Triple Draw 2-7 Starting Hands
From LowballWiki
Starting hands for Triple Draw 2-7. This page attempts to lay out an aggressive but tight set of opening hands for limit games.
Some players open much more aggressively than this and will draw to a 9 or T on the first draw. This can be an effective tactic against players who fold too often or draw too smoothly, but a player who makes correct drawing decisions against you will have a significant long-term advantage.
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[edit] Pat hands
Obviously, the best possible starters are pat hands. A pat 7 or smooth 8 is tough to beat, and any of these hands may get looked up on the end just in case you are snowing. Go ahead and cap with these hands--- you probably won't get much action after you stand pat.
Monster hands: Your opponents are often drawing dead, and even live draws will not win all that often.
- 75432
- 76432
- 76532
- 76542
- 85432
- 86432
- 86532
- 86542
- 86543
Very strong hands: Your opponent may be drawing dead and will often look you up with weaker pat hands.
- 87432
- 87532
- 87542
- 87543
Strong hands: Typical draws to a 7 or 8 will generally make a better hand when they hit, although you still have a good chance of winning.
- 87632
- 87642
- 87643
- 87652
- 87653
[edit] Rough pat hands
Sometimes you will want to play a 9 and stand pat with it. A smooth 1-card draw is a small favorite to beat a made 9 over three draws, but you become the favorite on the second draw. So playing these hands heads-up can be profitable (particularly if the opponent is weak-tight or loose to enter) but you should usually only stand pat with 9 draws that can't be broken to draw to a better hand, and avoid them entirely if the pot may be multi-way.
- 95432 (marginal break/draw decision--- may want to break but the possible straight gives you fewer outs)
- 96543
- 97543 (also a candidate for breaking because of the possibility of making a wheel)
- 97643
- 97653
- 97654
- 98654
- 98754
- 98764
[edit] 1-card draws to a 7
A 1-card 7 draw will make an 8 or better more than 50% of the time. (See Drawing to 7432x.) These hands should be raised and reraised for value and can be played against multiple opponents.
Monster hands: When these draws make a hand, it is quite likely to be best.
- 7432x
- 7532x
- 7542x
Strong hands: These draws are more likely to get into trouble by making a second-best hand, particularly 876's.
- 7632x
- 7642x
- 7652x
[edit] 1-card draws to an 8
Very strong hands: Although these draws cannot make a wheel, they will frequently make the best hand: a smooth 8 or 87. Raise and reraise with them as you would with a 7.
- 8432x
- 8532x
- 8542x
- 8543x
8543x is the first draw without a deuce. It is quite likely that your opponents will already hld deuces, particularly if they have shown strength, so you should appropriately discount your chances of winning with this and other deuce-less draws.
Strong to Medium hands: These hands will still make an 8 or better more than half the time, but the strength of the made hand is lower. An 86 draw can still make a very strong hand, but 87 makes no better than #10. The 87 draws with a deuce can be broken to draw to a 7 as well, giving them some backup strength (while breaking and drawing to a 76 hardly ever makes sense.)
You may want to be somewhat less agressive with these hands--- however, be aware that doing so will expose your hand strength. A single opponent will often have a 3-card starter; if you have position then the raise will have value on average. You should also raise and reraise to eliminate players. You might even consider folding the weakest of these if there is a lot of action in front of you, and you will be out of position.
- 8632x
- 8642x
- 8652x
- 8653x (This is particularly weak, again because of the missing deuce.)
- 8732x
- 8742x
- 8743x
- 8752x
- 8753x
- 8762x
- 8763x
[edit] 1-card straight draws
These hands need to be played with a bit more caution because they are typically drawing to fewer outs than a 1-card draw with a 7 or an 8. While 7652x has 12 (non-discounted) outs to a 7 or an 8, 6532x has only 8 outs. However, they can make very strong hands: 7's and smooth 8's.
