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The Rules for General Variations on Draw Poker Games.

Standard Five-Card Draw Poker

Other Draw Poker Games

Variations of Draw Poker

Any draw poker game can be modified in many ways by designating additional wild cards, betting rounds, more or fewer cards, altered hand values, and any other change agreed upon by all players prior to each deal. You can announce such a poker game by using the name of an existing game and specifying the variations. For example, "three-card triple-draw California lowball, kings wild" (a surprisingly good game).

Many times this will result in a poker game that does not play well, but occasionally will produce a game that is well-suited to a particular group of players. Even if it doesn't, such poker games can be used sparingly to enliven an otherwise serious game.

Here are some general guidelines:

If you want to designate some normal suited cards as wild, choose cards that would otherwise be bad for the poker game being played. For example, deuces wild for high-hand games, kings wild for lowball poker, 9-spots wild for high-low split (where an 8-high or lower is necessary to win low). High-low split games play best with more than four players.

When playing high-low split poker games, it is necessary to have either a declaration phase or a qualifier (but not both). The most common form is 8-high or better to qualify low, but also common is any pair/no pair (that is, a pair or better is required to win high, and no pair or better low is required to win low), and 9-high for low.

Designating more than four wild cards will result in considerable confusion and many tie poker hands.

Two to five betting rounds makes a good poker game. One betting round or more than five betting rounds reduces the amount of skill involved in playing the game.

Giving each player more than eight or nine cards usually makes a bad poker game.

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