Poker is a game of many different styles. Lowball poker is one of the more difficult to learn and usually requires a lot of patience to master the game. Lowball poker really needs to be learned properly, and I’m going to teach you how below.
When you hear of people playing lowball poker, they are usually referring to a form of poker where the highest card wins the lowball, and the player with the lowest card wins the highball. This game is also known as Cribbage, Go Fish, Acey-Deucey, High-Low, or sometimes Lowball.
Cards are ranked the same as poker, with Ace being the lowest card, followed by King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, Jack. When you play lowball poker, you are playing with all of the cards in your hand.
The game starts by shuffling the pack. Then the dealer will take two cards and put them face down to start the player’s turn. Your turn is to either stay, or fold. If you decide to stay, you will receive your full bet, plus one additional card from the dealer after his turn. On your turn, you can do the same thing the dealer did. If you decide to fold, you will remove the card you folded from the game, and the hand will proceed. When your turn comes, if you are in the blinds (the small and big blinds), you will have the option to call (match the large blind), raise, or fold. If you call, you will be forced to place an additional bet, equal to the blind. If you raise, you will be required to place a bet equal to the large blind before the end of the round.
The Flop
Also starting with the first player in the hand, the dealer will be dealt three cards in the middle of the table, face up. At this point, the player in the big blind will have an option to check, bet, or fold. If the player checks, they will enter the pot untested, and their turn will follow. If the player bets, then they must either call, raise, or fold their hand.
The Turn
The dealer will proceed to deal the flop again, first to the dealer, and then to the players. Again, the first person to the left of the dealer will have the option to check, bet, call, raise, or fold.
The River
The dealer deals the final card face up, which begins the final round of betting. Each player still in the hand must match the latest bet, raise, or fold. When all bets are in, then players will turn their two hole cards face up to display their final best five card hand. The player with the best hand wins the pot.
These are the basic terms to learn to play lowball poker. You can learn the details of how to play by studying the game described in this article. You can learn lowball poker in a number of different ways, including:
- You can purchase a guide to lowball poker that has been written by a master player and has been proven to work. such as Dan Harrington’s improbable series series, David Sklansky’s Poker Hidden Game, or Arnold Snyder’s UL1000. All of these are relatively inexpensive for what you get.
- You can find a site on the internet that gives you the rules, a learning calculator, and everything else you’ll need to learn to play.
- You can search for a poker book that provides a detailed explanation of the rules and your place in the lowball poker game.
- You can search for articles by professional poker players that provide a description of lowball poker and its strategies.
- You can search for videos of amateur players that have completed lowball poker games and discuss their strategies.
Tips from the pros
- Learn to play lowball poker in the same situations as every other form of poker.
- In order to succeed, you must avoid calls and checks so you can continue to build your image and winning chances.
- Read up on every situation you may encounter in a lowball game.
- If you have the opportunity, study the actions of your opponents before you make your own moves.
- Do not call when there is no hand to call.
- Make your decisions based on the quality of your hand and your opponents’ opening moves.
Vary your play and counter the actions of your opponents.
This is the secret to winning at Dewabet poker. Spot the opportunities where you can win by building your image and your stack. Make quick decisions and check the moves of your opponents. You can not win lowball poker consistently if you are never in the game.