From cash games to tournaments, you can enjoy your favorite poker games twenty-four hours a day. See below for a list of the poker games available and some helpful tips on how to play each.

• 2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules
• How To Play 2-7 Single Draw Poker
• What Is 2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules
• What Is 2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules

Basic Poker Rules

Many variations of poker exist, but all of them share certain basic rules. Each game involves betting on the strength of your poker hand, and all games feature a ‘pot’ that those bets go into. The player with the strongest hand, or the only player left in the pot after everyone else folds, wins the pot.

Short history of 2-7 Single Draw Poker; First steps. Deuce to Seven Single Draw is a poker game also known as LowBall Poker. Being part of the draw games family means that each player gets a complete hand before the beginning of the first betting round and develops the hand during the game by exchanging or “drawing” cards. 2-7 single draw is a challenging game for most people because the objective is to acquire the lowest hand instead of the highest. Luck and bluffing play a much larger part in 2-7 single draw when compared to other poker games. 2-7 single draw is closely related to 2-7 triple draw and 5 card draw. Don’t worry though, this 2-7 single draw guide. 2-7 Lowball rules for NL Single Draw are simple; however, players not familiar with the Deuce to Seven ranking of hands often get confused. Of course, in lowball poker the goal is to make the lowest hand possible. In Deuce to Seven the best hand a player can make is 2-3-4-5-7. NL 2-7 Single Draw Rules First lets take a look at the NL 2-7 Single Draw rules after which we will show you how NL 2-7 Triple Draw rules differ. NL 2-7 rules are the same as Holdem rules when it comes to the small and big blind. The small blind sits directly to the left of the dealer and the big blind sits directly to the left of the small blind. 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw. 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw are lowball games that force you to make the worst possible low hand. In 2-7 Single Draw, players can discard unwanted cards after the first round of betting. In 2-7 Triple Draw, players can discard unwanted cards after each of the first three rounds of betting.

All poker games also feature a mandatory bet of some kind. In Hold’em games, this is usually called a ‘blind’ and is wagered when it's one or more players’ turn to post the blinds. In Stud and Draw poker games, this is usually called an ‘ante’ and is wagered every hand, while some games have antes in addition to blinds.

All poker games feature one or more betting rounds in which the player can make one of the following betting choices:

• Check - To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round
• Bet - To put chips into the pot
• Fold - To release, or ‘muck’, your hand and forfeit any chance of winning the current pot
• Call - To put into the pot an amount of chips equal to the most recent bet or raise
• Raise - To increase the amount of the current bet

When the betting rounds are complete, if there are multiple players still in the pot, there is a ‘showdown’, where the remaining players show their hands to each other. The person with the best hand wins the pot. If there is only one person left in the pot at the end of a betting round (i.e. everyone else folds), that person does not have to show his hand, and he automatically wins the pot.

Please be sure you review and understand the Poker Hand Rankings before you play!

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold'em (or simply, ‘Hold'em’) is the most popular poker game in the world. Each player is dealt two cards (‘hole cards’) which belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the ‘board’ and all players may use these cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand possible. Click here for more on Texas Hold’em Hand Rankings.

6+ Hold'em

This popular 'short deck' format plays much like Texas Hold’em, but with a few exciting differences. All cards lower than a six are removed from the deck, and everyone posts an ante before each hand. Only the button posts a blind - known as the 'button blind'. Unlike traditional hand rankings, a flush beats a full-house and Ace, 6, 7, 8, 9 is classified as a straight.

Showtime Hold’em

Showtime Hold’em plays almost identically to Texas Hold’em (see above), with the exception that every card folded by any player remains face-up and visible for the rest of the hand. This includes all cards folded before and after the flop.

Omaha High and Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha is similar to Texas Hold’em, but players receive four hole cards instead of two. Hands must consist of exactly two cards from the player’s hole cards and three cards from the board. In Omaha Hi/Lo, and Omaha Eight (played with an ‘eight or better’ qualifier - meaning that a hand must be, at worst, an eight-low to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot), each pot is divided between the best hand for high and the best hand for low (based on traditional hand rankings). We offer Omaha games in both limit and pot limit, while Omaha Hi/Lo and Omaha Eight are available in limit, pot limit and no limit.

PokerStars Swap Hold’em

Swap Hold'em is a great twist on the world’s favorite poker game, Texas Hold’em. The twist is that before any player has the option to fold, they are first given the chance to swap out one or both of their hole cards for new ones. Players are able to swap once per hand, at any point in the hand (either pre- or post-flop) unless they are all-in.

PokerStars Tempest Hold'em

This unique format ups the ante on traditional Texas Hold'em games. Not only do the antes increase every hand until a showdown is reached, but there's an extra pre-flop blind - known as a Giant Blind - and you only have two options: all-in or fold. Hands play out per regular Texas Hold'em rules (see above), but every pot is 'capped'. That means no player can wager or lose more than 10 Giant Blinds in a single hand.

