Why Play Draw Poker Articles | Poker

By: Richard Bleuze

Why Play Draw Poker

Why play draw poker?  Well, for one thing, draw poker is the granddaddy of the game of poker, and it has been around longer than any other variation.  However, with that said, it appears as though draw poker is on the way out, even though draw poker has a long history of providing players with a fun form of recreation and relaxation.  At the moment, it looks like Texas Hold'em has taken over as the number one poker game.

If you are familiar with westerns or science fiction, draw poker is probably the version that you have seen popularized on fictional television shows and movies.  I do not know a lot about science fiction, but I was a fan of Star Trek The Next Generation (don’t laugh, the ratings say you probably were too) and it was draw poker that the characters engaged in, for example.  Similarly, most westerns feature draw poker.

There are several variations on draw poker, and various house rules that add additional flavor to these variations.  The basic rules of play for draw poker are the same for all variations; however, those being that players are allowed to exchange cards in their hands after the first wager round is completed for cards in the deck. Players do this in order to strengthen their hands and win the game, and a lot of the game in draw poker is left to chance.  Thus, because of the difficulty in making a better hand than anyone else with the cards in the deck alone, most draw poker games will include wild card options, usually aces or twos (thus the saying Deuces are wild).  In addition, you will find suicide kings aa popular wild card options when players are going for fun games.

While a lot of people will play draw poker as a form of fun or relaxation, it was also once common in poker rooms and casinos, although with the surge in popularity of community card games five card draw appears to be on the way out in both land based cainos and online casinos.  As with the reasons behind the popularity of any poker variation, it is hard to know why draw poker is one the wane.  One reason could be that in order for a player to have a chance at winning, he or she has to tip a hand somewhat when it comes time to exchange cards.  An exchange of three cards, for example, changes the odds of the combination and thus other players can not get a very good read on what is going on. In contrast, community card games mean that all players are using almost all of the same cards, so odds are easier to calculate.

Whatever the reason for the wane in popularity of draw poker as far as a mainstream presence, most informal gatherings of poker players will play draw poker rather than other variants.  This is mainly because draw poker is still the variant of the game that offers the most chances of improvisation, with an infinite variety of house rules that can be applied.  Draw poker is a fun way to engage your friends in a game of chance, and everyone has the chance to win some money or whatever it is you are playing for.

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