2-7 Triple Draw

Objective

Win chips by making the best (lowest) 5-card hand, with three opportunities to draw. Aces are always high. Straights and flushes count against the hand.

The Basics

2-7 Triple Draw is a lowball draw game. Each player is dealt five cards and may draw up to three times to improve their hand. Unlike A-5, aces are high and straights and flushes are penalized, making 2-3-4-5-7 the best possible hand. Hands are evaluated as traditional high poker hands in reverse — the worst high hand wins.

Setup

Blinds are posted before each hand: the player left of the dealer posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind. Each player is dealt 5 cards face down. Action pre-draw starts left of the big blind.

Betting Rounds

1. Pre-draw — 5 cards dealt. Action starts left of the big blind. Small bet applies.
2. First Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Betting follows. Small bet applies.
3. Second Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Betting follows. Big bet applies.
4. Third Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Final betting round. Big bet applies.

Bet Sizing

• Pre-draw and first draw use the small bet.
• Second and third draw use the big bet (2× the small bet).
• Raises are in fixed increments of the applicable bet size.
• Maximum of four bets per street, unless heads-up.

Key Rules

• Aces are always high.
• Straights and flushes count against the hand.
• Hands are ranked from the highest card downward — 2-3-4-5-7 is the best hand, 2-3-4-5-8 is second best, and so on.
• 2-3-4-5-6 is a straight and does not qualify as a strong low.
• A player may draw 0 cards (stand pat) on any draw.
• Pairs, trips, and quads all count against the hand.

Common Mistakes

• Aces are high — an ace in hand always plays as the highest possible card.
• 2-3-4-5-6 is a straight and is a poor low hand, not a strong one.
• A flush counts against the hand even if all five cards are low — suit matters.

At the Table

Five cards dealt; three draws available. Best hand is 2-3-4-5-7. Aces high; straights and flushes count against you.