With all the different varieties of poker that are popular these days in the casinos it may come as a surprise to some people to learn that poker, as a general rule, is not normally learned first in its most popular style because the game is generally first learned – especially for those tho are going to look into a live wagering game – in the home of friends or family. In this situation, it is not usually the Hold ‘em style of games that are learned, but rather the 5 Card Draw version of poker. The reason for this is that 5 Card Draw is one of the very simplest versions of poker available for anyone. Due to this, the game is going to be easier for a player to pick up and in a home environment with all the distractions, it is a good way to go, especially at a party or in a dorm room setting. There are a lot of basics about poker that 5 Card Draw can teach players so that they know how hand values work and can later build on this basic knowledge to play the more popular versions of the game such as Omaha or Texas Hold ‘em. This means 5 Card Draw is probably the smartest place to start.
Just as its name suggest, 5 Card Draw is not a community card game, but rather a game where each turn sees the players discarding or drawing cards to add to their hand so that they can alter it and try to get the most valuable hand they can. If they are able to do this then things will be much easier, but remember there are sometimes going to be limits on the number of cards that players are allowed to discard and draw new. The typical limit, at least for most home games, is going to be 3 cards. Still, checking with the dealer as the rules of the house is always advised because different groups are going to have different approaches to this game. Understanding those house rules can really help players get a good grasp of how they can better their style for the game involved and win a lot more. Each round, players will need to raise, call or fold just as in any other poker game so the whole experience will move along a lot more quickly in 5 Card Draw than any other version of poker.