Drawmaha

It’s Omaha with five cards and a draw in the middle

Think of it as two games stapled together. You get five cards. There’s a flop, then everyone gets one chance to throw cards away and draw new ones, then a turn and a river. At the end the pot splits two ways:

• Half goes to the best Omaha hand: exactly two of your five cards plus exactly three from the board.
• Half goes to the best five-card high hand made from just your own five cards, board ignored.

That’s why people call it the world’s most confusing way to hold the same cards twice.

30-second cheat sheet

• Five hole cards each. Betting, then a three-card flop, then betting.
• Then one draw: everybody says how many cards (1 to 3 in WSOP rules, or standing pat) to throw away and gets replacements.
• Turn, betting, river, betting.
• Half the pot: best Omaha high (exactly 2 from your hand + 3 board).
• Half the pot: best 5-card poker hand from your own cards only.
• Played pot-limit, limit or no-limit. Seven players max at the WSOP.

Full rules

The deal and first round

Button, small and big blind (WSOP rules let rooms use one blind, several, antes or a mix). Five cards face down each. Betting starts left of the big blind.

The flop

Burn a card, deal three face-up community cards. Betting round, starting left of the button.

The draw

This is the part that makes it Drawmaha. Starting left of the button, each player announces how many cards they’re drawing. The WSOP lets you draw one to three cards, or stand pat. Once you’ve named a number, you’re stuck with it. The dealer burns and deals the turn, then deals out the draw cards. Betting round.

Rooms disagree on a lot of the draw details, so ask: some let you draw all five, some only two, and some deal the draw cards before the turn card instead of after.

River and showdown

River card, final betting round, showdown. Only your final five cards count. Anything you threw away is gone, even if it was a great Omaha card.

Two independent halves

• Omaha half: use exactly two of your five cards and exactly three board cards. Best five-card high hand.
• Draw half: use all five of your own cards. Ordinary high-hand rankings. The board does nothing.

Ties split their half. Odd chips go by position (check the house rule).

Worked examples

The monster that only gets half

A full house that loses half the pot

Board

Alice

• Draw hand (5-card high):Full house, Kings full of Fours✓ wins
• Omaha hand (high):Pair of Kings

Bob

• Draw hand (5-card high):Ace high
• Omaha hand (high):Ace-high flush✓ wins

Alice takes half · Bob takes half

Alice has kings full of fours, a monster in the draw half. But in the Omaha half she can only use two of her cards, so her best is a pair of kings. Bob’s ace-high flush (A♠ J♠ with the board’s Q♠ 8♠ 3♠) is the best Omaha hand, and his five cards on their own are just ace-high. One pot, two different winners.

The scoop

One set of five cards, two winning hands

Board

Carol

• Draw hand (5-card high):Six-high straight✓ wins
• Omaha hand (high):Nine-high straight✓ wins

Dave

• Draw hand (5-card high):Two pair, Kings and Fours
• Omaha hand (high):Three Kings

Carol scoops the whole pot.

Carol’s 6-5-4-3-2 is a straight in the draw half, and the same hand makes a nine-high straight in the Omaha half (6-5 plus the board’s 9-8-7). Dave’s two pair and three kings can’t match either. Carol scoops.

Same board, different winner

Same board, different hole cards unlock a higher straight

Board

Gus

• Draw hand (5-card high):Pair of Aces✓ wins
• Omaha hand (high):Eight-high straight

Hana

• Draw hand (5-card high):Pair of Nines
• Omaha hand (high):Nine-high straight✓ wins

Gus takes half · Hana takes half

Gus has the better draw hand (a pair of aces) so he wins that half. But on a 5-6-7 board, Hana’s 9-8 in her hand makes a nine-high straight, beating Gus’s 8-4 eight-high straight. Which two cards you pair with the board matters.

How you’ll embarrass yourself

• Using more than two hole cards for the Omaha half. Exactly two. Always.
• Discarding half your Omaha hand to chase the draw. Only your final five cards count at showdown.
• Falling in love with big Omaha cards. A-K-Q-J-x with no pair makes a strong Omaha hand but a weak draw hand: a one-way hand.
• Ignoring how many cards your opponents drew. A one-card draw is scary. A four-card draw is usually a pair at best.
• Thinking one player has to win both halves. It’s totally normal for two different players to each win half.

Lore and reputation

Drawmaha (also spelled Dramaha) is a mixed-game cult favorite. One online poker room claims the game was invented at a poker club in Stockholm in 2006 and was originally called Sviten, though that’s the room’s own claim. It is spread in Las Vegas mixed games, especially during the WSOP. It has a lot of cousins: the draw half can be 2-7 low, ace-to-five low, badugi, or even “49” (a pip count where face cards are worth zero and the highest total wins).

A popular twist called Sviten Special: if you draw exactly one card, it’s dealt face up and you can keep it or reject it for a face-down replacement.