Although it’s no longer 1978, and five-card draw isn’t on TV save for occasional reruns of Maverick on the Western Channel, don’t think it's a dead game.  With Texas Holdem going strong for five years now, many home game hosts like to mix up poker night with this old favorite.  In mid-November, PokerStars added 5-card draw in limit, pot-limit and no-limit variants, to its list of games offered.  I rushed to the tables, and found by playing a tight-aggressive game I was able to make some nice scores.  That's because many players have no concept of pot odds, and also play the game as if they were playing Texas Holdem -- chasing with any pocket pair or straight or flush draw.  Do that and you’ll just flush your money away.

With Stars now spreading draw, look for an influx of players queuing up to give the game a try.  Home game rules may vary a bit, but as Stars is now the top online card room, it will be where many first encounter five card draw.  Here’s how to make the cash and send the chumps to the cashier.  While this article is geared especially for new limit draw players on PokerStars, it can also apply to other variations of five-card draw that do not have wild cards.  (Our focus is limit, as pot and no-limit games have many more complexities, and pot and no-limit games are also a rare sight in home games.)

First things first: Know the rules.  This may sound obvious, but many people haven’t played it in a long, long time.  Online, the game is spread for six players at a time, and uses blinds rather than antes.  Just like in holdem poker, these blinds are the two spots to the left of the dealer button.

There are two rounds of betting in draw.  The first is when you are dealt your five cards; the second is after you take cards.  One thing that is important to remember: You can take as many cards as you like when playing on Poker Stars.  Typically in a home game, you can only take three cards, or four with an Ace.  But Stars games allow you to dispose of all five cards if you so choose.

There is also no joker or wild cards online.  If you own a copy of Super System,there is an excellent draw section written by the Mad Genius himself, Mike Caro.  This is geared, however, for those 70s California games, which typically had a joker that could be used to make a flush or straight, or could be used as an Ace; and in home games it’s usually just wild.  So, if you play in a home game that uses jokers or wild cards, you can’t play the same online; you’ll get killed by playing far too many hands.

Of course, just like in all forms of poker the hand rankings are the same, with the highest hand winning.  Pots usually can’t be split in five-card draw because there are no community cards; the only time this would happen is if two people held flushes or straights of the exact same rank.

Now, let’s get on to some basic strategies to get you the chips.

Opening hand requirements.  As in any poker game, position is key.  If you are first to act after the blinds, you have to tighten up.  With only six players, pots won’t be as big as in holdem, so you can’t chase with marginal hands.

Under the gun, you’ll want to have Queens-or-better to open.  I'll call with Queens, and raise with Kings or better.  In middle and late position, I’ll add tens and Jacks into the mix, and on the button be more apt to raise with Queens.  If everyone has folded to you on the button, raise rather than call, as you have a good shot to steal the blinds.

As far as drawing hands go, you have to be very selective.  Drawing hands do not play well when you are out of position, especially under-the-gun, because your hand might look pretty but in fact it’s really overrated.  Take a $.50/$1 limit game with blinds of $.25 and $.50.  There is $.75 in the pot, and it costs you $.50 to call.  You are 4.2-to-1 against to hit your flush.  You don’t have to be an expert to see that the math doesn’t look good and you’ll just bleed your chips away by chasing.  Now, if you have a straight flush draw, you can certainly limp as you have more outs -- but get away from chasing flushes and straights out of position.  I’ll only draw to the flush or straight when on the button or one off the button, and I’ve got callers.  In this $.50/$1 limit game, I’d want at least $2 in the pot.  The only exception would be if the game were extremely loose and you were in middle position, with a couple of fish to your left who call very often to see the draw -- but you have to have a feel for the game and be sure you’ll have a good pot built up by the fish.  Don’t go chasing with those flush and straight draws before you have a feel for how loose or tight the game is.  (And as far as inside straights, forget about it. The old saying might not always apply to stud and holdem, but it does in draw: Never draw to an inside straight.)

