About Lowball Poker

There are many different variations of poker these days, all derived from the standard game, which is Draw Poker. One of these variations in called Lowball Poker, and this game is very similar to Draw Poker except the lowest hand is the one that wins. In this game, each hand consists of five cards, as with Draw Poker. The five cards are dealt to each player face down, and after assessing his or her hand each player has to bet or fold depending on their hands (or on whether they wish to take a risk with a bad hand and bluff the other players into thinking they have a good hand!)

After the first round of betting and folding, those that have not folded and therefore remain in the game are able to try and improve their hand by discarding certain cards that they feel are of no benefit and receiving replacement cards, which are also dealt face down. These cards may or may not improve the hand depending on their rank or value, but as nobody knows the value of the cards it is simply a risk that the player takes.

After this, another round of betting takes place, where players can bet based on their new and hopefully improved hand. It is important to remember that with this game you are looking to get the lowest hand rather than any of the special hands you would have in standard draw poker, and you should therefore discard cards accordingly. After this round of betting, the players remaining in the game show their cards face up on the table, and the money is then given to the player with the lowest ranking hand.

There are two popular forms of lowball and these are ace to five lowball, which is sometimes known as California Lowball, and also deuce to seven lowball, which is sometimes known as Kansas City Lowball. With ace to five lowball, the best hand is where you have a hand of 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. In deuce to seven lowball, the best hand is where you have 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

With Lowball Poker, hands that are excellent in other forms of poker such as flushes or straights are quite the opposite in this form of the game. The joker is also used in Lowball Poker, and is used as a wild card, which can count as the missing low card in the player’s hand. This game is therefore played with a fifty-three card deck because of the use of the joker.
Like standard Draw Poker, this form of the card game is a great way for novices to develop and practice their poker playing and hone their skills in this area. Although standard Draw Poker is usually considered the simplest form for learners, this is a good choice for those looking to vary their game a little but still wishing to stick to fairly simple poker rules and strategies.

Recommended Online Poker sites for new players:

More recommended Poker Guides:

Introduction to Online Poker
Poker Tips
Texas Hold'em Guide
Texas Hold'em Strategies
Omaha Guide
Omaha Strategies
Omaha High/Low Guide
Omaha High/Low Strategies
Draw Poker Guide
Lowball Poker Guide
Poker Hand Rankings explained