Meanwhile, a Texas Holdem cash game is played on a single table with 2 to 10 players. The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time. You win a pot by having the best hand or by having all other players fold before the showdown. A Texas Hold’em game can be broken up into three main parts: Setup; Betting Rounds; Showdown. You may discard up to 3 cards (4 if you have an Ace) and get those cards replaced by the dealer. There is then another betting round and then the cards are shown and a dealer determined. You can, of course, fold any time during the hand and only lose the money you have invested up to that point. You will play with part of a standard poker deck consisting of only the cards 2 through 6 (20 cards), while your friend will play with the remaining cards (32 cards). You will play a game of poker in which each player is dealt 5 cards and there is no 'discard and replace' phase. The normal rules for poker hand superiority apply.
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It’s a weekend and you and a friend or family member are wondering if you can play a game of poker with just the 2 of you. I have been playing for over 10 years and can give you a definitive answer.
Can you play poker with 2 players? Poker can be played with only two players. It is called heads-up. Here are the two player rules:
- The dealer is the small blind and the other player posts the big blind. Players take turns being the dealer.
- The first card is dealt
to the player in the big blind. - The Dealer goes first before the flop and the Big Blind goes first after the flop.
Let’s cover a few more common questions that players typically have about 2 player poker in greater detail.
What Are the 2 Player Poker Rules?
Now that you are set up to play, let’s cover how to play 2 player poker. Here are the basic rules that you will need to know in order to play your game.
You may want to keep this page open in your browser in case questions come up during play.
1. How do the blinds work in 2 player poker?
How the blinds work is probably the most confusing thing in heads-up poker. However, once you get the hang of it it’s not that difficult to remember since there are only a couple of differences between 6-max or full-ring rules.
Who Is the Big Blind Who Is the Small Blind in Heads-Up Poker?
This is the most common question I get about 2 player poker
How Do We Determine Who Gets the Button First at the Start of the Game?
The easiest and most fair way to determine who gets to be dealer first is for each player to draw a card from the deck. The high card gets to deal first.
2. How Are the Cards Dealt in 2 Player Poker?
Which Blind Gets Dealt to First Before the Flop?
The big blind gets the first card and the dealer gets the second card in heads-up play. The easy way to remember this is that the dealer never deals to his or her self first.
Can the Same Person Deal Every Hand?
It’s true that sometimes one person is better at dealing. In this case, it’s okay for the same person to
Just make sure that you move the dealer button each hand. It would be highly unfair if the same person had to play the big blind every single hand!
3. Who Goes First When Only Two Players Are Playing?
I remember walking up to observe the heads-up match between two friends in pub poker. I quickly realized that they were following the opposite order of play that they were supposed to.
I did not want to embarrass them so I kept quiet. It was apparent everyone else didn’t want to as well since none of the 10-15 observers said anything!
Who Goes First Before the Flop?
Pre-flop, the dealer always acts first in 2 player poker.
This rule is exactly the same as pre-flop however, it is easy to get wrong for inexperienced players. The easy way to remember it is that the big blind player acts last before the flop in 6 or 9-handed games, and it makes
Who Goes First After the Flop in Heads-Up?
This rule is also exactly the same for normal poker games. The dealer gets to always go last on the flop.
The biggest perk of playing on the dealer button is that you get to act last and have more information than your opponents. This is especially powerful in heads-up since the big blind can never act last.
What If the Dealer Open Folds in 2 Player Games?
When the Dealer decides to not play his or her hand before the flop, the small blind is relinquished to the player in the big blind. The dealer button then moves and the next hand begins.
Is it better to play Heads-Up, Cash Games or Tournaments?
Deciding what format to play in 2 player poker all comes down to personal preference. Each type of game has its perks.
Why Play Heads-up Cash Games?
There are a couple of reasons people might choose cash games over tournaments:
- Blinds Do Not Rise – Perhaps the biggest benefit of 2 person cash games is that you don’t have to worry about the blinds going up like they do in tournaments. You don’t need a special tournament clock, you can just choose your stake level and play indefinitely without having to adjust your style to the rising blinds.
- You Don’t Need Poker Chips – In tournaments, you really need to use poker chips that you can “color up” as the game goes on. That means to add higher value chips to compensate for the bigger stakes. Instead, you can use real coins or even paper money to play cash games.
- Cash Games Take More Skill – If you really want to practice and improve at poker, then the best way is through cash games. Once the blinds rise in tournaments, the game becomes more and more about who is the luckiest person.
Why Play Heads-up Tournaments?
Even though I am a cash game specialist, when I play heads-up I actually prefer tournaments. Here is why:
- There Are Logical End Points – While cash games drag on and on, a tournament always ends up with one person having all the chips. You can then decide whether to start anew or call it a night. So, if you want to play best of 3 or best of 5, you have a better idea of when the night will end and can plan for it. For this reason, it’s also a great format for hosting a home poker tournament with multiple players.
