Draw Poker - Game variations

There are some common variations to the basic rules of draw poker, which is otherwise very simple:

In the most popular form of draw poker, often called Jackpots or Jacks or Better, a player may not open the betting unless he has a pair of jacks or better.

Another common version of draw poker is called Pass and Out. In this game, a player may open on anything but in each turn must either bet or drop out – checking is not permitted.

In some draw games, hands other than the standard ones are counted in the showdown, to add a little interest to a game that can otherwise yield lots of fairly mundane showdowns. The precise combinations of cards that are counted depends upon the particular game rules, but some of them are:

Big Tiger: a hand in which the king is the highest card, the eight is the lowest card, and there is no pair

Little Tiger: a hand in which the eight is the highest card, a three the lowest card, and there is no pair

Big Dog: a hand in which an ace is the highest card, a nine is the lowest card, and there is no pair

Little Dog: a hand in which a seven is the highest card, a deuce is the lowest card, and there is no pair

All these hands lose to a flush but normally beat a straight and their relative strength runs down the list above (Big Tiger beats Little Tiger beats Big Dog beats Little Dog).

For ties between big tigers, little tigers, big dogs or little dogs, the rules are the same as for breaking ties between any two hands which contain no pair or better.