you are folding 80% of the time.

Sitting in a stud or draw game and folding correctly is boring boring boring. Once you fold you lose the interest.

Statistics still apply in draw, you just get to choose which set you want to gamble with.

 

[Skeeter]

I think for most people holdem (or any community card game) is preferred because you can always see "what you would have got" even if you fold. So you can still participate and are interested in the rest of the hand because it still relates to you, even if you are folding 80% of the time.

Sitting in a stud or draw game and folding correctly is boring boring boring. Once you fold you lose the interest.

Statistics still apply in draw, you just get to choose which set you want to gamble with.

Solid point, but for me I still watch how the hands play out and how the players play. Maybe I'm wired differently.

 

[derekdd23]

I used to love 5 card draw. When pokerstars was still available i used to play up to 10-20 limit and make a good amount at it. There were weeks I would make over 2k. I miss pokerstars so much.

I would love to play live if I could get enough people, even if it is in a mixed game.

 

[DrStrange]

I host a mixed game where we play five card draw, if the dealer calls it. The betting format is $1 - $4 spread limit.

The biggest issue with five card draw and similar games is that the table has to be "short handed" for there to be enough cards to play the game. Even with eight players, you have 40 cards dealt to players and 12 cards in the stub for draws. That means the people later in the draw have to draw from the discards (in my games there are always lots of people paying to draw and then taking three or more cards). The end result is the dealers rarely choose five card draw or triple-draw due to the size of the table.

The secondary issue is that a game with two betting rounds doesn't build much of a pot. More so when you consider most hands become "folders" when people whiff on draws or end up with an unimproved pair of fours. A "good" five card draw pot will be $25. There will be $25 in a "good" Omaha pot by the end of flop betting and still have two more streets to bet.

I grew up playing five card draw. It is lots of fun, but it seems really tame relative to "modern" poker games.

DrStrange

 

[RagsPoker]

I introduced five-card triple draw to my home game players this year. It's become probably our favorite Dealers Choice game along with Omaha Hi-Lo. Lots of action, fun game. We also play it high/low (8 or better).

 

[TheBigTater]

Still love to play KC Lowball.

All these younguns' nowdays seem to need all the action forced type stuff like triple draws, criss-cross boards, 12 betting rounds and such. Single draw is such a simple, lovely game.

 

[BukNaked36]

What is typically played for 5 card draw - limit, pot limit or no limit?

 

[detroitdad]

What is typically played for 5 card draw - limit, pot limit or no limit?

We've only played 5 card one draw as NL. Triple draw I'm guessing is FL or PL.

 

[pltrgyst]

Dramaha FTW

You misspelled Scrotum.

 

[pltrgyst]

....Single draw is such a simple, lovely game.

With such huge potential swings, due to having so little available information. I'll take stud any time over draw.

 

[RagsPoker]

What is typically played for 5 card draw - limit, pot limit or no limit?

Fixed limit is probably standard but we play $2-5 spread limit....bet up to $2 before the first draw and after the first draw, then up to $5 after the last 2 draws.

 

[Skeeter]

We've only played 5 card one draw as NL. Triple draw I'm guessing is FL or PL.

We play NL, and usually it's just me and three others. I try to limit the amount of players for those sessions. If the game is too big, we'll jump to Hold 'em. I personally enjoy it more than "modern" poker. I'm sure I'm in the minority in the world.

 

[Steve5k]

I have 5 card draw in the mix for cash games, and it's an ok change of pace for an orbit or 2. People aren't too crazy for it, but don't mind.
There's a $.50 ante, a spread limit bet of $1 to $5 before the draw, and $1 to $10 after. The $10 bets are sometimes seen as bluffs and get called a lot!

 

[johnnycnote]

You can build insane pots playing 5 card draw with JJ or better to open, must have trips to win. If no openers, then its QQ or better, then KK or better, then AA or better, then it restarts back at JJ.

And antes go up after every hand!

 

[Mental Nomad]

I realize hold 'em is the most exciting game for most people, but I still love 5 card draw

Lots of people enjoy it - it's a great change of pace. You can always tweak the rules or betting structure to make it "fit" the kind of game you want, even playing double or triple draw if you want more betting rounds.

I think it requires much more skill. Am I alone in this?

No, I think most people wouldn't agree with that. But it does require some different skills than stud games like Holdem or 7-stud - in the other games, you make no choices about your cards, but in draw, you do. But, as others said above, drawing strategy is fairly standard.

Draw has a bunch of things working against it...

1. Play is slower - dealing five cards takes longer than two. Discards/draws take more time than dealing one flop to everyone. Two rounds of betting in 5-card draw can take as long as four rounds in Holdem'.
2. Fewer players possible - or you'll run out of cards.
3. More cards handled means less game security. (In dealer training, they stressed always counting the cards coming in and dealing that amount out, regardless what the player says they want.)

But it's a good game.. 5-draw and 7-stud are the classics.
Never saw anyone playing 5-stud, though.

Badugi, anyone? (Triple draw... Yum.)

 

[codeman00]

We still play 5 card draw, but the version Kings & Littles is much more interesting.

 

[upNdown]

I played it as a kid, but haven't played it since I've been playing poker.
Seems pretty scary. Very little information to work with, especially with strangers.