- Tournaments Tend to Be Much More Exciting – There’s nothing more fun in poker than getting to the shove-fold phase of a tournament or sit and go. Chips change hands rapidly and anyone can win at that point. Who doesn’t love a race for all the chips?
- The Games Are Usually More Fun for Beginners – Many people that get into poker are used to watching the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker. Therefore, tournaments are what they are familiar with and likely to understand better.
If you don’t have poker chips, there are likely plenty of poker chip substitutes lying around the house or office.
A Fun Alternative Format: Play Short-Stacked Cash Games
Another idea is to mix both a tournament and cash game feel by playing short stacked cash games
The way it works is that each player starts with 20, 30, or 40 big blinds and then play cash games. The blinds do not rise, but there is still plenty of heavy pre-flop action with lots of reraise shoving
Post-flop also plays a lot easier as a short stack. Top pair is an easy hand to get all-in with when short whereas it can be difficult to play when deed-stacked.
What Is the Best 2 Player Poker Strategy?
The biggest adjustment when playing heads-up poker is that marginal hands go way up in value. 3rd pair or even high card Ace can often win at showdown.
So, loosen up and don’t let your opponent run you over if he or she bets a lot! Conversely, you should bet often when you have any piece of the board or a credible bluff. There is a good chance your opponent might fold a better hand or pay you off with a worse hand.
What 2 Player Games Can We Play Besides Texas Hold’Em?
If you are tired of heads-up No-Limit Hold’em and want to mix in another game occasionally, there are several good options:
- Pot Limit Omaha: In PLO, the heads-up rules are exactly the same as Hold’em except that both players get four hold cards. You also have to use both cards at showdown. Having one Diamond in your hand does not make a flush on a four Diamond board in PLO.
- 5-Card Draw: This is the traditional “old-fashioned” game that most people used to learn poker before No-Limit Hold-em became the dominant game. Both players have a designated ante that they pay before the cards are dealt. Then, you simply deal out 5 cards to each heads-up player. Instead of having a flop, turn, and
river there is instead two betting rounds. Once when you get your initial cards and then after adiscard round. You may discard up to 3 cards (4 if you have an Ace) and get those cards replaced by the dealer. There is then another betting round and then the cards are shown and a dealer determined. You can, of course, fold any time during the hand and only lose the money you have invested up to that point. - 7-Card Stud: This game is similar to draw except that you start with two cards down and one card up. There is then a betting round.
Afterward , another card is turned up one by one with a betting round happening in between. Once both heads-up players each have 7 cards, the dealing is complete and showdown can be reached.
Accessories to Make Matches Even Better
If you want to make your games more classy, then I recommend picking up quality accessories. I wrote recommendation articles for each category, just click the links to learn more:
- Playing Cards– My personal favorite is Copag, what’s yours?
- Poker Chips– I prefer a higher-end set, but there are plenty of good budget poker chip sets available as well.
- Poker Table– I like roll up poker table mats for ease of storage, but that’s just me.
Final Thoughts
Playing heads-up only happens in tournaments if you are the last two players left in the field. However, 2 player poker is something you can do for fun either as a cash game or tournament at home.
If you want to read more about heads-up poker, I wrote a detailed article on the heads-up poker rules for Texas Hold’em. Thanks for stopping by!
Related Questions
Do you have to use both cards in Hold’em? In order to make your best 5-card hand in Hold’em, you can either use both cards or just one.
Is Ace high or low in poker? In Poker, an Ace can usually either be the highest card or the lowest. It can make the highest straight of TJQKA and the lowest straight, often called the wheel, of A2345.
Do you have to match the big blind is poker? In order to qualify to see the flop, you must at least match the amount of the blind.
Table Of Contents
One of the simplest variants of poker, and one that is many poker player's first introduction to the game of poker, is 5-Card Draw.
More common in home games than it is in casinos, 5-card draw has been overtaken in the popularity by games such as Texas hold'em and Omaha poker.
But there are still plenty of 5-card draw fans around the world — particularly in the online world where several online poker sites offer cash games and tournaments.
Free Bonus to Play 5-Card Draw OnlineActivate this no deposit offer to play free 5-card draw games online!
How to Play 5-Card Draw Poker
If you have played any other form of poker, 5-card draw rules are similar in that the aim of the game is to make the best five-card poker hand.
Like Texas hold'em, the poker hand rankings, from weakest to strongest, are as follows:
- High card
- One pair
- Two pair
- Three-of-a-kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Full house
- Four-of-a-kind
- Straight flush
- Royal Flush
When it comes to preflop betting, there are two different methods used in 5-card draw.
