-
A5 Triple Draw Rules
-
How Ace To Five Triple Draw is Played
A-5 Triple Draw is an exciting variation of lowball poker, identical in structure to 2-7 Triple Draw and differing only in its hand rankings. As the name suggests, A-5 Triple Draw’s best hand is A-2-3-4-5 since straights and flushes are ignored and Aces are low. The game is typically played with only 6 players at a table because each player has the option of discarding all five of their cards on each of the three drawings rounds. It’s unlikely, but very possible, and so the number of players is shorted since there aren’t that many cards in the deck. I have been playing Triple Draw for many years and this has only happened a few times. There are two options in the event the deck doesn’t hold enough cards to replace all the discards at the end of a particular drawing round:
- The discards from previous rounds are reshuffled back into the deck.
- A single community card is dealt face up in the middle of the table for all players to use.
The preferred solution is #2, the face-up community card; reshuffling the deck generally does not go over well in the gaming community no matter what game it is. Either option is acceptable by the rules, however, and it’s up to the house (or site, as it were) to decide which to use. If you know the 27 Triple Draw Lowball rules you can skip down to the bottom of this article.
Related Articles:
The Game Begins
Each hand begins with the players in the first and second positions, relative to the dealer’s left, placing their blinds. The first position place places the “small blind” equal to half the table minimum; the second position player places the “big blind” equal to the full table minimum.
Once the blinds are placed, the cards are dealt one at a time to each player, beginning with the first position and progressing clockwise until each player holds five cards. Since the first two positions have already placed their forced bets (the blinds) the next to act after the deal is the third position player, or UTG (for “under the gun”). This player has the option of calling the big blind, raising it or folding. Play then progresses to each player in turn who call, raise or fold until all players are either in the pot or folded.
Drawing
If there are two or more players left in the hand after the initial bets are placed, the first drawing round begins with the player closest to the dealer’s left and advances clockwise around the table. Each remaining player determines if or how many cards to discard and the dealer replaces them with an equal number of new cards from the deck. The discarding continues through each remaining player around the table and the hand advances to the next betting round.
Quick Fact - Although you won't find much traffic at Aced Poker's A5 Triple Draw tables they are the only room that offers it. - Aced Poker Review
Betting
The blinds posted in the first round forced each player to call, raise or fold, which is the defined intention of the blinds. But in later rounds the player in the first position relative to the dealer has the option of checking, or passing, to the next player without betting. If and when a player in later positions does bet, the players behind him will then have the standard options to call, raise or fold.
The Winner Is…
In all, there are four betting rounds and three drawing rounds; deal (with blinds); first bet; first draw; second bet; second draw; third bet; final draw; final bet. Assuming there are two or more players remaining in the hand after the final bet, each player’s hand is revealed and a winner is determined.
As mentioned earlier, the best hand in A-5 Triple Draw is A-2-3-4-5, commonly referred to as “the wheel”. The best hand is determined from highest card and working backwards to the lowest. For instance; let’s say Player A is holding 7-5-4-3-2 and Player B is holding 7-6-3-2-1. It’s common for novices to misread this hand, thinking that the 3-2-1 low cards win. In fact, Player A is holding the better hand since his top two cards are a 7-5-x-x-x versus Player B’s 7-6-x-x-x. Notice how the remaining cards in the hand are notated with “x’s”? That’s because they’re irrelevant; the best hand is determined from the top down, not from the bottom up.
-
Triple Draw Poker
27 Triple Draw Strategy
A5 Triple Draw Strategy