"Lowball" is a name given loosely to a number of different poker games in which the low-ranked hand wins the pot. However, in poker rooms throughout the United States and online, "Lowball" really means one specific type of game: Five-Card Draw Low. This game comes in a number of common varieties. Each one can have different rules variations as well. What they have in common is that the lowest-ranked hand wins.
Caution: Be aware that other "low" games include Razz (a game that is to Seven-Card Stud what Lowball is to Five-Card Draw) and Omaha Lo (a Hold'em variety of a low hand game). A few split-pot games exist as well, mainly Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo and Omaha Hi-Lo. Sometimes these games are referred to as "Eights or Better" in one rule variation. But none of these games should be called "Lowball" as it just causes confusion. Be aware, too, that Five-Card Draw can also be played in a Hi-Lo, split-pot version, but the game is very rare, hardly ever found either in live card rooms or online.
In all Lowball versions, play is very similar to that of five-card draw. There is a deal, a betting round, by a draw of up to five cards, and a second round of betting. Blinds are used in the same way. The order of betting is the same. In fact, Lowball is to Five-Card Draw what Omaha Lowball is to Omaha. Do not take the metaphor too far, however, as Lowball can be very different from other low-hand games.
Lowball is found within the United States and online in two types: Deuce-to-Seven Lowball and Ace-to Five Lowball. Each may be played in single-draw or triple-draw formats. The obvious difference with triple draw is that there is much more room for hand improvement and two more betting rounds. Triple draw forms have become popular in Las Vegas card rooms and on the World Series of Poker because of the greater number of betting rounds, making the game seem financially similar to Stud and Hold'em games.
Deuce to Seven Lowball
Deuce-to-Seven Single Draw is often thought of as the "default" version of Lowball. It can be played in both Limit and No Limit versions. Old-timers still call this game "Kansas City Lowball" and regard it as the "true version" of orthodox Lowball.
In Deuce-to-Seven Lowball straights and flushes count as high hands, and aces are high. Thus, the nut hand in this game is 2-3-4-5-7 (with at least one card off-suit). That is why it is called "Deuce-to-Seven Lowball." One way of expressing the rule is that the worst conventional poker ranking is the winner. To illustrate how this works, consider a hand of A-2-3-4-5. It is not a straight, as aces are only high. But it would be an ace-high hand (called "A-5"), and lose to any hand that did not have a pair or an ace.
In most other respects, the Deuce-to-Seven version of Lowball follows "standard" draw poker procedures. Two exceptions:
- In Limit games only, check-raises are not permitted before the draw, but are OK afterwards.
- In some card rooms - mainly outside of Las Vegas - a player must have at least one seven or lower in his or her hand in order to be allowed to open the betting. This is a little like requiring "jacks-or-better-to-open" in conventional draw poker. Other varieties of Lowball almost never impose this requirement.
Ace-to-Five Lowball
With the popularity of Razz in the world of Stud and Omaha Lo in the world of Hold'em, quite a few players enjoy playing a Five-Card Draw Low game that follows the same rules with regard to straights, flushes and aces. So if the Lowball version allows aces to be low, and if it does not count straights and flushes as meaning anything, then it is the Lowball version called "Ace-to-Five Lowball." It became popular in card rooms in California several decades ago, and has acquired the name "California Lowball," as distinguished from "Kansas City Lowball."
This game received its name because the nut hand is A-2-3-4-5 with no requirement of at least one off-suit. This is a winning hand both because aces are low, and because straights and flushes are ignored. This hand is sometimes called a "wheel" because the ace swings around from high to low to complete it. (In split pot games, this wheel may not only be the lowest hand, but also the highest (because it is a straight), and thus win both sides of a split pot.
The Joker. One joker is commonly used in Ace-to-Five Lowball. It is always a good idea to confirm whether a joker is in the deck. If it is present, it is a wild card in the following sense: it becomes the lowest card in the hand that does not make a pair. If there is no declaration about jokers, the "default" is that there is one in a deck of 53 cards.
Check Raises. In Limit games only, check-raises are not permitted, though the rule can be waived by the table. In Pot Limit and No Limit Lowball, check-raises are fine. (A check-raise is the practice of checking in any given betting round, hoping to attract other players into the pot. Then, if there is some action, the betting will return in the same round to that player, who then raises.)
The Sevens Rule. In Limit games. the "Sevens Rule" may be in play. It also can be waived locally, and it is always wise to check in advance. If it is in effect, the rule requires a player to bet after the draw if his or her hand is seven-high or lower (better). Another way of expressing it is that any player whose post-draw hand is seven-high or stronger (i.e., lower) he or she must bet that hand. Otherwise, the player can not win any money put in the pot after the draw. The idea of the rule is to prevent a player from slow-playing a pat hand just to trap others in the pot. A more precise statement of the rule is that if a player holding such a good hand chooses not to bet, but rather to check, all action after the draw is void if the seven-high (or better) hand is a winner. The seven-high (or better) hand wins the pot, but only as it stood before the draw. If, on the other hand, the seven-high (or better) hand is a loser, the round is concluded in the normal way. Finally, if someone makes an all-in bet after the draw, but it is less than ½ a bet, the seven-or-better player can just call. If there is an overcall, however, that player gets to keep the overcall bet (that is, the seven-or-better player does not win it). If the seven-or-better player completes the all-in partial bet up to one full bet, the rule is satisfied, and the seven-or-better player is entitled to win whatever has been bet.
The easiest way to deal with the "Sevens Rule" is just to bet whenever you are blessed with a seven-high or better hand. (Remember, the "Sevens Rule" does not apply in Pot Limit or No Limit Lowball.) Some card rooms may define a "Sevens Rule" for Deuce-to-Seven Lowball, too, but it is rare.
