2007 WSOP - 2 to 7 Triple Draw Lowball

  Today, June 29th, two more events kick off, Event 47 - No Limit Holdem $2,000, and Event 48 - 2 to 7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) $1,000 with rebuys. Now would be a good time to answer the question that is likely surfacing in your mind: "What on Earth is 2 to 7 Triple Draw Lowball?" This is a good question to ask, especially considering that there are few landmines in the game for the unwary.  This is a six player game, max, with five cards going to each player. The goal is to make the lowest hand possible, which already causes some poker players to start breathing heavy in concern. After all, they spend most of the time hoping for monster hands, and in this game that is the last thing they want to see.  The name of the game is clue to the best hand you can get (or is it worst?) 2-7 is the hand you want, 7-5-4-3-2. A straight would be no good, so 6-5-4-3-2 is a loser, and Aces are high, so 6-5-4-3-A is no good. The game is called triple draw because players can discard and draw new cards (up to five) three times in a hand in hopes of getting the lowest hand.  In a place like the World Series of Poker, players are after Big. They want big chip stacks, they want to drag big pots, and they want big hands to win big payouts. In a game like 2 to 7 Triple Draw Lowball players are still after big, but they have to do so by getting small hands, a shift in mental gears that can cause quite a bit of stripping if the player is not careful. Look for a handful of pros like Kristy "Mixed Games" Gazes, Howard Ledger and Greg Raymer - players known for their gamesmanship - to surge to the fore.