How to play Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw, and Low Draw Poker

Five-card Draw poker may also be played as a low-only game (lowball). The basic format is the same as in the high version, with each player being dealt five cards, and having options to change cards in each round of betting (if there are more than one) to create their lowest hand.

There are two ways of ranking lows, the most common being 2-7, but it can also be played with standard A-5 low rules. Firstly, here are the (less common) A-5 low rules:

The winning hand is that which contains the lowest combination of cards possible. Obviously, pairs aren’t good to have, nor are high cards, but unlike in split games, like Omaha hi-lo, there is no ‘qualifier’ – hands are simply compared at showdown and the lowest hand wins. Ace counts as low, with straights and flushes not counting against the low. The best possible low hand in this version is therefore A 2 3 4 5, any suits (known as ‘the wheel,’ or ‘bicycle’).

Lows are compared from highest card down, therefore A 2 3 4 7 would beat A 2 3 5 7, and 3 4 5 6 7 would beat A 2 3 4 8.

Deuce-to-Seven low rules:

In this low version, the hand rankings are exactly the opposite of those in high-only poker. A Royal Flush is the worst hand, and 2 3 4 5 7 UNSUITED is the best possible low. Straights and flushes are taken into account, and this is the difference from the A-5 low game. Whereas an Ace to five straight flush is still the nuts in the above version, in Deuce-to-Seven it is a very bad hand indeed. Similarly, 2 3 4 5 A unsuited is an Ace-low – 2 3 4 5 K is better; 2 is the low card.

So 2 3 4 6 7 is the second-best hand, and so on. Unpaired hands are compared from highest card down, as usual. 9 J Q K A (the worst unpaired hand) is better than 2 2 3 4 5 (lowest paired hand), which in turn is better than A 2 3 4 5 (a straight).

How to play Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw:

First betting round: This game is usually played with small and big blinds posted to the button’s (dealer’s) left. Each player is dealt five cards, and there is an initial round of betting, starting with the player to the big blind’s left. In turn, players may call, raise or fold, with bets being made in the smaller increment ($1 in a $1/$2 game, for example). Then comes the first draw, where players still in the hand may decide to exchange any number of their cards for new ones, starting with the player closest clockwise to the button.

Second betting round: Once the players have (in turn) received their replacement cards, there is another round of betting, again at the smaller limit. All players left in the hand at the end of this betting round may then draw again.

Third betting round: After the second draw, there is another round of betting, this time in the higher increment ($2 in a $1/$2 game) again starting with the player closest clockwise to the button, after which there is a third and final draw.

Fourth betting round: After the last draw, players bet once again (at the higher limit), and the winning hand at showdown takes the pot.

(N.B. Depending on the number of players in the hand and how many cards they request, there may not be enough cards left in the stub of the deck to exchange. In this case, the discards are reshuffled and used to complete the changes for remaining players. Not included in the reshuffle are any discards that have been made on the round in progress where the player has not yet received his replacements, as this eliminates the possibility of a player getting the cards he’s just thrown away straight back!).