Draw Poker Variations
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
Players: Three to ten.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: Ante then each player starting to the dealer's left and continuing clockwise may choose to either draw one or more cards or trade in all of his cards for an equal number of replacements. Rounds of betting, drawing and exchanging continue, the leader rotating each time until there are fewer cards in the deck than players left in the game.
Winner: High hand.
ANACONDA
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven cards facedown to each player.
Play: Rotating bet starts after the deal and each player passes three cards to the player on their left after the first round. On next betting round each player passes two cards to the player on their left side. Another betting round and players pass one card to their left side. Each player chooses five cards to keep and discards two cards.
Winner: High hand and low hand split the pot Variations: The cards are passed to other than the person to the left. The player keeps all seven cards at the end and chooses which to turn up allowing the player to change from high to low. Pass two cards to the left and one card to the right at the same time. High hand and the person to the left split the pot.
BILLY BAXTER
Players: Two to eight.
Play: Five-card draw poker with no joker and deuce-to-seven low hand values is called Billy Baxter in honor of the player who dominated the poker world championship. The seven-high rule and no check-and-raise rules do not apply. In the eastern United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, ace-to-six low hand values are common
Winner: Low hand. Variations: Kansas City or Lowball.
CALIFORNIA HIGH LOW SPLIT
Players: Two to eight.
Play: This game is played as a standard draw poker game with a single joker used as a bug. Played cards speak and players do no declare whether they intend to win the high or low half of the pot or both. Cards are shown and the best poker hand wins. Because of ace-to-five low values are used a poker hand such as a low straight or flush can win both high and low.
Winner: High and Low hand using the ace-to-five low values split the pot. If no poker an eight-high or better low is required to win low. If no poker hand qualifies low then high hand takes the whole pot.
CALIFORNIA LOWBALL
Players: Two to eight.
Play: A standard draw poker game using ace-to-five low hand values with a single joker in the pack. Always played with blinds rather than antes so that players may not check on the first betting round but may do so on the second round. A player with a seven-high hand or better who checks after the draw forfeits his right to win any money placed in the pot after the draw. A common rule in low-limit poker games is that a player who checks on the second betting round may not subsequently raise on that round. This rule is never used in poker games with pot limit or no limit betting structure.
Winner: Low hand.
DOGBUTT
As in Baseball, three's and nine's are wild. Fourth player gets and extra card.
DON JUAN
Players: Three to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt three cards and may look at their cards.
Play: After the first betting round each player in turn begins at the left of the dealer and may discard any of their cards and draw replacements from the deck followed by a betting round and showdown.
Winner: Low hand - Ace-2-3 is lowest. Variations: Players pay a set amount for each card and after the draw players proceed to play their three cards as in the Three-card guts.
DOUBLE DRAW
Play: Any draw poker game may be played with two draw phases and three betting rounds.
FIVE CARD DRAW
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: A betting round after the deal starting with the player to the left of the dealer. After the betting round each player may exchange up to three cards. Another betting round followed by showdown. With less than six players a player may draw four cards if they show that their remaining card is an Ace.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Adding wild cards to play, high-low, Lowball, double draw.
FOUR BEFORE
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Four cards are dealt to each player and betting round occurs.
Play: Each player draws one more card and discards completing his poker hand to five cards. The final betting round and then showdown. It is impossible to be dealt a pat poker hand before the draw.
Winner: High hand. Variations: This another variation that can be applied to any draw poker game and especially suited to lowball poker.
HI-LO DRAW WITH DECLARE
Players: Two to eight.
Play: This is a common home poker game and each player takes two chips from his stack and takes them under the table. Bringing up a closed fist that contains either no chips indicating that the player intends to win low half of the pot, one chip indicating that the player intends to win the high half or two chips indicating that he intends to take the whole pot. When all the players have brought up their closed fists, the players all open their hands at the same time to show their choices. Should any player show two chips? and his hand is the best low and the best high he scoops the pot. Otherwise half the pot goes to the player with the lowest poker hand of those who declared low. There is no qualifying hand to win either high or low and if no one declares in one direction the full pot is awarded to the player winning the other direction. A player who declares the scoop and has the lowest hand but ties for a high hand he wins nothing. The other player with the same high hand wins the high half of the pot and the next lowest poker hand wins low.
Winner: High and low hands. Variations: This hand can be played with deuce-to-seven low or ace-to-six low poker hand values which in that case it will be impossible to scoop the pot.
HOWDY DOODY
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven down cards to each player.
Play: As with Anaconda but these exceptions: this game is high-low and has wild cards. Threes are wild only if the hand they are in is used to try and win the high pot. Kings are wild only if the hand they are in is used to try for the low pot. No betting until the showdown.
