Lowball is a form of draw poker. It’s been played in card rooms across the world for years, and has become more popular in recent years, as people look to explore games other than Hold’em. Lowball games reward the best low hand, making it the opposite of games likes Hold’em and Stud, in which the highest hand wins. PokerStars offers the variant of Lowball known as Deuce to Seven Lowball (Single Draw), also sometimes referred to as Kansas City Lowball.

How to Play
Blinds
Lowball is played using forced bets known as blinds, with the player sitting to the left of the dealer button posting a small blind, and the player to their left posting the big blind. The small blind is usually equal to half the size of the big blind. Lowball is also often played with an ante, which is a small forced bet posted by each player in addition to the blinds.

The Deal
Each player is dealt five cards face down. There is then a round of betting, where you have the option to either call, raise or fold. Players still left in the hand after the first round of betting now have the opportunity to draw. This means you can try and improve your hand by discarding some of the cards, and being dealt new ones to replace them. Click the cards you want to discard, and then hit the ‘Discard’ button. You can discard all five cards if you wish. If you feel that you already have a strong hand, you can opt to ‘Stand Pat’. This means that you are choosing not to discard any of your cards. When the draw is complete, another round of betting ensues, with players having the option to bet or fold. If no bets are made, players also have the option to check. If more than one player is still left in the hand at this point, a showdown takes place, with the player holding the best hand taking the pot.

In 2-7, straights and flushes count against your low hand, and aces are always high. So the best possible hand is: 7, 5, 4, 3, 2. The following 2-7 hands (not a complete list) are ranked from least powerful (#1, which will rarely win the pot) to most powerful (#16, the nuts):

J, 7, 4, 3, 2 (all the same suit - a flush)
8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (a straight)
7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (a lower straight)
5, 5, 5, 6, 3
2, 2, 7, 6, 5
A, 9, 6, 4, 2
A, 8, 7, 4, 2
A, 5, 4, 3, 2 (not a straight - ace-high)
K, J, 8, 7, 4
T, 7, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 2
9, 7, 6, 4, 3
8, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 5, 4, 3, 2
Basic Strategy
In lowball, most hands that are usually strong in games like Hold’em are weak. Pairs, trips (3 of a kind), straights and flushes are always considered to be high hands, and so do not qualify in Lowball. If a hand has no pair, the player with the highest ranking card loses. For instance, if one player has 9-6-5-2-3, this hand beats 10-9-6-2-3. In practice aces are always high and are therefore not good. This means that a player holding J-9-7-3-2 beats an opponent with A-9-7-3-2. The best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of different suits. This is because the hand is low, has no ace and is not a straight or a flush. It’s for this reason that the game is called 2-7 Lowball.

In draw games, it is possible for more cards to be needed than are remaining in the deck. In this case, the cards are reshuffled, and play continues using the new deck.