Understanding the basics of Triple Draw
Triple draw is a game that has been around for ages and it is arguably the most popular of the old school poker variants. The 2-7 triple draw variant was the first lowball variant to be introduced into the mainstream of poker and ever since its introduction, the 2-7 triple draw variant has been received relatively well. Even in today’s world in which the wheel lowball variants tend to dominate in many of the modern casinos, many people still have a soft spot in their heart for the triple draw way of doing lowball. In order to help facilitate that while at the same time introducing some of you readers to a new style of poker, below you will find some of the basics of the 2-7 triple draw game.
The triple draw game is very similar to the conventional triple draw with normal poker hand rankings and that means that in a strange way, you can actually form 2-7 triple draw strategy through playing opposite the way you would in normal poker. The actual elements of 2-7 triple draw strategy are the same in terms of keeping good cards and betting behind strength, but the main difference is that the good cards are the exact opposite of what they would be within the normal game. Whereas a good card might be a King or Ace in the normal game, twos and threes are the best cards that you can have in the lowball game just as long as you don’t pair them up with each other.
With that particular difference between normal and lowball triple draw out of the way, the only real thing left to mention is that the rest of the game plays out in a manner that is quite similar to the normal triple draw game. Each player is dealt five cards face down, forming the start of their hand. After a round of betting has passed, each player is given a chance to trade in some of their cards and draw new ones are replacements. This is the first draw phase. Once the first draw phase is over, a second betting round takes place which is then followed by a second draw phase. That phase is followed by a third betting round and a third draw phase at which point the final round of betting takes place. If there are still two or more people left after the final round of betting, the showdown occurs and the lowest hand closest to 2-3-4-5-7 takes the pot.
As far as strategy is concerned, the thing to understand about triple draw is that it is all in the starting hand selection. Remember that you get three different draw phases to attain your hand, so you should be a little less discriminating about which starting hands you choose. Any hand that has two nut-low cards or three decent low cards (i.e. 9 or lower) is a good candidate and you can then go from there in order to refine your triple draw strategy.