Winner: High and low hands split.
JACKS TO OPEN/GARDENA JACKPOTS
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Five cards down to each player.
Play: Played like Five-card-draw with the following differences: only a player with a hand as good as or better than a pair of Jacks can open the betting. If someone has such a hand they must open the betting. If no one can open the hand is discarded and everyone antes again and hands are dealt over again. Once betting is opened play continues as in Five-card-draw until showdown. Anyone who has a three of a kind must reveal his hand. The best hand takes the pot. If nobody reveals a hand everyone may still make another exchange. This process is repeated until someone wins.
Winner: High and low hands split. Variations: Progressive. If no one can open the requirement increases to a pair of Queens then a pair of Kings the Aces and then goes back to Jacks to open. Gardena Iackpots is played the same way.
JOHNSON DRAW/JACKS BACK
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt five cards.
Play: The first round begins with the player to the dealer's left and he may check or open with anything. When a player opens the game continues as in five-card- draw. If the first passes with no one opening then the player to the dealer's left may now open if he wants to. The game has switched to California Lowball Poker. Should the deal be passed out again players re-ante and deal again.
Winner: High hand. This game is played with one joker; which acts as a bug. It must be played with antes and no blinds. Variations: This game plays well head-up (only two players), when this game is played with a pair of Jacks or better required to open on the first high-hand round the poker is called Jacks Back.
PASS THE TRASH
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven cards are dealt to each player.
Play: Before the first betting round, each player examines his hand and discards three cards from his hand and places them on the table to his left. After each person has discarded each player picks up the cards discarded by his right-hand player and places them in his hand. It is important that each player discard before looking at the cards he is to receive. After the first pass there is a betting round. The second betting round is followed by a third pass, each player passing his card to his left. Finally a fourth betting round and showdown.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Anaconda.
PICK A PARTNER
Players: Four, six, eight or ten.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: Each player rolls a card. Highest card showing picks one of the other hands as a partner. The next highest un-partnered hand chooses a partner and so forth until each one is paired up. Each partnership combines their remaining eight cards and chooses three of them. Three rounds of betting follow with one of the three cards rolled after each round. The winning team splits the pot. If a member of a team folds the other may continue playing and if he wins he wins the entire pot.
Winner: High hand.
PHYSCO
Players: Three to six.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: As with Five-card-draw immediately after draw, players show three cards. After Round of betting, players receive one card face-up followed by betting round. Then receive a last card facedown, bet and showdown.
Winner: High and low hands split.
Q-BALL
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt three cards.
Play: Followed by a betting round beginning with the player immediately after the big Blind who may call the big blind, raise or fold. There is no checking on the first round. Next each players is dealt a fourth card followed by a second round of betting starting with the still-active player to the dealer's left. No checking is allowed on this round either despite the fact that there is no bet facing the first player, the first player must open or fold. A fifth card is dealt followed by a third betting round beginning on the dealer's left. Now checking is allowed and finally each player draws as in normal poker followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Played at a fixed limit, the betting structure should be 1-2-2-4; the second and third betting rounds must allow a bet of twice the amount of the first betting round.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Lowball poker which is generally played with three blinds, one unit from the dealer, one unit to his left and two units for the second poker player to the dealer's left. The deck contains one joker.
SHOTGUN
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: A betting round and a draw. In place of a second betting round and showdown, there is a rollout phase, which begins with the players arranging their five cards in any chosen order and placing them facedown in front of themselves. Each player's top card is now revealed followed by a betting round. Each player reveals his next card followed by a betting round. The third card is revealed followed by betting round, a fourth card, a betting round and finally showdown. Players may not change the order of their cards at any time during the rollout Phase of the game.
Winner: High and low hand. Variations: This game can be played for high or low but plays best at high-low split or Skinny Minnie or Roll"em.
SPIT IN THE OCEAN
Players: Three to twelve.
Deal: Four cards facedown to each player and one card up in the middle.
Play: As in Five-card-draw but each player receives only four cards. The card in the middle is shared by all the players and with all the other cards of the same rank is wild.
Winner: High hand.
THREES
Players: Three to five.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: This game is played similar to Five-card-draw, except there are three drawing rounds with betting rounds before, between and after. The player is allowed to draw up to three cards per round (no four cards with an ace). Threes are wild.
Winner: Five of a kind.
TREES
Players: Three to ten.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: Betting round followed by each player trading cards freely with other players. Any number of cards may be exchanged but a player must give the same number of cards he is receiving. After trading is done a final round of betting occurs before the showdown.
Winner: High hand.
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