A Peek at Lowball Draw Poker
Mostly, at the mention of "Lowball Draw Poker" what often comes to mind first is the California version of lowball. But there are other versions of lowball draw poker, and it will be interesting to know some of them.
"Lowball" is sometimes another name for poker. At other times it's even "low poker." It's when low turnouts of cards or low hands are given some "consolation" rewards, just to tickle the gambling appetites of losers some more. Lowball draw poker has 3 rewards; aces are considered high cards, aces are considered low cards, and third, if straights or flushes are considered in the game. Examples are Ace-to-five low, Deuce-to-seven low, or Ace-to-six low.
In California lowball draw poker, poker players are not allowed to check in the first betting session, although they are in the second. When the card is a 7, a lowball draw poker player is not given any chance to check when another player bets on it, except when he considers a fold.
Another form of California lowball draw poker is "Low-limit." Here, a lowball draw poker player who has actually checked is not given a chance to raise bets on the same session. But this ruling may not be observed at all in other California lowball, like pot-limit or no-limit.
Five-Card Lowball Draw Poker (also known as Kansas City Lowball or Billy Baxter---the guy who held the lowball championship title for many years) treats as low card or poor hand Deuce-to-seven and no joker is included. Here, there is no such thing as a 7-high ruling and lowball draw poker players can just check and raise any way they like.
California Split (high or low) is a lowball draw poker that uses a joker and treats it as a Bug or nuisance. The pot is cut in half and given to the best low and best high hands. However, the big jackpot is when a single lowball draw poker player has what it takes to win both categories, that player rakes in everything in the pot. This jackpot event is referred to as "Scooping."
In High-Low lowball draw poker with a specific "declare" action, the players literally declare which half of the pot winnings they prefer before the win. But this declaring feature begins after the second betting is done and prior the actual showdown. Everything else is played just like in California lowball draw poker except the "declare" action.
Lowball draw poker is popular, but it has various versions from which more chances of winning may be drived.
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