Mike's Rules To Draw Variants

General Rules

1. The term draw means that a player is discarding a certain number of cards to receive the same number of cards from the dealer.
2. Many draw games are variants of stud games, in these cases, the games are listed on the Seven Stud or Five Stud page.

5 Draw

• Maximum Number of Players: 6
• Wild Cards: None
• The Game:
  1. Deal 5 cards down to each player, followed by a betting round.
  2. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, each player may draw up to 3 cards. After the draw there's another betting round starting with the player to the left of the last raiser/better. Show, high hand wins.
• Variants:
  • Make a card wild, or lowest card is wild.
  • 5 Draw Low Ball: Low only.
  • 5 Draw High-low: High-Low Split, declare after the last betting round.
  • Money Back: High-Low Split, pot-limit betting, following the draw there is a betting round, then players flip their cards over 1 at a time with a betting round after each flip, declare after the last betting round, and straights and flushes don't count when evaluating lows. Thus a wheel, namely A-2-3-4-5, is the perfect low. A derivative of Satan that lives up to its name.
  • Jackpots (Jacks Or Better): The opening bet may only be made if that player has a pair of Jacks or better. If no one opens the betting, the hand is declared over, the deal rotates to the left, players re-ante, and the game is re-dealt, but now players need a pair of Queens or better to open, then Kings, then Aces, and then back to Jacks. The player that opened must show openers before discarding the hand or at showdown. If the player that opened draws cards and discards one or more of the cards comprising the required openers, then that player must show openers at time of draw.
  • Jackpots Once Around: Same as Jackpots, but deal rotates, continue dealing jackpots until each player has dealt at least once, and players can open blind. Opening blind means that the player to the dealer's left can open before cards are dealt for pot, and if the player to a player's right opened blind, then he can also open blind for pot.
  • Jacks or Back: Same as Jackpots, if a player opens. If no player can open, then the hand is played low only, and each player, starting to the left of the dealer, gets another chance to open. If no one opens for low, then the hand is declared over, the deal rotates to the left, players re-ante, and the game is re-dealt. Players still need a pair of Jacks to open for high.
  • Progression: Jacks or better to open (as in Jackpots) and trips to win. The game continues, deal rotating to the left, until a player has 3-Of-A-Kind or better. If a player folds, then he is not dealt for the remainder of the game.
  • Kings And Low-Men: Kings and the lowest card in your hand are wild.
  • No Vaseline: Same as Kings And Low-Men, but if the opener does not win the hand, then the winner takes the pot, the opener (and only the opener) matches the pot, the deal rotates, and another hand of No Vaseline is dealt. If no one opens, then players re-ante, the deal rotates, and it is dealt again. The game ends when the opener is the winner.
  • Connect Four: The lowest card in your hand is wild, and 4s are wild. If the lowest card in your hand is a 4, then it's the only wild card you have. Aces are high when figuring out wild cards (i.e. Aces are never wild -- you'll always have at least one card lower than an Ace. Aces can be used in an A-2-3-4-5 straight, though). There's some oddities about this game. First, people always get confused by this: if you have A,4,3,3,2 in your hand then guess what, you have four 3s -- the 4 and 2 are the only wild cards. Another is this, 4 Jacks never seems to win. I've seen 4 Tens, Jacks Full, and once a Straight win, but I've never seen 4 Jacks win.
  • Spit in the Ocean: Deal 4 to each player and 1 up in the middle of the table. During the deal someone has to say "spit," which causes the dealer to throw the next card face up into the middle of the table. The card in the middle of the table and all like it are wild and is shared by all players. Continue like 5 Draw. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 7.
  • Phlegm: Same as Spit In The Ocean, but cards are flipped over one at a time after the draw with a bet after each flip. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 7.
  • In The Snatch: Same as Spit In The Ocean, but the wild card is put in the middle of the table face down after the the initial 4 card deal. After what would normally be the last betting round, the wild card is exposed and there is another betting round. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 7.
  • Phlegm In The Snatch: Same as Phlegm, but the wild card is put in the middle of the table face down after the the initial 4 card deal. After the betting round following the draw, the wild card is exposed and there is betting round. Then cards are flipped over one at a time with a bet after each flip, just like regular Phlegm. Note that this changes the maximum number of players to 7. We came up with In The Snatch in college, and I could not resist combining it with Phlegm, a game I found on Chilcoot's website.

Hurricane

• Maximum Number of Players: 13
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. Deal 2 to each player.
  2. Bet, then draw. Players can draw up to 2 cards.
  3. Bet, declare, bet, and show. High and low split. Only pairs and high cards count.
• Note that there's a betting round after declaration.

Six Back To Five

• Maximum Number of Players: 5
• Wild Cards: None
• The Game:
  1. Deal 6 to each player.
  2. Bet, then draw. Players must discard 1 more card than they wish to receive; thus, after the draw, players will have exactly 5 cards. Players can draw up to 3 cards.
  3. Bet and show. High hand takes the pot.

Three Card Monte

• Maximum Number of Players: 8
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split
• The Game:
  1. Deal 3 to each player.
  2. Bet, then draw. Players can draw up to 3 cards.
  3. Bet, declare, bet, and show. High and low split. The order of high hands, from highest to lowest, is:
     • Three-of-a-kind
     • Straight Flush
     • Straight
     • Flush
     • Pair
     • High Card
  4. For low hands, disregard straights and flushes. Best low hand is A,2,3 no matter what the suit.
• Note that there's a betting round after declaration.

Three Legged Race

• Maximum Number of Players: 8
• Wild Cards: None
• High-Low Split, but not the pot. See below.
• Cards Talk
• The Game:
  1. Deal 3 to each player.
  2. Bet, then draw. Players can draw up to 3 cards.
  3. Bet, show. The player with high hand and player with low hand each receive a leg. The order of high hands, from highest to lowest, is:
     • Three-of-a-kind
     • Straight Flush
     • Straight
     • Flush
     • Pair
     • High Card
     Disregard straights and flushes for both high and low. Note that since aces are both high and low, it is possible for a player to have both the highest and lowest hand, and a player can receive two legs with one hand.
  4. Re-ante, re-shuffle, and re-deal. Continue until one or more players has 3 legs.
  5. First player with 3 legs takes the pot (or the pot is split among all players with 3 legs).
• Variants:
  • Three Card Double Draw Lowball: Low only, either with or without multiple legs. After the deal, bet. Players may then each draw up to 2 cards. Bet. Players may all draw 1 card or stand pat. Bet. Showdown. If fewer than eight players are involved, additional cards may be drawn (dealer's choice).

Trees

• Maximum Number of Players: 10
• Wild Cards: None
• The Game:
  1. Deal 5 to each player.
  2. Bet, then players can trade any number of cards with each other provided that they trade the same number of cards.
  3. Bet and show. High hand takes the pot.
• Variants:
  • High-Low Split, declare after the last betting round.
  • After the trading is over, have players flip cards 1 at a time with a betting round after each flip. If playing high-low split, then declare before the last card is flipped.