2-7 (Deuce to Seven) Triple Draw is a five card lowball draw closed poker variant. In this game, every player is dealt five cards to try and make the lowest possible five card hand. Aces are high in 2-7 Triple Draw. 2-to-7 Triple Draw can sometimes be referred to as Kansas City Lowball.
As the style of variant that it is, players have the option to discard and draw in order to try and improve their hands. Remember, though, the objective of 2-to-7 Triple Draw is to construct the best low hand possible.
In 2-to-7 Triple Draw, aces are always high while flushes, pairs and straights all count against a player’s hand. Because of these rules, 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 will not be a winning hand despite it actually being a straight that could work in your favour in a game of Texas Hold’em. Instead, ideally, we need to lose the 6.
In contrast to other variants, players need to break up their pairs, straights and flushes and hope to draw the lower cards that will ultimately ‘improve or technically worsen’ their hands. As you have probably worked out already, and as the name suggests, the best possible hand is 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 7, hence the name 2-7, which can also be known as Seven Low.
This hand could be any combination of suits that don’t make a flush and the cards above are the lowest five cards that do not contain a pair or make a straight or a flush.
The 2-to-7 Triple Draw Setup
Typically, the setup of 2-to-7 Triple Draw sees a full table that seats a maximum of six players.
This is a poker variant that is typically played using a fixed limit betting structure.
Just as with games of Texas Hold’em and Omaha, blinds are in play. The game gets underway when each player receives five face downward facing cards.
The Drawing Rounds
Once there has been the deal, there is a round of betting. At the end of the first round of betting, the initial player to the left of the dealer button can opt to draw cards that they hope will improve their hand. Players can also choose to stand pat which means to keep the hand as it is. Each player is then in turn afforded the same opportunity to draw cards.
After the first drawing round, play advances with another round of betting, beginning with the first player to the left of the dealer button. Once players have called all of their bets, they can choose to either draw again or stand pat.
In fixed limit games, the minimum bet doubles following the second drawing round. The remaining players draw for a third time, which is followed by one last betting round. The remaining players left in the pot then move on to a showdown, with the player with the best hand takes down the pot.
To summarise, there are three drawing rounds plus four betting rounds with one coming before the initial draw at the start of the game. In fixed limit games, the opening two betting rounds are small bets, with the betting doubling in size for the third and fourth betting rounds. Alternatively, this game can also be played with only the one drawing round in a version of the game that is known as 2-to-7 single draw.
2-to-7 Triple Draw Showdown
The rules of 2-to-7 Triple Draw dictate that players count down from the highest card in their hand to the lowest card. It is also a lot easier to work out what your hand is if you count backwards from the highest card rather than up from the lowest.
Here are some examples: 9 – 8 – 7 – 5 – 3 would win against 10 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 2. The first hand wins because it has the lowest value high card, i.e., nines over tens.
When two hands share high cards of the same value, the next highest ranking card will help to break the tie. For instance, 9 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 3 is lower than 9 – 8 – 5 – 4 – 2. If hands share the same two highest cards then the winner will be decided according to the third, fourth and then fifth card if needs be.
2-7 Triple Draw Poker Hand Strengths
| Rank | Hand | Nickname |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 | Wheel, Number 1 |
| 2 | 7 – 6 – 4 – 3 – 2 | Number 2 |
| 3 | 7 – 6 – 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| 4 | 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 2 | |
| 5 | 8 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 | Nut Eight, Eight Perfect |
| 6 | 8 – 6 – 4 – 3 – 2 | Eighty-Six Smooth |
| 7 | 8 – 6 – 5 – 3 – 2 | |
| 8 | 8 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 2 | |
| 9 | 8 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 | |
| 10 | 8 – 7 – 4 – 3 – 2 | Eight-Seven Smooth |
Above we have listed the top ten best hands in 2-7 Triple Draw.
2-to-7 Triple Draw Poker Strategy
As with a lot of lowball style poker games, the drawing strategy might come across as a little counterintuitive to any players that are accustomed to games in which high cards, straights and flushes are all usually winning hands.
Players that are more used to playing games of Texas Hold’em and other variations of stud games quite often come across strategical obstacles when making the switch to draw poker, mainly because of the lack of information on display about their opponent’s cards.
Therefore, players often need to rely on the betting patterns and drawing habits of their opponents. Once a hand makes it to showdown you will get to see the hands your opponent chooses to play. This is vital information that will help you in shaping your strategy. This is, of course, so long as you have been observant and have been paying attention to your opponent’s betting patterns, drawing habits and any other subtle tells and clues.
With the ever increasing popularity of poker games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, players can quite easily forget about each of the other variants of the game. For players looking to take a break from their regular game and try something a little different, 2-to-7 Triple Draw can prove to be both an entertaining distraction as well as providing a fascinating challenge.
2-7 Triple Draw Poker FAQs
What Is 2-7 Triple Draw Poker?
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Poker is a variant of the game that utilises the lowball hand ranking system, often referred to as the Kansas City hand ranking system. In these games, the worst possible regular poker hand becomes the best hand.
This game is played with five cards and every player can either discard cards and draw new cards three times or keep all of the hole cards that they were dealt at the beginning of the game.
How 2-7 Triple Draw Poker Played?
2-7 Triple Draw is played by two or more people using a 52 card deck. Each player is dealt five cards, one card at the time. When all of the cards have been dealt, small blinds and big blinds are paid, and players take turns clockwise around the table beginning with the Button.
Players can then either, discard their cards and draw new ones or hold on to their original hole cards. The aim of the game is to construct what would usually be considered the worst possible poker hand.
How Are Hands Ranked In 2-7 Triple Draw Poker?
2-7 triple draw poker is a lowball game, meaning that the hand ranking is inverted and the lowest possible hand wins at showdown.
What Is The Best Hand In 2-7 Triple Draw Poker?
Because 2-7 Triple Draw uses the lowball hand ranking system the best hand is 7, 5, 4, 3, 2. In 2-7 Triple Draw Poker the winner is the player who is holding what in other poker games would be a low hand. Here, the worst ranking hand wins.
What Is The Difference Between 2-7 Triple Draw And 2-7 Single Draw Poker?
2-7 Single Draw is a variant of draw poker that has a rule that limits the amount of draws a player can make to one as opposed to 2-7 Triple Draw player where players can draw three times.