Lowball

Lowball is a five card draw poker game where the lowest hand wins. Each player is dealt five cards face down. Then there is a first round of betting, where each player has a choice of either betting or folding the hand. Players who did not fold now have a chance to improve their hand by replacing the cards they have for the new ones from the deck.


There are two different types of lowball. In ace-to-5 lowball, also known as California lowball, the ace is considered a low card and straights and flushes do not count. In this variation, A2345 is the best hand, whether it is a flush or not. The 2-to-7 lowball, also known as Kansas City variation is slightly different. In this game te ace is considered a high card and straight and flushes do count. The best possible hand here is 75432, and it can not be a flush.