Deep Water Hold'em

With Giant Blinds and ever-changing antes, Deep Water Hold'em is your chance to dive into Texas Hold'em games with a twist. At the beginning of each hand, every player posts an ante and the player sat to the left of the Big Blind posts a Giant Blind. The antes then increase every hand until a showdown is reached, up to a maximum value. Will you sink or swim? Play Deep Water Hold'em to find out.

5 Card Omaha and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo

5 Card Omaha and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo are similar in some ways to regular Omaha games, but with a fifth hole card dealt to each player pre-flop. 5 Card Omaha games are available at pot limit and no limit tables, while Hi/Lo games can be played at Limit, pot Limit and no Limit tables.

Courchevel and Courchevel Hi/Lo

Courchevel is an exciting form of 5 Card Omaha, where the first flop card is dealt face up at the beginning of the hand. Courchevel Hi/Lo is a popular split pot form of Omaha poker, where each player is dealt five cards pre-flop. You can play Courchevel and Courchevel Hi/Lo for free at limit, pot limit and no limit tables.

Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo

Seven Card Stud is a classic poker game in which players are dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand, but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner. The split pot version of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo offers a twist to this much-loved game and is played with an ‘eight or better’ qualifier, meaning that a hand must be, at worst, an eight-low to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot.

Razz (7 Card Stud Low)

If you think you can never make a hand, Razz is the game for you. This version of seven-card lowball allows you to aim for the absolute worst five-card hand and still win. The ante and playing structure of Razz is exactly the same as Seven Card Stud except it is played for low instead of high. Straights and flushes are ignored, so the best possible hand is 5,4,3,2,A.

Five Card Draw

In Five Card Draw, the idea is to make the best five-card hand after one ‘draw’ - or substitution of unwanted cards. Players are dealt five hole cards, and once the first round of betting is complete, players select the hole cards they wish to discard (if any) by clicking on them. You can change your mind by clicking on the card(s) a second time. Once players in the hand have completed their draws there is another round of betting, and the winner is either the player left after everyone else has folded, or the player with the best five-card hand.

2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw

2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw are lowball games that force you to make the worst possible low hand. In 2-7 Single Draw, players can discard unwanted cards after the first round of betting. In 2-7 Triple Draw, players can discard unwanted cards after each of the first three rounds of betting. In 2-7 games, an Ace is *always* a high card, and straights and flushes count against you, so in both games, the lowest possible hand is 7,5,4,3,2 of different suits. Please review the 2-7 hand ranking system below before playing either of these exciting poker games.

HORSE & 8-Game Mix (Mixed games)

HORSE (Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better) is the collection of games that allows you to prove how well-rounded a poker player you are. If you get bored playing one game all the time, try out HORSE to round out your skills. We also offer 8-Game Mix, which is the same rotation as HORSE, but also includes rounds of No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and 2-7 Triple Draw.

Badugi

Badugi is a form of draw poker, where the object of the game is to make the best low hand of different suits, from the four cards you are dealt. After the first betting round, remaining players can discard unwanted cards and draw. Another round of betting then ensues, after which there are two more draw and betting rounds. It's important to understand that in Badugi, pairs and suited cards don't count at all; a 'badugi' is a hand of four different ranks and all four suits. The best hand possible is 4, 3, 2, A, of different suits. Please review the Badugi hand ranking system below before playing.

Poker Hand Rankings

We deal many varieties of poker, some of which use different hand rankings. Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw all use the traditional ‘high’ poker rankings. Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz and Stud Hi/Lo use the ‘Ace to Five’ (‘California’) low hand rankings for low hands. 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw use the ‘Deuce to Seven’ (‘Kansas City’) lowball rankings for low hands. Lastly, Badugi uses a special ranking of hands unique to that game.

Straight Flush: Five cards in sequence, of the same suit.

In the event of a tie: Highest rank at the top of the sequence wins.

The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’.

In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same four of a kind, the highest fifth side card ('kicker') wins.

Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.

In the event of a tie: Highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two matching cards wins.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit.

In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split. The suit itself is never used to break a tie in poker.

Straight: Five cards in sequence.

In the event of a tie: Highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.

Note: The Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card which can act in this manner. A,K,Q,J,T is the highest (Ace high) straight; 5,4,3,2,A is the lowest (Five high) straight.

Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.

In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind, the highest side card, and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.

Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have two identical pairs, highest side card wins.

One pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.

High card: Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above.

In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.

This method of ranking low hands is used in traditional Hi/Lo games, like Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo, as well as in Razz, the ‘low only’ Stud game.

Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. A flush or straight does not ‘break’ an Ace to Five low poker hand. Aces are always a ‘low’ card when considering a low hand.

Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there.

Five Low, or Wheel: The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace.

In the event of a tie: All Five-high hands split the pot.

Six Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6,4,3,2,A defeats 6,5,4,2,A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Seven Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Eight Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

An Eight Low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo. However in Razz, there is no such ‘qualifier’ and the lowest hand will always win the pot, even if it is a nine low, queen low, or even a pair!

The 2-7 Lowball hand rankings are the exact opposite of the traditional ‘high’ hand rankings. Therefore, the worst possible hand in traditional high poker – seven-deuce high, with different suits, becomes the best possible hand in 2-7 lowball (a ‘perfect seven’ low or ‘wheel’).

In practice, an ace always plays as a high card in 2-7 (so A,5,4,3,2 is an ace high, not a straight). Straights and flushes count against your hand in 2-7.

Seven Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a seven. The best possible hand is 7,5,4,3,2, also known as a ‘wheel’ or ‘number one’.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. Thus 7,5,4,3,2 beats 7,6,5,3,2 (a ‘Seven-Five low’ is better than a ‘Seven-Six low’). If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Eight Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being an eight.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Nine Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a nine.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Ten Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a ten.

2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Note: There is no ‘qualifier’ for low in 2-7 lowball games. The above are just examples of hands that may come up in play – the lowest hand will always win the pot in 2-7, even if it is a pair or worse!

Badugi does not use traditional poker hand rankings and it takes some practice to learn how to correctly read the hands. Badugi hand rankings are somewhat related to the Ace to Five rankings; like in Ace to Five, an ace always plays as a low card. However, unlike Ace to Five, each card in your hand must be a different suit and a different rank, in order to count.

Badugi hands consist of four cards, instead of the usual five. Because of this it is impossible to make a five-card straight, and having four cards in sequence does not hurt your hand.

Remember, if you have cards of the same suit, only one of them counts, and if you have pairs, only one of them counts.

Badugi: A badugi is any hand which consists of four unpaired cards, each a different suit.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest and fourth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Three-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of three unpaired cards of different suits, but a fourth paired or suited card. The lowest three unpaired cards of different suits play.

Because there is a pair, one of the fours does not count, so it is simply ignored, making a 4,2,A three-card hand.

Because there are two hearts in this hand, one of them is ignored, making a 3,2,A three-card hand.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest card in the hand can be used to break the tie. The fourth (paired or suited) card does not count toward the hand and is not used to break ties.

How To Play 2-7 Single Draw Poker

Two-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of two unpaired cards of different suits, but two paired or suited cards. The lowest two unpaired cards of different suits play.

Because there are two pairs, one of each pair is discarded, making a 5,A two-card hand.

Because there are three hearts, two of them are discarded, making a 2,A two-card hand.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. The third and fourth (paired or suited) cards do not count toward the hand and are not used to break ties.

One-Card Hand: A hand consisting of only one playable card. The lowest card plays.

Since there are four Aces, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just an Ace.

Since there are four cards of the same suit, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just a Three.

In the event of a tie: The pot is split between two equal one-card hands.

If you have any questions about any of the games available, contact Support.

Ed. note: The 2018 World Series of Poker is fast approaching. In order to get ready, over the next few weeks we're again sharing author Ken Lo's strategy advice for games other than no-limit hold'em.

In this series, I am discussing some of the poker variants other than no-limit hold'em you'll probably hear about during coverage of this year's World Series of Poker. If a game piques your interest, think about taking some time to explore it further. Who knows — you just might find a new game to love!

No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw

As a draw variant, there are no cards shown in no-limit deuce-to-seven single draw, so there is no way of knowing exactly what cards your opponents are holding during the hand. Further, as the name of the game suggests, there is only one available draw (as opposed to three in games like 2-7 Triple Draw). Therefore, aside from the betting, the only concrete information giving a hint of what cards an opponent might hold is the number of cards drawn on that one draw.

These factors make no-limit 2-7 single draw a game highly conducive to bluffing. When played at a high level, poker becomes less about relying on the absolute strength of hands, and more about exploiting your opponents' tendencies.

Psychology becomes a very important factor in no-limit 2-7 single draw. Players may find themselves routinely asking Does my opponent really have a better hand or not? And as with any game having a no-limit betting structure, big pots can be potentially won or lost depending on the accuracy of the read.

What Is 2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules

Hand Rankings

The object of no-limit 2-7 single draw is to make the lowest five-card hand possible. However, unlike the game of razz — discussed in my previous article — which has the same objective, the hand ranking system used is different. Getting accustomed to a different ranking system can be initially challenging for newcomers to this variant.

