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Doyle Brunson's Super System

Doyle Brunson's Super System 2: A Course in Power Poker

Play Poker Like the Pros

Caro's Book of Poker Tells

The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker: Texas Hold 'Em, Seven-Card Stud, and Other Popular Versions

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General Poker Strategy

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Seven-Card Stud and Variations

Five-Card Draw and Variations

In a poker draw game, each player is dealt several cards, face down. Each player can either keep his hand as-is or exchange one or more cards for new ones.

Five-Card Draw

The most popular poker draw game is five-card draw. It can be played with anywhere from two to eight players but is generally best with five or six players.

Playing Sequence

Each player antes.
Players are dealt five cards each, face down.
Each player bets on his cards, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
Each player, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, discards anywhere from zero to five cards and is dealt an equal number of new cards.
Players bet a second time.
If two or more players remain, players show their cards to determine who wins.

If players discard so many cards that the deck gets depleted, the discards can be reshuffled and dealt as replacements.

Basic Five-Card Draw Strategy

In five-card draw, you generally need two pair—or at the very least a high pair (K-K or A-A)—to have a shot at winning. The more people playing, the better a hand usually has to be to have a chance to win.

First Betting Round

To consider betting in the first betting round, you should have at least a pair or a straight draw or flush draw (a hand in which you need only a single card to complete a straight or flush).

How Many to Draw

When drawing new cards, the goal is to keep the best cards or card combinations in your hand and draw cards to complete the hand. If you have:

One pair: Draw three cards. You have better odds of getting three of a kind by drawing three than of hitting three of a kind or two pair by drawing two.
Three of a kind: Draw two cards.
Straight or flush draw: Draw cards in an attempt to get a flush or straight only if you have four of the necessary cards. Try for the straight only if it’s an open-ended straight—a straight that can be completed at either end. For example, 4-5-6-7 is open-ended because it can be completed with a 3 or an 8.

Reading Other Players’ Draws

To determine your betting strategy after the draw, try to get a feel for what other players are holding based on their draws. A player drawing:

Three cards: Likely has no better than a pair
Two cards: Might have three of a kind, or a pair and a high card
One card: Might have a straight draw, a flush draw, or two pair

Draw Poker Variations

There are several different variations of five-card draw.

Game		Rules
Straight draw		Straight draw is simple five-card draw when there are no rules for the cards you need to start the betting.
High-low split		High-low split follows the standard rules of high-low games (see Low Games and High/Low Games), with the added rule that straights and flushes must be allowed as a low hand.
Progressive poker		A pair of jacks is required to start betting. If no one can bet, the antes are retained, the cards are redealt, and a pair of queens is required to bet. This continues up through aces. If no one can bet with a pair of aces or better, then the requirement to bet goes back down to jacks.
Spit in the ocean		Each player is dealt four cards, with one community card dealt face up in the middle that everyone can use.
Jacks or better		A pair of jacks or better is required to bet following the deal. If you’re first (to the dealer’s left) and your hand isn’t good enough, you can check. If no one can open, the pot is retained from the antes, cards are shuffled and redealt, and the game continues.
Shotgun poker		Three cards are dealt, then a fourth, then a fifth, with a round of betting after each deal. Then players draw replacement cards, followed by a final round of betting.
Double draw		After players have the chance to draw replacement cards, there is a round of betting, followed by another chance to draw replacement cards, with another round of betting.
Wild card draw		The dealer specifies the wild card or cards before dealing. When showing cards, each player must declare her hand to specify how the wild card is being used.