Lowball Poker Rules

Though it has become overshadowed by Hold’em of late, Lowball poker still has some popularity. Based on its draw feature, it is very much like 5 Card Draw. As with 5 Card Draw, each player is dealt five cards, face down. This is followed by a betting round, after which remaining players have the option to improve their hand by trading from the deck. The interesting thing about this game is that the lowest and wins. Lowball poker comes in two main forms, 2-7 and A-5, both of which can be played as triple or single draw.

In 2-7 Triple Draw, the objective is to create the worst five card hand to win the pot. Straights and flushes, normally seen as high, favorable hands, count against players in this game. They can only win if other players draw higher hands. Aces are always high in this game and the best hand, a 2-3-4-5-7 combination, is referred to as #1.

Similar to Hold’em and Omaha , the dealer position is set by a dealer button and the two players to the left of the dealer have to place compulsory bets called blinds. Betting rounds start with the player to the left of the big blind, moving clockwise around the table. After the first round of betting, a draw round occurs an each player can discard and draw new ones in making up the 5 card-hand. They can also “stand pat,” and chose not to avail of the draw.

Once the draw is done, a further betting round is held. A second draw and a further (third) betting round are then held, with betting limits set at the big bet amount. A third and final draw round is also completed. After this last draw, a final betting round occurs. The game ends in a showdown, in which the player with the worst five card hand is the winner.

The 2-7 Lowball game described above is the Limit format, but a no-Limit format can also be played. Single Draw 2-7 is much the same but there is only one draw round instead of three. The no-Limit Single Draw 2-7 format is very common. Similar comments can be made about the A-5 version. A-5 is very similar to 2-7 but differences exist, such as the fact that straights and flushes do not count against a player in A-5 and aces are always low in A-5. A-5 is also played in both Limit and no-Limit formats.

Lowball poker may have lost some popularity, but it is still played at high limits and is favored by pros at the World Series of Poker. As a higher level competition format that usually has smaller fields, it is well liked, but it is also a useful component that can be added to help a player round out their full array of skills.

If you like Lowball Poker, then learn about other poker games here.