2-7 Triple Draw Poker

Last Updated on October 6, 2026 by Bala Kumar

What Is 2-7 Triple Draw?

2-7 Triple Draw (also called Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw) is a lowball draw poker game. Each player gets five private cards and can exchange some or all of them up to three times. The lowest hand wins.

Two rules set “deuce-to-seven” apart from other low games:

•           Aces are high. An ace is the worst card for a low hand.

•           Straights and flushes count against you. 7-6-5-4-3 is a straight, not a good low.

That’s why the best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2, not all the same suit. Players call it “number one” or “the nuts”.

There are no community cards and no face-up cards. You only learn about your opponents from how many cards they draw and how they bet. That makes Triple Draw a game of reading draws, counting cards you’ve seen, and sometimes bluffing by standing pat (called “snowing”).

Who is it for? Players who enjoy maths and reads more than big all-in moments. Because it’s usually played fixed-limit, one mistake rarely costs your whole stack.

2-7 Triple Draw at a Glance

How to Play 2-7 Triple Draw

Step by step

1.         Blinds. The two players to the left of the button post the small blind and big blind.

2.         Deal. Everyone gets five cards face down.

3.         First betting round. Action starts with the player to the left of the big blind. Players can fold, call or raise. Bets use the small bet.

4.         First draw. Starting left of the button, each player chooses how many cards to discard (none to five) and receives that many new cards. Keeping all five is called standing pat.

5.         Second betting round. Still at the small bet.

6.         Second draw. Discard and draw again.

7.         Third betting round. Bets double to the big bet.

8.         Third draw. The final exchange.

9.         Final betting round. At the big bet.

10. Showdown. The lowest hand wins.

What everyone can see: how many cards each player draws. A player drawing three cards is usually drawing to a weaker or less-developed hand. A player standing pat is either strong or bluffing.

If the deck runs out

With six players drawing three times, the deck can run out. In that case, the dealer usually shuffles the discards (except the cards being discarded on the current draw) to form a new stock. Exact procedures vary by room.

2-7 Triple Draw Rules

•           Each player has five cards, and all five play. There’s no “best five from seven”.

•           Aces are always high. A-2-3-4-5 isn’t a straight in 2-7. It’s an ace-high hand and is weak.

•           Straights count. 6-5-4-3-2 is a straight and loses to almost any unpaired, non-straight hand.

•           Flushes count. Five cards of the same suit is a flush, which is a bad hand.

•           Pairs are bad. Any pair loses to every unpaired, non-straight, non-flush hand.

•           Betting is usually fixed limit: small bet for the first two rounds, big bet for the last two. A cap of one bet plus three or four raises per round is common.

•           Tied hands split the pot. Suits never break ties.

2-7 Triple Draw Hand Rankings

Compare hands from the highest card down. The lower top card wins. If the top cards match, compare the next card, and so on.

Important facts:

•           There are only four 7-lows in deuce-to-seven, and every one contains both a 2 and a 7.

•           7-6-5-4-3 isn’t a 7-low. It’s a straight.

•           6-5-4-3-2 isn’t a “6-low”. It’s a straight, and it loses.

•           A-2-3-4-5 is ace-high. It loses to any king-high or lower unpaired hand.

2-7 vs A-5 lowball (the Razz system)

If you also play Razz, this is the key switch: an ace that’s perfect in Razz is terrible in 2-7.

Real examples from the 2026 WSOP

•           $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw (Event #58): Michelle Chin won with 8-7-5-4-2, an 8-7 low.

•           $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship (Event #17): the winning hand was 7-6-5-3-2, number three.

•           $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (Event #67): On the final hand, both players ended with pairs, and Koji Fujimoto’s pair was better. His winning hand was 7-6-5-3-3, a pair of threes.

The last example shows how unpredictable Triple Draw can be. Even at the top level, a pair can win a bracelet when neither player makes an unpaired hand.

Starting Hands

The deuce is the most important card in 2-7. Every 7-low needs a 2, so hands without one are much harder to improve.

Why 2-3-4-7 is better than 2-3-4-6

•           2-3-4-7 can catch a 5 (7-5-4-3-2, the nuts), a 6 (7-6-4-3-2) or an 8 (8-7-4-3-2) without making a straight.

