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2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Triple Draw and Single Draw

2-7 Triple Draw is a lowball draw game: you are dealt five cards, you can discard and replace any of them up to three times, and the lowest hand wins, with straights, flushes and pairs counting against you. A-5 Triple Draw is similar but aces are low and straights and flushes don't count. 2-7 Single Draw gets one draw instead of three, usually with no-limit betting.

How it works

Everyone gets five cards face down and there is a betting round. Then, in Triple Draw, each draw is followed by a betting round, for four betting rounds in total. In 2-7 Single Draw there is one draw and two betting rounds. After a draw you tell the dealer how many cards you are throwing away. The best Triple Draw hands are made early, so being pat (no draw needed) with a good low is powerful.

Rules and hand rankings

• 2-7 Lowball: the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 (no pair, no straight, no flush). Aces are high only. Straights, flushes and pairs are bad.
• Example from the rules: 7-6-5-4-3 is not a seven-low, it is a straight and a poor hand. A-5-4-3-2 is not a straight here, it is an ace-high hand, because aces only play high in 2-7.
• A-5 Lowball: the best hand is A-2-3-4-5. Aces are low only, and straights and flushes do not count against you. 7-6-5-4-3 is a good seven-low in A-5.
• 2-7 Single Draw (no-limit): same hand rankings as 2-7, one draw, two betting rounds.

Strategy tips

1. Value the low cards in ranks 2 through 7. In 2-7, an ace is your highest card and a poor start.
2. In Triple Draw, a made 8-low or better before the first draw is usually strong, and a one-card draw to a good low is normally worth continuing.
3. Position matters: acting last tells you how many cards your opponents drew before you decide.
4. Watch how many cards each opponent draws. Someone drawing one card usually has a strong four-card low.
5. Don't keep cards that build a straight or flush, because those count against you in 2-7.
6. Practice counting outs to make a 7, 8, 9 or better low.

Common mistakes

• Counting straights or flushes as good hands in 2-7
• Keeping an ace in 2-7
• Breaking a good made hand, like a pat 8-low, to chase a slightly better one
• Playing every hand after the first draw

Learn more (free)

Independent free articles and rules pages, not our content. We link them because they teach the game well. Each link was checked on 2026-10-24.

• 2-7 Triple Draw rules (PokerNews) ↗
• Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw strategy with Matt Glantz (PokerNews) ↗
• Michael Mizrachi's mixed game tips, Part 2: Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw (PokerNews) ↗
• Lowball (Wikipedia) ↗

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Verified in our data on Oct 24, 2026: 2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Triple Draw and 2-7 NL Single Draw at Phenom Poker, and 2-7 Single Draw and Triple Draw at Clubs Poker. Rules checked against Phenom's Draw Games Rules page.

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