Lowball
From LowballWiki
Lowball is a term for poker games in which the strongest hands are made up of low-ranking unpaired cards. It may also refer specifically to California Lowball.
Lowball games typically use some inversion of the "normal" Hand Ranking, although Badugi is an exception. Split-pot games generally use a lowball ranking to award half the pot.
The [0,1] game beloved of poker theorists is a lowball game, since it is typically formulated such that the hand closest to 0 wins.
[edit] Why Play Lowball?
Lowball games are often present in mid- and high-limit mixed games. To play at this level you will have to have a good understanding how to play several lowball variations.
Many important poker concepts are easier to think about in lowball games. Lowball games give you a way to work on these ideas and skills before attempting to apply them in more complicated games. Lowball games are mathematically interesting in their own right as well.
Lowball games often provide a large edge to the skilled player. They can be very profitable if the game manages to attract players unfamiliar with expert strategy. Lowball is not as well-understood or studied as more popular poker variants.
Lowball games are fun. They are often higher-variance than their high-only counterparts and provide a lot of "gamble".
[edit] Lowball Variants
| Mechanism | Hand Ranking (bet sizes) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-5 | A-6 | 2-7 | other | |
| 7-card Stud | Razz (limit) | London Lowball (PL) | ||
| Single draw | California Lowball (limit) | Kansas City Lowball (NL) | ||
| Triple draw | Triple Draw Lowball (limit) | Triple Draw Lowball (limit) | Badugi (limit, PL, or half-pot limit) | |
| Community cards | split-pot games Omaha/8,Crazy Pineapple/8 (limit or PL) | |||
