DirectDraw has been obsolete since DirectX 8 was released, if I'm not mistaken. These days, most people recommend using textured quads for 2D graphics, as it gives you access to the 3D pipeline and its features, which can make certain processes a lot easier.

You can find more info here: http://members.gamedev.net/jhoxley/directx/DirectXForumFAQ.htm#D3D_3

DirectDraw was merged into Direct3D DX8. These tutorials cover creating 2D graphics with Direct3D. If you notice the tutorial writer suggests you go through his Basic DirectX tutorials first before doing his Game Display tutorials.

I found these tutorials were helpful when learning DirectX. I later bought a book by Frank D. Luna that I really liked. Here is the link to the book. The book covers vertex and pixel shaders. Older graphics cards might not support them. If you have an old graphics card, you might want to go with his older book instead. The older book still covers Directx9 but does not mention shaders until the appendix. The book is located here.