In 'deuce-to-seven' games, the always plays as a high, undesirable card. Also, straights and flushes are valid hands, but because they are strong hands in high hand ranking systems, they are unwanted in 2-7 games whose objective is to make the lowest possible hand. Thus, those count against you.

Accordingly, the best hand in this game consists of the cards , with at least two suits represented (i.e., there is no flush) — hence the modifier 'deuce-to-seven.' This hand is made up of the five lowest-ranked cards that do not form a straight.

In lowball games such as no-limit 2-7 single draw, the highest-ranked cards of a hand determine its rank. Therefore — assuming the hand does not contain a straight, flush, or any pairs — when determining the rank of a hand, the cards should be ordered from highest to lowest to facilitate reading of the hand. To give you an idea, consider the following examples of 2-7 hands (ordered from strongest to weakest):

• — 7-high hand
• — 8-high hand
• — 9-high hand
• — ace-high hand
• — pair of threes
• — straight
• — flush

Play of the Hand

What Is 2-7 Single Draw Poker Rules

In no-limit 2-7 single draw, players are dealt five cards each. Then there are two betting rounds, one before the draw and one after. There is no limit on the size of bets and raises, and as noted just that one opportunity to draw. Players can draw any number of cards up to five or 'stand pat' (drawing none) in between those betting rounds.

Note that in addition to blinds, antes are also typically posted to encourage action prior to the opening betting round. Further, although some venues do not enforce this traditional rule, the first player to enter the pot after the blinds must come in for at least a minimum raise (i.e., no open-limping).

Basic Strategy Tips for No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw

In general, you prefer to start with either a good low hand, or be drawing one card to a good low hand. It is particularly difficult to improve to a strong low hand after drawing two cards. Therefore, if you are still learning the game you may find hands easier to play if you simply avoid playing such two-card draws, especially when you expect to be out of position.

Position is of critical importance in draw games. Being in position allows you to see how many cards your opponents are drawing before making your own drawing decision, and to see whether your opponents have checked or bet (and how much) before it is your turn to act on the final betting round. This may allow you to take advantage of the natural tendency of many players to check whenever they have missed their draws.

So then, what constitutes a 'good' low hand? For a better sense of the range of hands that can be made in single draw, it is instructive to think about the number of hands of different possible strengths that can be made in a 2-7 ranking system:

Note the number of hands falling into any given group increases exponentially as the rank of the hands in the group increases. For example, there are more combinations of 10-high hands possible than all nine-high-or-better hands combined, and more jack-high hands possible than all 10-high-or-better hands combined.

In absolute terms, all made seven-high and eight-high hands are very strong, as are many of the best nine-high hands, and all can usually be played aggressively on the final betting round.

Weaker nine-high hands and 10-high hands are still quite good, and will win a decent share of pots. They hold up particularly well in short-handed situations.

Jack-high hands are generally considered average, and in many situations you will likely be trying to get to showdown cheaply with these hands. However, when bet into by an opponent who tends to bet only with stronger hands, folding jack-high hands (and possibly even better hands depending on that opponent's tendencies) will usually not be a big mistake. That said, it can definitely be a mistake to fold these hands too often — particularly in heads-up situations — as they are still quite difficult to make.

Be aware that whenever a player is drawing one card, even with a draw as strong as , a jack-high hand will be made about half the time. But this also means a hand worse than jack-high will be made about half the time. It is quite difficult to make very strong hands with the benefit of only a single draw.

With this in mind, let's suppose you will always fold to a bet whenever you fail to make a jack-high or better hand after drawing. Opponents who have figured this out would be well served to bet out every time after the draw if you did not stand pat.

They are betting solely on the possibility you did not improve to a hand you would be willing to show down. They could do this even from out of position, knowing you would fold whenever your draw missed. This is why it is critical to assess the tendencies of your opponents accurately, and to adapt accordingly.

In heads-up situations, if your opponent is apt to bet frequently as a bluff after missing a draw, then you should be prepared to adjust by showing down more weaker-than-average hands (e.g., queen-high, king-high, or ace-high hands), which you might have folded against less bluff-prone opponents, to avoid being exploited.

Conversely, if you sense your opponent is playing very tight post-draw, strictly calling with only jack-high-or-better hands (some opponents may have even tighter calling requirements), then you can exploit this tendency by attempting bluffs with failed draws yourself more frequently, particularly when in position and your opponent checks to you after drawing one or more cards.

For example, with your worst missed draws that have little showdown value — say you've drawn a big pair or a straight — you could attempt a bluff against tight opponents. They will rarely improve to very strong hands, and will fold often.

Ken Lo is the author of A Poker Player's Guide to Mixed Games: Core Strategies for HORSE, Eight-Game, Ten-Game, and Twelve-Game Mixes, He is based in Toronto, Canada. Follow him via the book's Facebook page and on Twitter @ppgmg.

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