Five Card Draw Poker Tips and Winning Strategies

The Five Card Draw Poker is a wonderful variation of poker which has been around for a very long time. You need to have a high pair, a four card straight or a four card flush to be able to make the opening bet. This game is favored by most Five Card Draw Poker fans because the betting is light, the chances to win are great and there is a lot fun playing it.

Click here to visit The Best Online Casino

Winning is possible if you are careful to notice and analyze what cards your opponents have. Your winning strategy is totally dependent upon the accuracy of your judgment and assessment of the other players' strengths and weaknesses.

  1. Check your cards against the opening bet – if the bet is high and your cards do not have even one pair, the probability is very high that one of the players would have a high pair – more so when there are more than three players at the game table. This also means strength and you should realize in this case that your chances to win would be low and hence, the best strategy would be to fold. It is always important to know when you should fold and to have the strength to do so at the right time.
  1. Keep the bettors in – when you have got a good hand such as a high three, do not be tempted to bet high (even if you could) as this would chase away the players with weak hands. The best would be to just place a bet and allow the pot raise. In this manner you would also get a chance to know if any other player feels he/she has a good hand judging from the way they bet.
  1. When you are dealt a high hand – these cards are very strong but they still could be beaten by a higher ranking. In this case you should bet very high so as to scare away any potential contenders to the pot. Often this tactic scares away better hands and gives you a better chance to win.
  1. Make full use of your drawing opportunity – in the Five Card Draw Poker you are allowed to draw a number of cards if you find that your cards are not too great. Make the best of this – check whether you have any air and keep those; draw your cards over it as the probability of improving your hand when you already have a pair is much higher than otherwise.
  1. Assess your players during the draw – it would not be easy at first, but with some experience you would be able to judge pretty accurately the strengths of your opponents by the number of cards they draw. The probabilities are that they would be holding a pair if they go for three cards; if the they draw only two they might be having three of a kind; if they take only one card they might be having two pairs or making a flush and when the player does not draw any card it can mean two things – 1) they are holding a great hand or 2) they are bluffing.