The hand which makes the lowest five digit number wins, so for example a player holding 2-5-4-6-9 would beat a player holding 2-7-5-4-9 because 96543 is lower than 97543. Playing a 2-7 Triple Draw Hand. Like Texas Holdem, 2-7 Triple Draw is played with ‘blinds’. Before the hand starts the two players to the left of the dealer are forced to. Always Have a Deuce. Now, you don't always have to have a deuce in your hand.
When I think of 27 Triple Draw strategy several factors come to mind. As with all poker games the most important practice is hand selection. In 27 Triple Draw this is even more important, especially if you consider choosing which cards to draw as a part of hand selection. For that reason this article will mostly cover which starting hands to play, which cards to keep or draw and when its time to muck a hand. If you do not understand the rules of 27 Triple Draw intimately please click on this previous link. 27 Triple is only included in one mixed poker game, and a new one at that. 8-game mix was recently added to Pokerstar's already impressive game line-up and has been much more successful than anyone would have guessed. 2-7 Triple Draw strategy is very misunderstood by a majority of online poker players which creates a very loose environment.
- Deuce to seven triple draw, or 2-7 triple draw for short, is a popular variation of draw poker where the lowest hand wins. Some players also call deuce to seven low ball. 2-7 triple draw has gained popularity in some circles recently as an alternative to Texas hold’em. It can be an extremely fun form of poker to play.
- The best hands in 2-7 Triple Draw are ones that contain the five lowest possible cards with no pairs, straights or flushes. For example, the best possible hand in 2-7 Triple Draw is 2-3-4-5-7 because it contains the lowest possible combination of cards without any straights, flushes or pairs.
Understanding the strategic concepts in 27 Triple Draw is much more difficult than it is for Texas Holdem. In Holdem you can basically look at a chart and base every decision off of it. The only choices you have to make are betting and folding. Triple Draw poker is much more complex than that. You sculpt your hand via the three draws. This type of interactive decision making is unique to draw poker games and is totally foreign to the philosophies of every other type of card game. In today's world we use computers to do most of the decision making because of inevitable factor; human error. In poker, human error and a little something called luck are what separates the winners from the losers. Player A makes a mistake and Player B capitalizes off of that mistake and wins Player A's money. This is the basic foundation on which poker is built off of. With it's three draws the opportunity for human error and the opportunity to profit from it and much greater than any other poker game played online. Study the 27 Triple Draw strategies below to ensure you are wearing Player B's shoes.
27 triple Draw Hand Selection - Initial Hand
There is no program to tell you what to do in 27 Triple Draw. I have enough experience with Triple Draw to know that you can not be a winning in the long run if you using a strict formula when deciding which hands to play. You have to be very flexible in Triple Draw. As a general rule of thumb for your initial hand you are looking for 3 or more cards under 8. Of course there are a couple factors which could cause this number to change:
- Number of players at the table
- Skill level/playing style of the players at the table
If you are playing headsup or against 2-3 players you should be playing a broad range of hands. The same holds true if you are playing against weak players. If you have 4 cards under 8 you may want to raise. Statistically you are holding the strongest hand at the table so since the odds are with you you want to build the pot up. Its during this initial draw that you will be able to get a good read on your opponents skill level and playing style. A true sign of a weak 27 Triple Draw player is calling and then drawing 3 or more cards. Another thing to watch for is players raising and then drawing 2 cards. Even if you have 2-3-4 you should never raise with only 3 low cards before the first draw. This stage of the hand is pretty much strategically simple. Its the next two draw rounds that can get complicated.
27 Triple Draw Strategy - After The Initial Draw
After the initial draw you will have some tough choices so make. If you hand has improved than of course the choice is simple but if someone bets and you are not holding at least four cards under 9 you may want to muck them. Once again the number of players and their skill/style comes into play here. Another factor that comes into play is how many cards they draw. If they bet initially and only drew 1 card and bet again the best move is to fold unless you have 4 cards under 9. Another tough choice is deciding which cards to keep. If your opponents each drew 2 or more cards and you are holding a hand like 2-4-6-9-10 you may want to stand pat and hope their hands don't improve.
27 Triple Draw Strategy - After The 2nd Draw
At this stage in a hand of 27 Triple Draw you really need to be holding 4+ low cards to continue. If you have to draw two you will be relying on luck more than skill. Luck is a big factor in Triple Draw but statistically speaking you won't have much of a chance against already made hands. Even when you just draw 1 card you have a 26% chance of pairing up. The odds of catching a picture card or an Ace when drawing 1 are around 35%. That only gives you a 39% chance of drawing an 10 or less unmatched card.
