Lowball Poker: Trying Something Different

Sure, Texas Holdem is great, but if you've been playing the game for a while, the excitement that accompanied it when you first started out will wear thin, no matter the pot size. If you want to have some fun, or challenge yourself by playing something new, why not try Lowball?

Lowball Poker means turning the hand values upside down, so that the worst hand wins the pot. There are two popular variants, California Lowball (or Ace to 5) and Kansa City Lowball (2 to 7 Lowball). The only real difference here are the nut hands; in California play it's 5, 4, 3, 2, A and in Kansas City 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

That being said, there are some subtle differences in the betting structure within the games. Some use blinds, and others an ante. If the blinds are enforced, options like calling the big blind may be permitted. If it's an ante, the game begins with the bring in, similar to 7 Card Stud.

Five hole cards are handed in Lowball Poker to each player. Moving clockwise, players can fold their hands, bet or have their cards replaced by drawing another one. The number of draws allowed vary per variant, but usually up to four or five are permitted. This is followed by the betting.

After the betting, Lowball Poker rules stipulate that the cards are turned up, and the lowest hand wins. As noted, the best hand will depend on the game being played, Also, while the betting round per game is usually only one, some alterations of the rules allow for one draw followed by a betting round, and another draw/betting sequence.

Casinos usually have a version of Lowball Poker in their roster, but if the gambling venue near you doesn't have it, you can of course, turn to the Internet, where you will definitely find one. Before you go out and start betting, make sure you go over the rules carefully and also read up on some basic strategies and odd probabilities.

If you're going to play Lowball Poker for money, you'll want to spend some time working out a gameplan; whatever the differences between this variant and Texas Holdem, they are the same in the sense that you must strategize to have a chance of winning.

There are undoubtedly other variants of Lowball Poker, but the basic rules, adopted from Draw Poker, will remain the same. If you want to play it, get some practice first. It won't be long before you get accustomed to it and start bating everyone else on the table.