Poker Variations You Can Play on Ventury Games

Five Card Draw

This is a simple game but one that requires certain ability. In Five Card Draw, the dealer starts by dealing five face down cards to the players clockwise. After the first round each player can discard or draw up to five cards. No one see anyone else’s cards until the showdown.

In this game there are just two betting rounds, the blind and a second one once the game has begun. Betting starts from the player position next to the dealer button (in online games, the dealer button replaces the real dealer) and moves clockwise after each hand. The game works as follows:

1. The Blinds

Before the game begins, the two players “seated” to the left of the dealer post blind bets. These are called blinds because they are made before the players have seen any community cards. The player to the left of the dealer posts the “small blind”, and the player positioned to his left then posts the “big blind.” The blinds ensure that there is some money in the pot at the start of the game.

2. Initial card dealing

Five cards are all dealt face down to each player. After that, the first player to the left of the one who made the big blind opens the betting round. This first player cannot check, but can:

• Call: Match the amount bet in the big blind.
• Raise: Increase the amount bet.
• Fold: Give up his/her cards and quit the hand.

If no one has raised the betting, when the round reaches the player who made the big blind, he/she can either check or raise it.

3. Discard

After the first round of betting, the players have to discard or draw new cards. Each player will decide if he/she should discard or draw new cards and whether or not to take up to 5 cards, or to discard and decide not to take replacements.

4. Second betting round

When all players have discarded or taken replacements, the second round of betting begins. The player seated to the left of the dealer button opens this round. The options available to this player are: fold, check or bet. Should the player fold or check, the next player in turn will have the same options as the first. If the first player does bet, the next player to act will have the option to fold, call or raise. Before a player acts, he/she displays the number of discarded cards to everyone.

In Fixed Limit games there is a maximum of four bets allowed in each betting round. This includes a bet, a raise, a re-raise and a cap. A cap is the third raise in a betting round, after which no more betting is allowed. Pot Limit and No Limit games allow for an unlimited number of bets and raises.

5. Showdown

At “showdown” time (the confrontational moment), whoever had the last action must show his/her cards first, regardless if it was a bet, raise, or re-raise.

A player who has a winning hand does not have to show his/her cards if their bet was not called. The rest of players are not required to show their cards. If a player calls a bet and sees that he/she cannot win, they may fold their cards.

The winner is the player who stayed in the game and had the best hand.