Either all players pay an ante before receiving their cards (this is more common in home games), or there is a small blind and big blind similar to hold'em and Omaha games (this is the most common on online poker sites and in casinos).
Three different betting structures exist for 5-card draw, too.
You can play 5-card draw poker as:
- Fixed-limit
- Pot-limit
- No-limit
While all three formats play to the same poker rules, the different betting structures mean your strategy needs to be adapted.
For example, some hands that you wouldn't play in fixed-limit 5-card draw become playable in no-limit 5-card draw because in the latter you can bet enough to force your opponent to fold.
Regardless of the betting structure, this is how to play 5-card draw.
Five-Card Draw Basics
Once everyone has paid the ante or the blinds, each player receives five cards face down.
A round of betting then occurs.
If more than one player remains after that first round of betting, there follows a first round of drawing.
Each active player specifies how many cards he or she wishes to discard and replace with new cards from the deck.
If you are happy with your holding and do not want to draw any cards, you 'stand pat.'
Can You Discard Multiple Cards In Uno
Once the drawing round is completed, there is another round of betting.
After that if there is more than one player remaining, a showdown occurs in which the player with the best five-card poker hand wins.
As you can see, the rules for 5-card draw are simple and make for a fast-paced game, which is why the game is popular with new, less experienced players.
Basic 5-Card Draw Strategy
The fact you can learn how to play five-card draw poker in a few minutes doesn't mean that you will not need to practice to go from beginner to pro.
The best way to do that, is to practice online — possibly with some free games. If you have a few minutes to try a game or two, have a look at 888poker.
You can play with a no deposit bonus on signup that you can use to discover 5-card draw poker and master all the basic and advanced strategy tips that follow.
One trap lesser-skilled 5-card draw players often fall into is playing far too many hands, particularly hands drawing to a straight or flush.
In many cases, the saying 'tight is right' applies when it comes to starting hand selection in 5-card draw.
As in games with community cards, your position in relation to the button is also important in 5-card draw poker.
The closer to the button you are, the wider the range of hands you can play profitably.
Regardless of your position, you should almost always enter the pot with a raise because limping in usually results in several other players limping behind, which in turn means you need a much stronger hand to win the pot.
Play tight from early positions and raise with hands such as aces or kings.
As your position improves, you can add other high pairs such as queens, jacks, tens, and nines, so long as the latter has a good kicker to back it up.
Those of you fortunate enough to have been dealt two pair or three-of-a-kind should always come out raising whether you're under the gun or on the button.
Meanwhile be wary of holdings such as four to a straight or flush, because these are hands with which some players bleed away their bankroll.
How Many Cards Can You Discard In Poker
With one card to come, you're around a 4-to-1 underdog to hit your hand, and often you won't have the correct pot odds to attempt filling your straight or flush, particularly in a short-handed game.
What Should I Discard in 5-Card Draw?
Knowing what cards to discard during the drawing round is what makes and breaks a 5-card poker player.
On a basic level you should consider the following:
| What you hold | What you should do |
|---|---|
| One pair | Draw three cards |
| Two pair | Draw one card |
| Three-of-a-kind | Draw two cards |
The above list is only scratching the surface of what you should draw in 5-card draw. Adhering to it, particularly in low-stakes games, should yield positive results.
Advanced 5-Card Draw Strategy
Once you have a grasp of the basics and are feeling more confident with how to play 5-card draw, you can start applying some more advanced strategies to your game.
There is a large psychological element to 5-card draw thanks in large part to the drawing element of the game.
For example, while it is statistically the best play to draw three cards when you hold a pair, if you always make this play your opponents will be able to read your hand easily and alter their strategy to defeat you.
You need sometimes only to draw to one or two cards with a pair in your hand — or even to stand pat — in order to represent a holding stronger than what you actually have.
Unlike in games such as hold'em, there is rarely any stone cold bluffing in 5-card draw.
Players usually have at least a playable hand when betting even if they are indeed bluffing. This is why it is vitally important to take detailed notes when playing 5-card draw because they are extremely helpful.
Should you make a note that a player only opens with a pair of jacks or stronger on the button, you can easily fold a pair of nines in the blinds instead of calling.
Where Can I Play 5-Card Draw Online
As mentioned at the start of the article, 5-card draw is not a game that enjoys as much popularity as the likes of hold'em, but there are quite a few websites where you can play 5-card draw online.
The safest option is to try one of three sites below and play some games there.
These poker sites are your best bet for finding both 5-card draw cash games and tournaments at a variety of limits.
How Many Cards Can You Discard In Poker Card
It is also possible to hone your skills at the play money tables there and play 5-card draw online poker free of charge with no risk to your bankroll.
The Best Five-Card Draw Sites OnlineFind the best games and play 5-card draw online for free or real money. The first bonus is on us!
'>Photo: Flush Poker Hand - Hearts, Guts Gaming. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.
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