Learn the Basics

Finally, a use for your terrible poker hands.

Hold’em Low is a variation of Texas Hold’em with one very important difference: the lowest hand wins. Small, unpaired cards are your friends. A pair is an inconvenience. Two pair is a larger inconvenience.

Two cards for you. Five for everyone.

You get two private cards. Five shared cards arrive in the middle: three on the flop, one on the turn, and one on the river. There’s a round of betting before the flop and after each stage.

At showdown, the game picks your lowest five cards from the seven available. You can use two, one, or none of your private cards.

What does a good bad hand look like?

That’s the best possible final Hold’em Low hand. Five low, distinct ranks in mixed suits.

No pair beats a pair. A pair beats two pair. When both hands have no pair, compare their highest cards first, then work down until something differs.

What can you finish with?

At the river, the game selects your lowest five from all seven cards. In regular Hold’em Low, the possible final hands, best to worst, are no pair, one pair, two pair, flush, and full house.

You might see a straight, three of a kind, four of a kind, or a straight flush among your cards. But with seven available, there is always a better Hold’em Low combination to select. Those won’t be your final chosen hand.

A flush is forced only if all seven cards share a suit. A full house is forced when your seven cards contain four of one rank and three of another.

The action works like normal

• Check: pass without betting, when there’s no outstanding bet to match.
• Bet: put chips in first during this betting round.
• Call: match the current bet.
• Raise: increase the current bet.
• Fold: leave this hand and give up your claim to its pot.

If everyone else folds, you win without showing your cards. If two or more players reach showdown, the lowest hand wins. Equal winning hands split the pot.

Let the game choose your five

Making a pair on the board doesn’t mean you have to keep it. With seven cards available, you may be able to leave the pair out. That’s why your final hand can look very different from the hand you started with.

For examples, read You Don’t Have to Play Your Cards. When you’re ready for the price of calling, try Pot Odds in Hold’em Low.

Take a practice hand

The Muck Poker website uses play-money Muck Bucks, not cash you can withdraw. Start with the interactive lesson: spot the winning hand, choose your five, then play a guided hand against Larry.

You don’t need to memorize everything before you play. Start by looking for five low cards that don’t match.