How Lowball Can Improve Your ROI

Posted:August 2013

If you're relatively new to playing poker or if you're just not having the success at the game that you would like, then “2-7 Lowball” is a version that might be worth a look in, as it could lead to a better return on your hard earned cash. It's not as complicated as Texas Hold 'em, Stud or Omaha and yet it can still be very profitable.

Lowball Poker2-7 Lowball is similar to “Razz” because the low hand wins, however that's about the only similarity it has to that game. When you're playing Razz, Straights and Flushes don't count. They do count in Lowball, but in a negative way.

While Razz is basically the low-hand version of 7-Card Stud, Lowball is the equivalent of draw poker. Everyone is dealt five cards and after a round of betting, there is either a single draw or a triple draw depending on which version of Lowball you are playing..

The game is called 2-7 because the best hands are found among those cards. Aces only count as high, so the lowest card is a 2. The best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7. The next best hand is 2-3-4-6-7. Having played thousands of hands of Lowball, I can say that I have never seen a hand where 2-3-4-6-7 was beaten by 2-3-4-5-7. Remember there are no community cards, so no one else can be using the same cards. The possibility of more than one player having a hand with a 7 high is extremely low.

If you've got a hand with an 8 high, such as 2-3-4-6-8, chances are extremely good that you won't be beaten either. It does happen, just as a Full house is occasionally beaten by quads or better in a standard Holdem game. That said, if you have a hand with 8 high, you can bet with a good deal of confidence.

Usually, most hands are won with a 9 or even a 10 high. Sometimes even a Jack high will win. Actually, if you're playing for lower stakes, you might find that those hands win more often, because not everyone who plays 2-7 Lowball fully understands the rules. You'll find someone betting heavily with an A-2-3-4-6, not realizing the Ace is high. You might find A-2-3-4-5 getting action, since the player didn't know that straights counted and his hand is actually not low but very high. Other players don't notice that their five low cards are all of the same suit and you're never going to win a Lowball hand with a Flush (except by bluffing.)

You're more likely to encounter these mistakes from players when Lowball is played in multiple games tournaments, such as 8-ball. If you're playing in such events, you should get a thorough understanding of Lowball even if you don't plan to play in 2-7 cash games or tournaments. Even so, players who play Lowball and some of the other less popular games often struggle with all the rules so there is good money to be made (far easier than the more competitive Holdem and Omaha).

For other games and the rules, see our selection of the different games and their rules. Alternatively, see which games are played online.

 
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