There are two betting rounds, one before the draw and
one after the draw. The game is played with a button and
an ante. Players in turn may check, open for the minimum,
or open with a raise. After the first betting round the
players have the opportunity to draw new cards to replace
the ones they discard. action after the draw starts with
the opener, or next player proceeding clockwise if the
opener has folded. The betting limit after the draw is
twice the amount of the betting limit before the draw.
Some draw high games allow a player to open on anything;
others require the opener to have a pair of jacks or better.
RULES OF DRAW HIGH
1. A maximum of a bet and four raises is permitted in
multihanded pots. [See “Section 16 – Explanations,”
discussion #6, for more information on this rule.]
2. check-raise is permitted both before and after the
draw.
3. Any card that is exposed by the dealer before the
draw must be kept.
4. Five cards constitute a playing hand. Less than five
cards for a player (other than the button) before action
has been taken is a misdeal. If action has been taken,
a player with fewer than five cards may draw the number
of cards necessary to complete a five-card hand. The button
may receive the fifth card even if action has taken place.
More or fewer than five cards after the draw constitutes
a fouled hand.
5. A player may draw up to four consecutive cards. If
a player wishes to draw five new cards, four are dealt
right away, and the fifth card after everyone else has
drawn cards. If the last player wishes to draw five new
cards, four are dealt right away, and a card is burned
before the player receives a fifth card. [See “Section
16 – Explanations,” discussion #9, for more
information about this rule.]
6. You may change the number of cards you wish to draw,
provided:
(a) No cards have been dealt off the deck in response
to your request (including the burncard).
(b) No player has acted, in either the betting or indicating
the number of cards to be drawn, based on the number of
cards you have requested.
7. If you are asked how many cards you drew by another
active player, you are obligated to respond until there
has been action after the draw, and the dealer is also
obligated to respond. Once there is any action after the
draw, you are no longer obliged to respond and the dealer
cannot respond.
8. On the draw, an exposed card cannot be taken. The
draw is completed to each player in order, and then the
exposed card is replaced.
9. Rapping the table in turn constitutes either a pass
or the declaration of a pat hand that does not want to
draw any cards, depending on the situation. A player who
indicates a pat hand by rapping the table, not knowing
the pot has been raised, may still play his or her hand.
10. You may not change your seat between hands when
there are multiple antes or forfeited money in the pot.
11. You have the right to pay the ante (whether single
or multiple) at any time and receive a hand, unless there
is any additional money in the pot that has been forfeited
during a hand in which you were not involved.
12. If the pot has been declared open by an all-in player
playing for just the antes, all callers must come in for
the full opening bet .
13. If you have only a full ante and no other chips
on the table, you may play for just the antes. If no one
opens and there is another ante, you may still play for
that part of the antes that you have matched, without
putting in any more money.
JACKS-OR-BETTER
1. A pair of jacks or better is required to open the
pot. If no player opens the pot, the button moves forward
and each player must ante again, unless the limit of antes
has been reached for that particular game. (Most games
allow three consecutive deals before anteing stops.)
2. If the opener should show false openers before the
draw, any other active player has the opportunity to declare
the pot opened. However, any player who originally passed
openers is not eligible to declare the pot open. The false
opener has a dead hand and the opening bet stays in the
pot. Any other bet placed in the pot by the opener may
be withdrawn, provided the action before the draw is not
completed. If no other player declares the pot open, all
bets are returned except the opener ’s first bet
. The first bet and antes will remain in the pot, and
all players who were involved in that hand are entitled
to play the next hand after anteing again.
3. Any player who has legally declared the pot opened
must prove openers in order to win the pot.
4. In all cases, the pot will play (even if the opener
shows or declares a fouled hand) if there has been a raise,
two or more players call the opening bet, or all action
is completed before the draw.
5. Even if you are all in for just the ante (or part
of the ante), you may declare the pot open if you have
openers. If you are all in and falsely declare the pot
open, you will lose the ante money and may not continue
to play on any subsequent deals until a winner is determined.
Even if you buy in again, you must wait until the pot
has been legally opened and someone else has won it before
you can resume playing.
6. Once action has been completed before the draw, the
opener may not withdraw any bets, whether or not the hand
contains openers.
7. An opener may be allowed to retrieve a discarded
hand to prove openers, at management’s discretion.
8. Any player may request that the opener retain the
opening hand and show it after the winner of the pot has
been determined.
9. You may split openers, but you must declare that
you are splitting and place all discards under a chip
to be exposed by the dealer after the completion of the
hand. If you declare that you are splitting openers, but
it is determined that you could not possibly have had
openers when your final hand is compared with your discards,
you will lose the pot.
10. You are not splitting openers if you retain openers.
If you begin with the ace, joker, king, queen of spades,
and the ten of clubs, you are not splitting if you throw
the ten of clubs away. You are breaking a straight to
draw to a royal flush, and in doing so, you have retained
openers (ace-joker for two aces).
11. After the draw, if you call the opener’s bet
and cannot beat openers, you will not get your bet back.
(You have received information about opener’s hand
that is not free.)
THE JOKER
1. The players will be alerted as to whether the joker
is in use.
2. The joker may be used only as an ace, or to complete
a straight, flush, or straight flush . (Thus it is not
a completely wild card.)
3. If the joker is used to make a flush, it will be
the highest card of the flush not present in the hand.
4. Five aces is the best possible hand (four aces and
joker).
