Lowball Poker

Lowball Poker, or “Low Poker”, is a Poker variant in which poor hands are awarded the pot. There are 3 variations of Lowball Poker, which differ according to whether or nor straights and flushes are used, and if Aces are used as either a high card or a low card. Additionally, in Lowball Poker games, pairs count against the player, meaning that a hand with no pairs defeats a 1 pair hand, a 1 pair defeats a 2 pair hand, and so on.

1. The first form of Lowball is Ace-to-five Low, in which Aces are used as low cards and straights and flushes are ignored. This is the most commonly played type, and the lowest possible hand is a 5-4-3-2 and A, known as a “wheel”. When played in high low split, the chance of scooping and winning both hands is greatly increased, because a low straight or low flush qualifies as both a low and high hand.
2. Ace-to-six Low is the second most popular for of Lowball. Also called”6-4 Low”, it uses Ace as a low card and regards straights and flushes as high hands. Accordingly, the lowest possible hand is a 6-4-3-2 and Ace.
3. Deuce-to-7 Low is another version of Lowball that uses Aces as high cards and straights and flushes as high hands. Sometimes called “7-5 Low”, it is considered the closest thing to an inverse game of the traditional high hand Poker.
4. The least played version of Lowball is Deuce-to-Six Low, where Aces count as high cards and straights and flushes are not included.

Lowball Poker can be played with several game structures. Many Lowball games are played in the high low split, in which the pot is divided into halves; one for the winning high hand and one for the winning low hand. 8 or Better is usually the method used for determining how a low hand qualifies.

Some examples of Lowball Poker games are Razz, London Lowball, Triple Draw, Double Draw, Kansas City Lowball, California Lowball, and Chinese Poker.