Lowball question

[AQheartbreak]

prolly a stupid question to anyone who plays lowball, but me and my friends had a question. does A2357 beat A2348? do you count from a23 or from 843 to determine a winning hand?
thanks

[Chairman Wood]

A2357 wins. Basically the person with the lowest highest card wins. 7 high beats 8 high. If the highest card is the same, then you look at the 2nd highest card, Lowest wins. If 2nd highest is same you continue same process until winner is determined or you would have the same hand.

[Terry]

The trick to hand reading in low games is to read the hands from the top down, just like you do in a high hand game.

Don’t think of it as A2357 vs A2348.

Think 7532A vs 8432A and the winner is obvious.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

remember that this applies for all games with a low, including stud8 and omaha8

[Tom Bayes]

Having an ace in your hand is good, of course, in A-5 Lowball, but does not guarantee a win. For example, my 76543 (a "rough" seven) would beat your 8432A (a "smooth" eight), but a 7654A would beat both hands.

There are, to my knowledge, at least 3 different ways to determine best lowball hand:
1. A-5 or "California" Lowball, where A is low, straights and flushes are ignored, and 5432A (the wheel) is the best possible low. This is used in stud/8, omaha/8, razz, and sometimes in lowball.
2. 2-7 or "Kansas City" Lowball, where A is high, straights and flushes count and are therefore bad hands to have, and 75432 (not all the same suit) is the best possible hand. This is typically used in either single or triple draw lowball. It is common for A-5 to be used for limit lowball and 2-7 for no-limit.
3. A-6 or "London" Lowball-this is like 2-7 except A is low instead of high so 6432A (not suited) is the best hand. This is only used for an English variation of razz called London Lowball, to my knowledge.

[FeliciaLee]

Terry is correct, it is easier if you read it as a whole number. Put it like this:

75,321
84,321

Okay, now it's easy to see which is lower, right?

Also, like Tom says, make sure you know the rules of the lowball game you are playing. In some, a straight or flush is going to kill you, and aces are always high. Don't waste money on hands you think might be low, which are not low.

Good luck!

Felicia /images/graemlins/smile.gif
www.felicialee.net (http://www.felicialee.net)

[mosta]

does AA345
beat 22345?

[Tom Bayes]

[ QUOTE ]
does AA345
beat 22345?

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends on what form of lowball you are playing.

In A-5 (California) lowball, aces are low, so a pair of aces beats a pair of deuces (or any other pair). I believe this is also true for A-6 (London Lowball).

For 2-7 (Kansas City) lowball, aces are high, so a pair of aces loses to a pair of deuces (or any other pair, for that matter).

Some more lowball fun:
In A-5, 5432A is the absolute nuts.
In London Lowball, 5432A is a straight and therefore is terrible.
In 2-7, A5432 is not a straight but is an ace-high which would lose to a hand like KQ843 but would beat any pair.

[LobstaJohnson]

[ QUOTE ]
Terry is correct, it is easier if you read it as a whole number. Put it like this:

75,321
84,321

Okay, now it's easy to see which is lower, right?www.felicialee.net (http://www.felicialee.net)

[/ QUOTE ]

For beginners (heck, and everyone else as well) this is the BEST way to think about lowball hands. It's virtually foolproof.

Well done, Felicia!


--Lob

[TheShootah]

The only problem with that method is that it takes longer to compare hands. First you have to order them, and then think of them as a number, and then see which is smaller. It seems easier to me to just figure out the lowest five cards and compare them from the highest down. I dunno though.

[FeliciaLee]

[ QUOTE ]
The only problem with that method is that it takes longer to compare hands. First you have to order them, and then think of them as a number, and then see which is smaller. It seems easier to me to just figure out the lowest five cards and compare them from the highest down. I dunno though.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's really the same thing. I was just explaining it in more detail to make myself understood. As you know, after a session, it's almost automatic.

[TheShootah]

Yeah, it becomes nothing after about 4 or 5 hands. /images/graemlins/grin.gif