How to play
2-7 Triple Draw is draw poker where the lowest hand wins and you get three draws to make it. It’s one of the classic games of high-stakes mixed poker. Here you sit at a fixed-limit cash table with one to five computer opponents. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips, the blinds are 5 and 10, and a fresh 52-card deck is shuffled for every hand.
- Blinds and cards. The dealer button (D) moves one seat each hand; the two players to its left post the blinds. Everyone gets five cards face down.
- Four betting rounds, three draws. After each of the first three betting rounds, everyone still in the hand draws in turn from the left of the button: tap the cards to replace and press Draw, or keep them all with Stand pat. Everyone sees how many cards each player took.
- Fixed limit. Bets and raises are 10 in the first two rounds and 20 in the last two, with at most four bets per round.
- Showdown. The lowest hand wins the whole pot.
How 2-7 hands rank. This is “deuce-to-seven” lowball:
- Aces are always high. A-2-3-4-5 is not a straight, it’s an ace-high hand.
- Straights and flushes count against you. 8-7-6-5-4 is a straight, which is a bad hand; five cards of one suit are a flush.
- Pairs are bad. Any hand without a pair, straight or flush beats any hand with one.
- Lower is better. Hands are compared from the highest card down: 8-6-4-3-2 beats 8-7-4-3-2, because the second-highest card is lower. The best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 in mixed suits, the “number one”.
Side pots, the uncalled bet and split pots work as in other poker games. If the deck runs out during a draw, the discards and folded hands are shuffled and used. When an opponent runs out of chips, a new player takes the seat with 1,000 chips; if you run out, you can get 1,000 free credits at a new table. Your table is saved between visits.
Strategy
Start with small cards. Good starting hands have three or four different cards of 7 or lower, especially with a 2, the lowest card in the game. Aces are bad: they’re the highest card.
Draw to smooth hands. Keep your lowest different cards, usually 2 to 8, and replace the rest. Breaking a pair is almost always right.
Watch for straights. 2-3-4-5 plus a 6 makes a straight, a terrible hand. Draws like 2-3-4-5 are weaker than they look; 2-3-4-7 is better.
Count draws. A player taking one card in the last draw has a four-card low; one who stands pat early usually has a made hand. Fewer draws than you means you’re likely behind.
Stand pat with a good hand. A made 8-low or better is often worth keeping, especially in the last draw.
More poker. For four-card lowball, try Badugi. For classic high draw, play Five Card Draw. For stud lowball, try Razz.
If you enjoy 2-7 Triple Draw, try Triple Zero Roulette or Twin Way Stars next.