You may be wondering about other pairs at this point.  In the little blind, with two callers or more, I’ll call with any pair as it’s only half of a small bet to draw, assuming the big blind does not raise.  Unfortunately as far as other pairs go, when you're not in the blinds, it’s a losing proposition to chase to try to get trips or two pair with anything less than tens.  This may sound ultra-tight, but it’s what will get you the money, period.  If you’ve read my previous columns on holdem, you know how much I love any pocket pair in loose, passive games because they are easy to dump on the flop when they do not hit, and when they do hit, I’ll get action from players who improved to top pair.  It doesn’t work that way in draw, because of the smaller number of players and the fact that you’ve got two -- not four -- betting rounds.  Dump small and medium pairs, play only the premium ones, and you’ll find your winning sessions will quickly outweigh your losing ones.

Cold Calling. Cold calling, or calling two bets, is best avoided in draw.  Calling one bet is OK, but if it’s two bets to me I want to be raising or folding.  Why?  Because calling indicates weakness, and means I’m surrendering control of the pot.  If I re-raise, I get information if the player comes back at me -- he probably has trips or better; if he just calls he’s much more likely to check to me after the draw if he doesn’t improve.  An initial raise means a player may have Aces, and maybe even two pair or better.  Therefore, I want to have a good two pair to re-raise with; and obviously if I’ve got trips or better I’ll be re-raising without a second thought.

In middle position, I’ll re-raise with Jacks-up or better; on the button I’ll re-raise with sevens-up or better.  This may sound tight, but I’ve found most players tend to be passive before the draw unless they’ve got something good.  As a result, you’ve got to respect raises.  Certainly change your requirements for re-raising as you gain knowledge of your opponents.  If, for instance, you find a player loves to jam the pot time and time again, go ahead and re-raise with any two pair.  Pay attention to what they show with, especially those times when they don’t improve because it’ll give you a feel for how tight or loose they are playing.  And remember here too we’re talking about what to do when you face two bets; certainly raise with any two pair if no one has yet raised.

Post-draw play: How many cards did they take?  How I play after the draw depends not just on what I hold, but also on what my opponents did on the draw.  Some may think that five-card draw is pure gambling, because there’s no community cards or cards dealt face-up.  Just because there are no cards face-up doesn’t make five-card draw the equivalent of a video poker machine.  You can still get an idea of what people hold based on how they played before the draw, and how many cards they took.  Obviously a raise means they’ve got a premium hand, very likely two pair or better.  The biggest thing to look for, though, is how many they drew.  If they take three cards, obviously they can only have a pair (they aren’t drawing to a flush or straight).  If they take two, trips are the most likely hand.  Some players will keep a big kicker with their big pair, although the better play is to draw three cards and not keep the kicker card as trips are what you want.  Remember, you can’t be confusing this with holdem, where kickers are huge.  In draw, you’re only playing the big pairs anyway, so go for trips unless you feel by drawing two your opponents will put you on trips due to a tight table image.  When a player takes one card, if he raised before the draw put him on two pair.  If he called, he's on a straight or flush draw; a passive player might hold a weak two pair.  If he then comes out and bets (especially if you raised and he did not re-raise or cold-call) after the draw, he most likely improved to a straight, flush or full house.  When that happens, don’t be afraid to fold unimproved big pairs.  With a big two pair or better, you’ll have to have an excellent read to lay down your hand, but I have no problem laying down a small or medium two pair after the draw when a player bets into me and the pot is small.

About that pot…  One final consideration is the size of the pot.  Of course you consider this when looking at whether or not to call with your drawing hand, but also, after the draw, consider the size of the pot.  If you’ve got a large pot and are heads-up, loosen up with what you call with, unless you're convinced your opponent has you beaten.  Some players just love to play aggressive; many others you’ll find will frequently play small and medium pairs, and improve to two pair.  If you’ve got a big two pair that hasn’t improved, that may very well be good enough.  Very often you don’t have to be so sure that you have the best hand; the larger the pot is, the less often you have to be right for your call to be a profitable play.