This is the first in a three part series. This is simply how to play. the next few parts are on actual strategy but I figured I would post them in order.

Basic Play and Terminology

First of all what is Triple Draw? Triple Draw (or TD) is a lowball game played similar to 5-card draw only instead of going for the best high hand you are going for the lowest hand and instead of one draw there are 3! The betting rounds are identical to Limit Hold em as well so a hand goes like this:


First you post your blinds to the left of the button (just like hold em) and are dealt 5 cards face down and then there is a round of betting(just like hold em before the flop). Next is the first draw. You discard as many cards you would like from all 5 or none. The discard goes in order from the button. After the first draw you look at your hand and there is a round of betting (think of this like the flop in hold em). Next is the secod draw. You discard as many as you would like see how the new cards helped or hurt your hand and this is followed by a round of betting (think of this like the turn in hold em). Then there is the third draw followed by one more round of betting (comparable to the river).

The betting limit increases just like Hold em on the second draw so in a $1/2 game the bet is $1 before the draw and on the first draw and increases to $2 on the second draw.

It is very simple actually: bet then draw, bet then draw, bet then draw, showdown. Get it? Still on the same page? Go online and try a play money table, it's not as complicated as it may seem.

Draw poker and lowball have some terminology that may be a little different than what you are used to so here are some of those new words and what they mean:

Pat - or to "rap pat" or "rapping pat." This simply means to not discard anymore. Saying, "I am good with my hand," "no more cards," I'll stay."

Many times you will see a hand referred to as "an 87" or "96." This simply means the highest two cards in your low card holding so 23478 would be an "87" while 23496 would be a "96".


This is the basic way a hand is played out and some basic terminology. Lets get started!

A few other notes: Triple Draw can only be sat 6 handed due to the amount of cards being dealt off the deck. Even playing 6 handed you can run into the problem of running ot of cards! If this happens the discards are re-shuffled but don't think this makes playing 7 or 8 handed is okay. The game should only be spread 6 handed as far as I am concerned. If you need to play 7 or 8 people at a table the way this is typically done is to have the person behind the button sit out and 8 handed the two behind the button can sit out.

Hand Ranking

Triple Draw is played in 2 basic forms, the most popular and my personal favorite being 2-7 the other and less popular being A-5. I will discuss basic 2-7 strategy exclusivley as it applies to both games and it is above and beyond the more popular of the two. The difference between the 2 games are the hand rankings.

In both the goal is to get the lowest hand possible however In 2-7 aces are high and straights and flushes hurt your hand so the best hand is 23457 (or a wheel), the lowest hand in traditional 5 card poker. No straight, no flush, and aces are high. This is the lowest hand you can hold in 5 card poker, 23467 beats it (in hi poker, 23457 is the stone cold nuts in lowball with 23467 being the second best hand in lowball). This is a form of Kansas City Lowball (2-7). In A-5 aces are low and straights and flushes dont hurt your hand so A2345 is the best hand. Just like Razz, this is a form of California Lowball. This is probobly the last time I will mention A-5 but the same basic principles still apply to this game as well, the only differences being what the best hand is.

So the lowest hand wins. If you are holding 23678 and our opponent has 34578 can you tell me which hand wins? Well to find out who wins in lowball you start counting from the top down so if we take our hand and count it down we have 8,7,6,3,2 to our opponents 8,7,5,4,3. Now do you see who wins? All we need to do is count down our highest card which is an 8. that is the same lets go to the next card which is a 7. That is the same. Now look at our next cards. While we have a an 876 our opponent actually has us beat with an 875! Get it? Don't ask me what our opponent was doing in the hand without a 2, and he got lucky, but this is for another chapter.

So that is how the game is played. If this not making any sense or if you are confused at all I suggest hopping online and trying a play money table. I play on Pokerstars but Ultimate Bet and Carbon Poker also spread Triple Draw. Also don't confuse yourself with the differences between A-5 and 2-7, I suggest sticking to 2-7 and not worrying about A-5.

Read Part 2 of the 3 part series here: Triple Draw Basics - Part 2a - Before the Draw

Thanks for taking the time to put this Triple draw guide together, very nice and informative.

One possible error though, I'm sure it's probably a typo, or maybe I'm just reading it wrong:

Jason

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I'm Not Lucky, I Have Good Karma !

Its saying in high poker even 23467 beats it.. not in lowball.

edit: I made a slight change. hope that clears things up a bit.

I haven't played Triple Draw much. I know how to play but I am just learning the strategies. I have been trying to learn more variations of poker. Thanks for posting.

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~PokerDawg~
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