Poker School
Ace to 5 Lowball
The most common version of Lowball online poker room is A-5 triple draw.
Play works the same as 5 card draw but with players trying to make the best possible low hand, and there are three draws instead of one. Straights and flushes don't count so the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5 regardless of suit.
Before the cards are dealt the two players to the left of the dealer button (a small D in a circle identifies the current dealer position) must make forced bets, called blinds. The first person left of the dealer pays the small blind, and then the next person pays the big blind, which is double the small blind. These amounts are the table limits. The minimum bet in a hand is the amount of the big blind.
Once all the players have their cards there is the first of 4 betting rounds and players have the 3 options: fold their hand, call the big blind (bet equal to the big blind) or raise (bet a higher amount).
After all players have acted, the players who stay in the hand for the have a chance to change or improve their hand by discarding up to 5 of their cards and getting the same number of new cards back. They also of course have the option to keep all their cards in their hand.
There is a second round of betting (where players have the option of checking, raising or folding) followed by another opportunity to draw, followed by a third round of betting and the third and final draw.
There is then a final round of betting followed by a showdown, at the showdown the player with the lowest hand takes down the pot.
