Strong Hands in Five Card Draw
Category: Poker
The hand rankings for Five Card Draw are the same as in other well known games such as Omaha and Holdem, but the different nature of the game calls for differing ways to play these hands. If you are going to be dealt a very strong hand, it is probably better to be dealt Four of a Kind than a Royal Flush. This is because the fact that you will be drawing one card disguises your strength and makes it appear you have a two pair or drawing hand.
If you are dealt a ‘pat hand’ such as a Flush or Straight, you should be raising strongly preflop, because once you choose not to draw any cards, your opponents will know that they are almost certainly up against a very strong hand.
If you have got some chips into the pot before the draw in this situation you have done all you can, but be aware of the possibility that another plyer may be dealt a pat hand too. I recently had to fold a low Straight against a Flush in this scenario, but that is a rare occurence.
You do not find yourself being dealt strong poker hands all that often in Five Card Draw, so I generally like to play pairs of Jacks and upwards strongly. Of course if you are reraised with Jacks you might want to consider folding it, but generally I will call a raise with Kings or Aces and examine how many my opponent draws. This will usually show what hand they have, and ideally they would draw one with a Two Pair, and you would make a strong two pair or better after the draw. The most important aspect of this game I feel, is always reading what your opponent has by how many they are drawing and their raising previous to the draw.
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