Draw Poker Strategy

This is a bit off topic for me but I have been playing more draw poker tournaments lately and thought I would shed some light on some key Draw strategies.

First off, I tend to play multiple tables whenever I play tournaments and mixing in Draw with NLHE and/or Horse tournaments really makes you focus. I would not recommend it unless you are very comfortable with all the games.

One of the key difference with Draw poker is the necessity to stay engaged at the table. Unlike NLHE, where you can wait to be prompted, then you can review the betting and make an semi-accurate assessment as to what has transpired, in Draw you have to stay on top of things at all times.

Ideally, you would only play one Draw tournament and no other tables. In addition to betting patterns, it is critical to know how many cards other players have drawn. For instance, if you have trips you are likely to draw two cards, if you have a pair you are likely to draw two or three cards, if you have a straight draw or a flush draw you are likely to draw one card and if you stand pat you are likely to have the flush or straight already.

It is critical to know what your opponent has drawn for betting purposes after the draw, especially when the bet and pot sizes get very large at the end of tournaments.

If you have trips and bet/raise strong before the flop and another player is calling or raising you, then likely he has two pair or better. Now at the draw, he stands pat. Well if you do not improve to a full house, you are toast. Yes, occasionally a player might bluff this pattern, but I have not seen much of that. When a player stands pat it almost surely means they have a straight, flush or full house -- for any other hands they would draw at least one card.

If you are not paying attention when players draw cards, you have little or no ability to put a player on a hand. Draw poker can be lots of fun but you have to PAY ATTENTION.

Try Some Other Games

I have been branching out a bit and playing a bit more non-Hold'em tourneys lately. I really enjoy Pot Limit Omaha and Omaha 8 tourneys and last night I tried my first 5 Card draw tourney. I really like the game. There is a lot more bluffing after the draw, it is usually right to take a stab at the pot but then fold to a raise if you do not have trips or better.

It is also interesting when someone stands pat with their hand and does not draw. Usually this means that they were dealt a flush or straight, but it also is a very interesting bluffing opportunity if played correctly and the betting levels are high enough relative to stacks (in other words someone won't call you just to see what you have).

Pokerstars is the best site to try these other games because they have a lot of $5 buy in tourneys on the half hours for non-Hold'em games. They get between 100 and 500 players and are great places to practice.

I also really enjoy the Horse tourneys on Full Tilt. They have several every hour. Horse is a nice challenging game because the game rotates from Hold'em to Omaha to Razz (lowball) and finally Stud. It keeps you on your toes and continually learning.

If you are getting bored with NLHE, give these other games a chance and rekindle your love of poker.