All Lowball Hand Rankings Explained

Lowball hand rankings fall into four main categories A-5, A-6, 2-7 and 2-6. This article will cover each category and show you what beats what when playing different lowball poker games. The one thing that all of the lowball poker hand rankings have in common is that they are all based around players making the lowest possible hand as opposed to the highest possible hand.

The most popular lowball games are Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw and 2-7 Single Draw all of which can be played at PokerStars.com alongside Badugi and Stud Hi/Lo.

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Ace to five hand ranking

When playing any game that uses ace to five hand rankings the best possible holding is A-2-3-4-5 which is commonly known as the wheel. Aces are always considered to be low cards when playing ace to five lowball games and straights and flushes are completely ignored when evaluating hand strength. Razz poker is the most popular lowball poker game which uses ace to five hand rankings and is basically Seven Card Stud but with lowball hand rankings replacing the usual hand rankings.

When playing Ace to Five lowball games it’s important to note that Aces are low cards and low cards only. This means that A-A-x-x-x would always beat 2-2-x-x-x.

Ace to six hand rankings

The best possible hand when playing any poker game which uses the ace to six hand rankings system is A-2-3-4-6. This is because straights and flushes count as high hands instead of being ignored. Aces are always considered low cards. Ace to six is often known as 6-4 low because the best hand you can make is 6-4-3-2-A. London Lowball is one of the only poker games which uses the ace to six lowball hand rankings.

Remember when you play Ace to Six poker that A-K-Q-K-T is in fact not a straight. Aces are low cards only and therefore A-K-Q-K-T would beat a hand like 3-10-J-Q-K. Like in Ace to Five poker A-A-x-x-x would always beat 2-2-x-x-.

2-7 hand rankings

When using 2-7 hand rankings the absolute best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7. Aces are always high cards when using deuce to seven rankings and straights and flushes will always count as high hands. 2-7 is often known as 7-5 due to the best possible hand starting 7-5. The deuce to seven hand rankings are thought to be the exact opposite of the regular high hand rankings used by most poker games. 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw are the most popular deuce to seven games around.

2-6 lowball hand rankings

2-6 lowball hand rankings state that the best hand a player can make is 2-3-4-5-6. This is because aces are always high cards but straight and flushes never count against you. Deuce to six lowball hand rankings are pretty uncommon and there aren’t any games online you can play which use this ranking system.

If you fancy playing any of the top lowball poker games then PokerStars.com is the place to do so. Currently they spread the following lowball games:

– Razz
– Badugi
– 2-7 Triple Draw
– 2-7 Single Draw
– Stud Hi/Lo
– Omaha Hi/Lo

Visit PokerStars the best place to play lowball poker online.