27 Triple Draw Strategy - After the last draw
Below I start telling you what you should and shouldn't have at this point I think its important for you to know what the average winning hands in 2-7 Triple Draw poker are. I'm not a mathematician or anything but I crunched some numbers based on my extensive hand histories and they are very close to what I was predicting before I did the math.
- x-x-x-x-7 - 15%
- x-x-x-x-8 - 30%
- x-x-x-x-9 - 30%
- x-x-x-x-10+ - 25%
These stats are based on hands that started with 5-6 players. I'm a medium stakes player and I prefer the fixed limit tables so that's something to consider too. At this point in the hand there are just too many factors for me to tell you what you should call or bet with.
Bluffing And Standing Pat
Bluffing is a very common practice in 2-7 Triple Draw. If your heads-up and a player just draw 3 on the 2nd draw then checked, if you throw a bet out there and stand pat its going to be very tough for him to make that call unless he greatly improved his hand, which is unlikely. As I mentioned above the odds, even when just drawing one, of pairing up or catching an Ace or picture card are above 50% so sometimes its a coin toss. You can use circumstances like that to your advantage by making a well times bluff. That concludes your 27 Triple Draw strategy lesson for today. Good luck at the tables with your newfound skill in 2-7 Triple Draw!
In this lesson we will examine the basics of 2-to-7 Triple Draw, which is a form of lowball and is sometimes referred to as “Kansas City Lowball”. In this game players have the opportunity to discard and draw to try and improve their hands – although the objective of 2-to-7 Triple Draw is to make the best low hand.
In 2-to-7 Triple Draw, aces are always high and flushes, pairs and straights count against a player’s hand. Under these rules, 2-3-4-5-6 is not a winning hand (because it is a straight). Players must break up their pairs, straights and flushes and hope to draw low cards to improve their hands.
As the name suggests, the best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7, also know as a “seven-low”:
It can be any combination of suits (without making a flush) and these are the lowest five cards that don’t contain a pair or make a straight or a flush.
The Setup
The typical setup of 2-to-7 Triple Draw is as follows:
- A full table seats a maximum of 6 players
- It is typically played using a fixed-limit betting structure
- Blinds are used like in Texas hold’em and Omaha
- Each player receives five face down cards to begin
Triple Draw 2 7
The Drawing Rounds
After the deal there is a round of betting. At the end of the first betting round, the first active player to the left of the dealer button can choose to draw cards to improve their hand. The player can also choose to “stand pat” and keep the hand as it is. Each player is in turn afforded the same opportunity of drawing cards.
After the first drawing round, another round of betting occurs, starting with the first player to the left of the dealer button. Once the players have called all the bets, players can choose either to draw again or stand pat.
After the second drawing round in a fixed-limit game, the minimum bet doubles. The remaining players draw a third time, followed by a final betting round. The remaining players then go to a showdown, with the winner taking down the pot.
In summary, there are three drawing rounds and four betting rounds (one before the initial draw). In a fixed-limit game the opening two betting rounds are small bets, and the betting doubles for the third and fourth betting round. The game can also be played with just one drawing round, and that version of the game is called 2-to-7 single draw.
The Showdown
2-to-7 Triple Draw rules dictate that the player counts from the highest card in his hand down to the lowest. It’s also much easier to work out your hand is you count backwards from the highest card rather than up from the lowest.
Here are some examples:
This would win against the following hand:
The first hand wins because it has the lowest high card (a nine vs. a ten).
If two hands share high cards of the same value, the next-highest card breaks the tie. For example:
Is lower than:
If hands share the same two highest cards then the winner would be determined by the third, fourth and then fifth card if necessary.
2-to-7 Triple Draw Strategy
As with many lowball-type games, the drawing strategy may appear counterintuitive to players accustomed to games where high cards, straights and flushes are winning hands.
Players accustomed to Texas Hold’em and other stud games often encounter obstacles when making the transition to draw poker, primarily due to a lack of information about their opponent’s cards. Players therefore need to rely on the betting patterns and drawing habits of their foes. When a hand reaches a showdown you will get to see the hands your opponent plays. This is critical information that will help shape your strategy – provided you have been observant and studied your opponent’s betting patterns, drawing habits and other subtle clues.
With the widening popularity of poker games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, players can easily forget about the other varieties of the game. For players looking for a break from their regular game, 2-to-7 Triple Draw can prove both an entertaining distraction and a fascinating challenge.
Related Lessons
2 7 Triple Draw Online
By Gerald Hanks
Best Starting Hands In 2-7 Triple Draw
Gerald Hanks is from Houston Texas, and has been playing poker since 2002. He has played cash games and no-limit hold’em tournaments at live venues all over the United States.