Lowball and Hi-Lo Variations

In the "standard" poker games, the player with the best traditional (high) hand wins the whole pot. This is however not always the case. There are also lowball variations of the standard poker games as well as high-low split games.

Lowball most often refers to the Five-Card Draw lowball variation. Seven-Card Stud played for the lowest hand is called Razz. When a game is played Hi/Lo, this amendment is added to the name of the poker game, for instance: Omaha Hi/Lo or Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo. The variants mentioned above are the ones that are commonly played. Although there are other lowball or Hi/Lo games out there, they are simply not common enough to be worth mentioning here.

Lowball

In lowball variations the pot is awarded to the lowest hand. For strict lowball variations (as opposed to Hi/Lo) there are two principally different ways to determine the lowest hand. For more detailed discussion on this please refer to the rules on the actual game or hand ranking for low games. Basically the traditional hand ranking chart has been turned upside down.

High-Low Split

In a high-low split pot game, the "best" (best high) and the "worst" (best low) hand split the pot between them. If one player has the best high hand and another player has the best low hand the pot is quite simply split between them. If one player has both the best high hand and the best low hand, that player scoops the entire pot. If there is a tie for one of the parts of the pot, it can be a bit more intricate. But the cardinal rule is that half the pot is reserved for the best high hand(s) and the other half is reserved for the best low hand(s).

One final example on the splitting of the pot: If two players are tied for the best high hand then these players get ¼ of the pot each and if in the same pot there is another single player who has the best low hand, then that player gets ½ of the pot. Should the player being tied for the best high hand and the player who has the best low hand be one and the same, then that player gets ¼ + ½ = ¾ of the pot.

Unless a qualifier of 8-or-better is used for Hi/Lo games. That is a player must have five cards of different ranks that are an eight or lower in rank in order to able to contest the low half of the pot. The lower the highest card is, the better. Straight or flushes do not count against the low hand. An ace may be used for high or low. This enhances the chances for a player to have both the best high and low hand at the same time. For a more detailed discussion on this, please see the section on hand rankings for low. If there are no qualifying low hands, then the whole pot is awarded to the best high hand. When the game requires a qualifying low hand, the game can also be described as: Omaha/8 or Seven Card Stud 8-or-better.