- 5432x
- 6432x
- 6532x
- 6542x
[edit] 2-card draws to a 7
The hands will make an 8 or better about 45% of the time. (See Drawing to 732xx.) They are playable from any position--- you should rarely fold even the weakest of them. Reraise if you think you will be able to get the hand heads-up versus the initial raiser, with position. Tend towards calling if in the big blind or there is already a caller, as there may not be a lot of value in your raise. Most of the hands you play will be 2-card draws.
Strong hands:
- 732xx
- 742xx
- 752xx
- 432xx (Weaker than a hand with a 7 due to the straight possibilities, although to compensate you get a smoother range. 732xx can make #1-#3, #10, #11, #14. 432xx can make #1-#2, #5-#6, and #10.)
- 532xx
- 542xx
Medium hands:
- 762xx
- 632xx
- 642xx
- 652xx
[edit] 2-card draws to an 8
Medium hands: Open in mid to late position with 2-card draws to #5. Consider folding if somebody is already in the pot.
- 832xx
- 842xx
- 852xx
Weak hands: Draws without a deuce, and draws with a 6, are OK to steal with, but probably shouldn't be played against a raise (except in the big blind.) These are definitely not hands you want to get involved in a multi-way pot with, or find yourself playing often out of position.
- 843xx
- 853xx
- 862xx
- 863xx
Poor hands:
- 872xx should often be broken and treated as a 72xxx draw if you get called.
- 873xx shouldn't be broken but can make no better than #13, #16, and #19.
[edit] 3-card wheel draws and other steal hands
These hands can be played to steal the blinds or defend against a probable blind steal. The strongest of them can be played in a multi-way pot for one bet on the button.
Weak hands: These hands can develop into a strong holding but need a lot of help. 72xxx will make an 8 or better only 36% of the time. (See Drawing to 72xxx.)
- 72xxx
- 32xxx
- 42xxx
- 52xxx
Poor hands (with straight potential but still smooth):
- 743xx
- 753xx
- 754xx (See Drawing to 754xx.)
- 543xx
- 62xxx
[edit] Junk hands
These hands should only be played in unusual circumstances, such as heads-up play or against an opponent over whom you have good control.
Very weak hands: These hands cannot make a straight but do not have the advantage 72xxx etc do of being able to make a very strong holding. They will often make second-best hands.
- 82xxx
- 83xxx
9 draws: Drawing to a 9 may in some cases be preferable to drawing two. You might consider drawing to a 9 with any of the above weak and and poor hands, and additionally the following hands which cannot make a straight:
- 9763x
- 9764x
- 9864x
- 9874x
- 963xx
- 964xx
- 973xx
- 974xx
- 983xx
- 984xx
Very poor hands: The next category of hands are crippled by straight potential and likely dead cards in opponents' hands. They are likely to make a very rough pat hand and/or be drawing dead.
- 7643x (Draw to 743 instead)
- 7653x (Draw to 753 instead)
- 7654x (Draw to 754 instead)
- 763xx
- 764xx
- 8754x (Consider drawing to 854 instead)
- 8764x (Consider drawing to 864 instead)
- 8765x (Draw to 865 instead)
- 864xx
- 865xx
- 874xx
- 875xx
- 654xx
- 765xx
- 876xx
- 9865x
- 9875x
[edit] Free draws
With a free draw in the big blind, you should keep any wheel cards, drawing to hands such as 54xxx, 53xxx, 75xxx that would normally not be playable. You might want to keep a 6 in some cases so that you don't face an automatic bet on the next round. Drawing to three to 63xxx is preferable to drawing four to 3xxxx.
[edit] Paired cards
Paired cards can make a hand stronger in two ways. They decrease the likelihood of any of your opponents having playable hands, and usually decrease the number of live outs your opponents have.
A hand with trip deuces and other wheel cards, such as 2224x, can be raised from middle or even early position in an attempt to steal the blinds. If your opponent does not have a deuce, the number of playable hands he could have is significantly smaller. If you are called it will tend to be an 8 draw, against which (if you decide to draw instead of snow) 24xxx should play well. This should not be attempted at loose tables.
The same does not appear to be true, unfortunately, of paired 8's, which actually make your hand weaker. See the article Paired Eights Are Bad.
