2-7 Triple Draw Strategy and Hand Rankings

2-7 Triple Draw, pounced "deuce to seven" triple draw, is a main stream version of draw poker using deuce to seven lowball hand rankings. The game is played up to six handed and uses a dealer button and a big and small blind much like Texas Hold'em. Play starts with each player dealt five cards, and a betting round then takes place. There are three rounds of draws, with a betting round after each, in which a player can discard any number of their cards and have them replaced with new cards. If they choose to draw no cards this is called "standing pat".

2-7 Triple Draw is most often played using fixed limit betting, though sometimes it is offered in pot-limit or no-limit betting formats. When played in fixed limit the first two betting rounds use the small bet (ex: $5 in a $5/$10 2-7 Triple Draw game) and the second two use the big bet (ex: $10 in a $5/$10 2-7 Triple Draw game). Betting is generally capped at four bets per betting round to avoid the game getting too expensive in the event of a raising war, and as we've already alluded to: there are four betting rounds in the game.

When all betting rounds are complete the player with the best "Deuce to Seven" lowball hand wins the pot.

Deuce to Seven Hand Rankings

In Deuce to Seven games the goal is to make the lowest hand possible. In this game Aces are always high and straights and flushes count against the hand. Therefore the best possible hand 2-3-4-5-7, hence the name deuce to seven. The 2-3-4-5-6 is not the best hand as this hand is considered a straight which is a horrible deuce to seven hand. A-2-3-4-5 is also a poor hand, however it is not a straight and will beat all other Ace high hands as well as paired hands, however will lose to a king high. To give an idea of the type of hands that win at full ring game tables, more times then not, a player does make a seven low. Good eight lows such as the clean 2-3-4-5-8 as well as 8-6 lows are also common which anything 8-7, nine low or worst ranges from marginal to horrible. One tip we'll give up front is a lot of players tend to over play 8-7 low hands, which are quite often beat when an opponent is raising you.

Here is a list of the best Deuce to Seven Hands:

1. 7-5-4-3-2
2. 7-6-4-3-2
3. 7-6-5-3-2
4. 7-6-5-4-2
5. 8-5-4-3-2
6. 8-6-4-3-2
7. 8-6-5-3-2
8. 8-6-5-4-2
9. 8-6-5-4-3
10. 8-7-4-3-2
11. 8-7-5-3-2
12. 8-7-5-4-2
13. 8-7-5-4-3
14. 8-7-6-3-2
15. 8-7-6-4-2
16. 8-7-6-4-3
17. 8-7-6-5-2
18. 8-7-6-5-3
19. 9-5-4-3-2
20. 9-6-4-3-2

The biggest mistake new players make in 2-7 Triple Draw is over valuing certain hands. For example starting off drawing to an eight is a bad idea, as is over playing 8-7. When you look at our above list of the top 20 deuce to seven hands you'll see there are four ways to make a seven low, one way to make an 8-5 low (called a "clean eight") and four ways to make an 8-6 low. When you have an 8-7 low you have between the tenth and the eighteenth best hand possible. This means there are a lot of hands that beat you and while 8-7 is profitable in certain spots, playing with it too often is a mistake.

2-7 Triple Draw Basic Strategy

If you're looking for a good introduction to 2-7 Triple Draw we strongly recommend the Triple Draw section of Doyle Brunson's 2025 book Super System 2. The Triple Draw section was written by Team PokerStars main member Daniel Negreanu, who is one of the biggest money earners in poker history. We'll give you a few quick tips here so you can grasp the very basics before picking up the book.

Tip #1 2-7 Triple Draw is a game of position, be careful not to play too many hands out of position as the game gets difficult to play out of position on the second and final draws.

Tip #2 At tough tables you'll want to stick to opening pots when you have three cards to the nuts with one of them being a deuce. So, a deuce plus two other cards that are 3, 4, 5 or 7 is your starting hand requirement on a tough deuce to seven triple draw table.

Note: Against passive or weak opponents the starting hand requirements can be loosened such as drawing to a 7-6, or sometimes an 8-5, however in most all cases a deuce is like your visa card "don't leave home without it". It's impossible to make any of the eight best possible hands without a deuce and the more players there are in the hand the less likely it is there is a deuce available to draw. By playing without a deuce you're leaving yourself to a strong disadvantage.

Emphasis: In many games, never playing without a deuce is almost going to be enough to make them beatable as triple draw is a soft game, this is only true if you also grasp fundamental poker strategy and the basics of 2-7 Triple Draw Strategy.

Tip #3 Last Draw position. When you're last to act on the final draw a few things you'll want to know. A jack high is favored over a one card draw, and a queen high is favored over a two card draw. So for example if in position you're holding J-7-4-3-2 even though you have a draw to the nuts, if you're opponent draws one you're favored by standing pat.

Advanced Strategy

While 2-7 Triple Draw seems like a simple game, there is truly a lot to it. This is a game you'll be so much better off if you first read the Triple Draw section of Super System 2 and then get in a bunch of practice at lower stakes.

If there is any game worth mastering right now 2-7 Triple Draw is the game. There are many very soft 2-7 Triple Draw games available at the World's largest poker site PokerStars, and by mastering this game there is a huge window for profit based on how many regulars there are in the game that don't fully understand optimal strategy, and the large number of fish (some of which are huge winners in other games such as Hold'em) that decide to try this game out.

Again we encourage you read the book, and when you're then ready to play get started at pokerstars.