
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball might be a fairly unknown game in the world of online poker, but it’s been gaining popularity since Pokerstars added it to their game line-up. Many new players are unfamiliar with some of the game’s more unique characteristics, and now is the perfect time to master those characteristics and set your skills against the typically weak players you will find at the tables. Many players will sit down at a Triple Draw poker table just to see what it is. Most lose a few hands and move back to games they are comfortable with but some fall in love with the game and continue to play it. It takes a long time to develop a solid 27 Triple Draw strategy though so
that's why the games are so soft. I suppose most of the people reading this fall under the category I just mentioned. Since you are taking the initiative to learn strategies I would guess you won't be in that category much longer.
Related Articles: |
|---|
Because there are three drawing rounds in the game and far fewer winning hand combinations, any hand selection strategy in 2-7 Triple Draw must be balanced against your table position; you cannot consider one without the other. In short, the more players there are behind you in the round, the stronger you hand needs to be to play. With three opportunities for your opponents to draw, your 10-high / 4 low hand isn’t very likely to win.
There are four premium hands in 2-7 Triple Draw; 7-5-4-3-2 (the nuts); 7-6-4-3-2; 7-6-5-3-2 and 7-6-5-4-2. To play from the first or second positions you need to be standing pat with one of these hands or drawing only one card to them. Middle to late positions can speculate with weaker hands if you can get into the pot cheaply enough and the last or next to last positions are the perfect spots to bluff from. Even if your opponents know you’re position bluffing, they still might not be willing to pay to out-draw you if they were speculating with mediocre hands in the first place.
Quick Fact - Poker Stars is open to U.S. players and is the only online poker room to offer 27 Triple Draw and 27 Single Draw. - Pokerstars Review
|
Because there are no exposed community cards, the only information you’ll have about your opponents are their betting and discarding patterns. It’s important to carefully scrutinize their play from each position and how they react to each situation. Do they fold to re-raises? If so, they’re probably fishing with weak hands. Do they aggressively defend their blinds against button raisers? You can take advantage of this when you do get a premium hand in late position. Do they limp in early and call raises? They probably have a very strong hand and trying to suck opponents into their trap.
As important as it is to read your opponents, it’s even more important that they not be able to read you, or better yet… that they misread you. A tight/aggressive table image is the easiest to exploit; the fewer hands you play, the more likely it is they’ll believe you have real hand strength when you bet aggressively. With this table image, bluffing your opponents off their hand can be very profitable with even the weakest cards. But be careful; if you get caught in a showdown and have to reveal your bluff, you’ll need to develop a different strategy to take advantage of what they just learned about you!
With so many chances to draw and so few winning combinations to draw to, 2-7 Triple Draw is a game of patience and observation, not hastiness and aggression. Of course, it can pay off big to be aggressive on this hand or that, but the game as a whole should be played with cautious reserve, carefully selecting the hands that you play and pouncing hard when they come. Play only strong hands, punish your opponents for drawing and make them pay for their mistakes.