California Lowball: Variation of Five-Card Draw

Series Summary

Poker is a vying card game that involves the use of guarded hands of cards and wagers on a central pot of money or chips. The winner is the player with the best combination of cards in his or her hand, combined with the best bet. The game requires the skill of subtlety, as well as knowledge of the card deck and the probability of certain hands. The art of deduction and bluffing can combine to make a very successful poker player. Though there are many variations of poker, most players use the same basic pattern to play. A dealer will hand out cards to players, at which point betting and assessing hands based on the dealer's house hand takes place. Though the game's origins are hard to pin down, it has been played in one variation or another for many years. Today, the game is even popular online, as players compete on the Internet against challengers and a computerized dealer. In this free gaming video series, you will learn how to play California lowball poker. You will get tips about dealing, the draw, the seven-low, the showdown, starting hands, betting and deciding to play or fold. You will also get to play a sample hand so that you can make sure that you understand the rules and strategies of California lowball poker.

Video Transcript

"You know, five card draw is not without its many variations. Indeed, there are a number of ways to spruce up the game, if you will, and one of the ways that you can change five card draw, is to flip the rules if you will, and how do I mean? Well, you can play lo- ball. That's basically, flipping the rules, in that, in low ball, when you say, get what looks like a really great hand, it's not a good hand. For instance, if you had a full house, that would be a horrible hand in lo-ball. You would need to throw that away if it was after the draw, and what's the worst hand of all in a lo-ball game? That would be the royal flush. Imagine that, it's the hardest hand to get, and yet, in a lo-ball game, it's the worst hand possible, so think about that, and let's move forward, let's learn how to play California Lo-ball."