Draw poker: anything opens is played the same as jacks or better except that any hand may open the betting, regardless of strength. For example, a pair of 7s could open betting in anything opens, or even a queen-high hand. Otherwise, the rules and methods of play are identical to jacks or better.
STRATEGY FOR ANYTHING OPENS
The strategies in draw poker: anything opens are virtually the same as in jacks or better. Though any cards can open the betting, don't be fooled into opening or calling bets with anything less than you would play in jackpots. Whether the game requires jacks or better or requires nothing to open betting doesn't change the fact that you'll be dealt just as many good and bad hands in one game as in the other. The same minimum starting hands apply here as in jacks or better.
DRAW POKER: LOWBALL
This interesting variation presents a different twist on poker. The lowest hand is the strongest in lowball, or loball as it is sometimes spelled, as opposed to the standard high poker game where the highest hand is the best. The ace is still the best card in lowball, but, unlike in high poker, where the ace counts as the highest card held, in this game the ace counts as the lowest card of a hand. The 2 is the next lowest card, and therefore the next best lowball card, and is followed in order by the 3, 4, 5,and so on, up to the king, which is the worst card in lowball.
In lowball, the highest card counts in determining the value of a hand: the lower the highest card, the better the hand. Hands are announced by their two highest cards. For example, the hand 7 6 4 2 A is announced as a "7 6" or "7-high," and 8 4 3 2 A is announced as an "8 4" or "8-high." Of the two above-mentioned hands, the "7 6" is the more powerful lowball hand, since its highest card, the 7, is lower than the 8, the high card of the "8 4" hand.
In instances where the highest values of two hands are equivalent, the next highest cards of the hands are matched up, and the lowest value of these matched cards determines the winner. Thus, the hand 8 6 4 3 2 is a stronger total than 8 7 3 2 A, and 9 6 5 2 A beats out the hand 9 6 5 4 A. When the competing hands are equivalent, such as the holdings 8 5 4 3 A versus 8 5 4 3 A, the hand is considered a tie and the pot is split.
The wheel or bicycle, 5 4 3 2 A, is the perfect lowball hand. It can never be beat. At best, it can be tied by another wheel. 6 4 3 2 A is the next strongest lowball total, followed in order by 6 5 3 2 A, 6542 A, 6543 A, and so on.
In lowball, straights and flushes are not relevant and do not count. The wheel, 5 4 3 2 A, is not considered a straight. It's a perfect "5 4." An 8 4 3 2 A, all of hearts is simply an "8 4" hand, not a flush as it would be in high poker.
Any five-card hand containing a pair is a weak hand and can be beat by any five unmatched cards. For example, K Q 7 6 5 is a winner over 2 2 3 4 5. Two pair, three-of-a-kind, full houses, and four-of-a-kind are increasingly worse holdings. The odds of these hands winning are very slim indeed.
The term smooth in lowball refers to a relatively good back four cards, such as the hand 9 5 4 3 A, a smooth nine. Rough suggests a relatively weak back four cards, such as the hand 9 7 6 5 2, a rough nine. Lowball is a draw poker variation. As such, it is played similarly to high draw poker, featuring two betting rounds, one before the draw and one after.
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