DRAW GAMES GENERALLY
Draw games preceded both open-card (stud-type) games and community-card (hold 'em-type) games in the evolution of poker. Standard high-hand-wins draw poker is the game you see most often in Old West movies. It is the most widely understood of all poker variations. Most players familiar with any type of poker know how to play draw. It remains popular in home games throughout the world, but it has become less common in public casinos over the years. In draw, all cards are kept concealed by the players until a showdown, if necessary.

There are only two rounds of betting - one when the five cards are received from the dealer and examined, and another after remaining players throw away any cards they don't like and receive replacements. Besides the tradition game where winners are decided with the usual hand values, beginning in strength with royal flush and working down, draw poker is widely played in a variation called lowball, in which the low hand wins.


HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Because of peculiarities of California law, closed card poker games have been legal in California since the late 1800's. Even though other games (particularly stud games) were prohibited, Draw and Lowball were permitted, and gave rise to the modern public cardroom. The existence of these games in California is largely responsible for the birth of modern poker. Although neither game is very popular in public casinos anymore - probably because there are only two betting rounds, and therefore not enough action - they dominated the poker world through the 60's and early 70's, when Texas Hold'em began to take root in Nevada.

Eventually a California court ruling permitted all poker games and the closed card games began to fade in popularity. Nonetheless, they are still offered in some locations, and are one of the most popular forms of poker in private games. Draw is among the simplest and most widely known poker games. It is sometimes played with a "jacks-or-better" opening requirement. This means a player must have at least a pair of jacks to open the pot. Games which require minimum openers are also sometimes played with a "progressive" feature, so that if nobody can open with at least a pair of jacks one hand, then everyone must re-ante, increasing the size of the pot, and the openers advance to queens or better. A fairly common variant of Draw is "Jacks Back," discussed hereafter. There are more variations of draw and lowball than most other games. The most common are discussed here.

Many modern poker rules have their genesis in closed card situations. The major California cardrooms - the most experienced in draw games - have fairly much standardized their Five-Card Draw rules. Caro & Cooke's Rules has deviated from the standard California Rules only in very minor ways.


BUTTON, BLINDS, ANTES
The game is largely one of positional advantage, so it is played with a rotating dealer button, giving each player the same opportunity to play hands in early and late positions. Sometimes the game is played with blinds, just like Hold'em games are. In addition to the two blinds to the left of the dealer position, a small blind is entered on the dealer position, making three total blind bets. One seat to the left of the dealer is the middle blind and two seats to the left is the big blind. In the common high-hand-wins variation, there are usually no blinds, but players ante. In the low-hand-wins variations, blinds usually are used instead of antes. Sometimes blinds are used in high-hand-wins, also. This latter form of high Draw is commonly called "California."


LIVE BLIND
If all opponents who play only call the big blind, rather than raise, the player having entered the big blind has an option to raise. This action, which is inconsistent with usual poker procedure, is called a "live blind" and is used in other forms of poker as well.


THE DECK AND DEAL
As noted elsewhere in Caro & Cooke's Rules, each player receives five cards facedown, one at a time in Draw and Lowball. The traditional version of the game, as it existed in the 19th century and is still commonly played, requires a standard 52-card deck. In California casinos, the game is played with a fifty-three-card deck that includes an extra card known as a joker or bug. This joker isn't a true wild card, because its use is limited to completing straight and flushes or serving as an ace. After completion of the deal there is a betting round. Players are then are given the opportunity to replace from zero to five cards followed by a second betting round. In limit games the stakes double on the second round, as they do on the turn in Hold'em and on fifth street in Seven-card Stud. Five cards constitute a playing hand. More or fewer than five cards after the draw constitute a folded hand.


THE DRAW
After the first betting round each active player who stays for the draw may replace from zero to five cards. Any player may draw up to five cards, dealt consecutively from the deck. A second betting round follows the draw. In most limit games the stakes double on the second betting round.


ORDER OF ACTION
If blind bets are used instead of antes or in addition to antes, action on the first betting round proceeds exactly the same as in Hold'em games, beginning with the player to the left of the blinds, who may call the blind bet, fold, or raise. In ante-only games, action begins with the player to the left of the dealer, who may bet or check. In some ante-only games, the player must either bet or fold in an unopened pot on the first betting round. Usually checking is allowed, though. Action on the second betting round begins with the person who opened the betting on the first round and proceeds clockwise from there. If that player has folded, first action begins to the left of the opening position. In blind games, the middle blind, if still active, and then the big blind, if still active, are considered to have opened the betting and act first. Therefore, the action always begins to the left of the dealer on the second betting round in blind games.


BETTING CAP
Historically unlimited raises have been allowed. Sometimes the betting is limited to six raises. These raises are more than what is traditionally allowed in most other forms of poker to compensate for the reduced number of betting rounds. However this tends to lend to collusion, so Caro & Cooke's Rules limits raises to four. (Alternate Rule. A bet and six raises shall be permitted.) As in all other poker games, in head's up play raises are unlimited. If the second betting round starts with more than two players and other players fold, so that the hand becomes head's up, the betting cap remains. Caps are always in effect whenever a betting round begins with three or more active players who have chips remaining. (Alternate Rule. Once the field of active opponents is reduced to two players, the betting cap is removed. Caro & Cooke's Rules recommends the main rule in the interest of simplicity.)


OPENING BET
The minimum opening bet is the size of the large blind (unless otherwise posted). Thus, in a $30-$60 limit game where the Blinds are $10, $20, and $30, a player may open for a $30 call or for $60, raising the big blind, before the draw.