How to Play Lowball Poker

Lowball poker is fun to play and is just like five-card stud poker, but with one major difference. The winner is the person with the lowest cards. If you already know how to play five-card stud but would like to have some variety in your game playing, lowball poker is an excellent choice. Just remember, however, that low cards are just as scarce as high cards.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of cards

How to Play Lowball Poker

1. Deal five cards to each player. The cards are placed face down so that only the player can see his or her cards.

2. Decide whether to bet or fold. Players are not allowed to move to the next round without raising a bet, matching the highest bet, or folding. At this point you don't know what your final hand will look like, but neither do your opponents. Consider bluffing during this round of betting to make it appear that you were dealt good cards.

3. Remove the cards you don't want. Players who are still active in the round may turn in cards they don't want and receive new ones. You can trade in one card, all five cards, or an amount in between. The dealer gives you the replacement cards face down so only you can see them.

4. Decide whether to place more bets. This is the last chance to bet. Players at this point can 'check' which means they neither bet nor fold, but new bets can also be made. Every player has their final cards at this point.

5. Place the cards down on the table to see who has the best hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Players have the option of setting up big and small blinds for players, which forces the two players to the left of the dealer to make a bet.
• The standard version of lowball poker is scored as Ace-to-five low, meaning the best possible hand is an Ace, Two, Three, Four and Five. This is commonly called 'California lowball.'
• Another variation is Ace-to-six low, also known as 'London lowball.' This version recognizes a straight as being a high scoring hand and therefore of no value in lowball poker.
• Playing 'Kansas City lowball' is another variation to try. The best possible hand in this variation is deuce-to-seven low, meaning the best hand is a two, three, four, five and seven, as long as the cards are not all from the same suit (a flush). This scoring method gives the Ace a high value instead of low, and counts straights and flushes as being high as well.