For many, Five Card Draw is the first poker game that they play. This is probably because it’s one of the easier versions to learn, if not the easiest. There’s also a lot less strategy to think about due to the lack of information you have to work with: there are no community cards and none of your opponents’ cards are exposed. There is some skill involved, but there’s also the element of luck.
On this page we’ve explained a little more about the skill that’s involved and also listed the best places to play Five Card Draw online.
| If you’re not familiar with the rules, please see the following page: Five Card Draw Rules. |
Skill in 5 Card Draw
Because of the simplicity of Five Card Draw and the fact that you don’t have as much information to work with as you do in games such as Texas Hold’em or Seven Card Stud, a lot of people dismiss this version of poker as a game of chance rather than skill. It’s definitely true that luck plays a significant factor, but it’s not the only factor by any means.
You are certainly more reliant on being dealt good cards than you are in a lot of other poker variants and your best chance of winning big is when an opponent has a very strong hand and you have a slightly better one. The skill that’s involved shouldn’t be ignored though, and it would be a mistake to play Five Card Draw and rely entirely on luck.
Psychology plays a part as you need to try and analyze your opponents’ betting patterns and see if you can get a read on them. You also need to consider the number of cards drawn by your opponents and interpret that information. If you’re playing live rather than online, then the to read your opponent’s body language is certainly something you can use to your advantage.
There’s no question that Five Card Draw strategy is a less comprehensive subject than Texas Hold’em strategy or Omaha strategy. There’s enough strategy involved in the game to make it worth learning though, particularly if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of winning money.
Best Poker Sites for 5 Card Draw
You’ll find that Five Card Draw is offered at a wide selection of poker sites, but not all of them have particularly busy tables. If you’re set on playing this form of poker online, then you really need to make sure you join a site that gets plenty of traffic to its Five Card Draw tables, otherwise you might not be able to play as often as you’d like.
Traffic isn’t everything though, and you want to consider a few other factors. For example, you should only ever use a site that’s safe and has a good reputation. Good software is vital too, and ideally you want a generous sign up bonus and attractive rewards for those who play regularly.
We take all of these factors, and more, into consideration when we are ranking poker sites. We have researched and tested a myriad of sites and this has enabled us to rank the top sites in a number of different categories. Below you’ll see our rankings for the best Five Card Draw poker sites.
If none of these sites appeal to you, or you would like to consider a few other options, then we would suggest that you take a look at some of the other categories we cover. We’re confident that we’ll be able to help you find a site that’s right for you.