•           2-3-4-6 catches a 5 and makes 6-5-4-3-2, a straight, which is a bad hand. Its good cards are the 7 and the 8.

Cards that complete a straight are the hidden danger in deuce-to-seven. Always check which of your “outs” would make a straight.

Drawing Odds

This table shows approximate chances of hitting a one-card draw. It assumes 47 unseen cards and that you draw one card each time.

These figures are calculated from a standard 52-card deck. Real odds are a little lower when cards you need have already been discarded by other players.

What this means: A strong one-card draw with three draws to come hits more than half the time. With one draw left, the same draw hits only about a quarter of the time. Your hand’s value falls quickly as the draws run out.

2-7 Triple Draw Strategy

1.         Play hands with a deuce. It’s the key to every 7-low.

2.         Prefer one-card draws and smooth two-card draws. Three-card draws are rarely worth playing.

3.         Use position. Acting last lets you see how many cards your opponents draw before you decide.

4.         Count the draws. Drawing fewer cards often signals a stronger hand, but it is not proof that you are ahead.

5.         Watch for straights and flushes. Know which of your outs would ruin your hand.

6.         Break a made hand only when it’s weak. A rough 9 or 10 can sometimes be broken to draw to something better if your opponent is drawing too. A made 8 or better is usually kept.

7.         Snow occasionally. Standing pat on a weak hand can make a drawing opponent fold. Use it sparingly and in the right spots.

8.         Value bet made hands. If you’re pat and your opponent is drawing, bet. They’ll often call with draws.

Strategy by Round

Common Mistakes

1.         Treating the ace as low. In 2-7, the ace is high.

2.         Forgetting straights and flushes. 6-5-4-3-2 is a losing hand.

3.         Playing hands without a deuce too often. Without a 2 you can’t make a 7-low.

4.         Drawing three cards. Three-card draws rarely become winning hands.

5.         Ignoring position. Out of position, you act without seeing your opponent’s draw first.

6.         Never breaking a weak made hand. A rough 10 against a one-card draw is often worth breaking.

7.         Calling all the way with weak draws. The last two bets are big, so marginal calls get expensive.

Tournament Strategy

At the 2026 WSOP, the $10,000 Championship started players with 60,000 chips, with levels of 40, 60 and 90 minutes over three days. The $1,500 event started players with 25,000 chips and 40-minute Day 1 levels.

2-7 Triple Draw Tournaments

2026 WSOP results

$10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship history

The 2026 field of 176 was the largest of these five editions, up about 25% on 2025.

2026 highlights

•           Koji Fujimoto beat Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman heads-up to win his first bracelet, stopping Schulman’s bid for a ninth. Fujimoto became the 11th Japanese player to win a WSOP bracelet, and Japan’s third bracelet of the summer, after Naoya Kihara’s two.

•           Final table: Tommy Hang (3rd, $172,064), Andrew Kelsall (4th, $119,011), Justin Smith (5th, $84,845), Todd Brunson (6th, $62,404), Naoya Kihara (7th, $47,401), lowball legend Billy Baxter (8th, $37,224) and Robert Wells (9th, $37,224). Baxter won his first WSOP bracelet in 1975, and all seven of his bracelets came in lowball.

•           Michelle Chin won the $1,500 event from 657 entries. She was the first woman to win an open mixed-game bracelet since Carol Fuchs in 2015.

Online 2-7 Triple Draw

PokerStars’ WCOOP 2026 included a $1,050 Fixed-Limit 2-7 Triple Draw World Championship on September 15, alongside $22 and $215 versions of the same event. Large online series often include 2-7 Triple Draw, both on its own and in mixed-game rotations.

2-7 Triple Draw vs Other Lowball Games

2-7 Triple Draw is part of the 8-Game mix, and also appears in Dealer’s Choice and other mixed-game formats.

Glossary

Where to Play 2-7 Triple Draw Online

2-7 Triple Draw is mostly found at large international poker rooms, often as part of mixed-game tables and in series such as WCOOP. Traffic is lower than for Hold’em, so games may run at set times.

Online poker rules vary by country and can change. Check whether a site is licensed where you live and only play on licensed sites. Readers in India should check the current rules for their state.

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