LowBall - Triple Draw - Poor Poker Hands Win

If you want a poker game with a difference, try LowBall (also known as Triple Draw) which rewards low poker hands as winners.

What Wins in Lowball Poker

While most (but not all) poker games reward high poker hands, lowball poker (as its name suggests) does the opposite. The winning hands in poker vary and they are: ace to five low – the “best” possible hand in this game is, in lowball poker terminology known as the “wheel.” This is when a player gets a 5, 4, 3, 2, and an Ace. Ace counts as low (1 rather than 11) and this hand is not seen as a flush as in lowball poker, flushes are ignored. A second option is ace to six low in which a winning hand would be 6, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Again, ace is low and straights and flushes are high hands. Next there is deuce to seven low whereby a winning hand is 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 which is pretty much the opposite of its winning high hand in a different poker game. In this winning hand, aces are high and straights and flushes count as high hands. Then there is deuce to six low which would be 6 to five low and whereby aces are high, straights and flushes don’t count.

How LowBall Poker Works

Each player is dealt five (hole) cards (face down). Betting now begins. All players must place a bet. If they refuse, then this is an automatic indication they have folded. Next comes the draw in which all players remaining can replace their cards in an attempt to get better ones. New players are able to either wait for the big blind before betting or kill the pot of money to get double the amount of the big blind.

Single Blind and Multiple Blind Hi Lo Poker Games

In the former, any player with less than half a blind can get a hand dealt but in that case the next player has to take over the blind position. In multiple blind games, players can decide to wait for the big blind or kill the pot to get a hand dealt. This depends on where you are sitting too.

Some More Advanced Rules in LowBall Poker

Players in this game are able to draw up to four cards consecutively. If they want to draw five however, they will be given four immediately and the fifth will be given once everyone else has drawn their cards. This information is helpful for players who generally like to draw more cards in an attempt to form a better hand. Oh, and the top one must be burned before an additional one is picked up to quash any allegations of cheating. So it has to be five cards to be a kosher hand. What’s nice about this game too is that all players are entitled to ask each other (as well as the dealer) how many cards they drew (and the player in question must respond honestly).