It offers players plenty of ways to win, while at the same time limiting the chance that its outcome will be determined by luck instead of strategy. The general rules are similar to other forms of draw poker, but there are quite a few notable variations in the betting structure, the winning hands, and how each hand is played.
The player to the left of the dealer has to post an ante which is a forced bet that is half as big as the minimum bet.
Once all players have anted, three cards are dealt one at a time to each player. These cards are called “hole” or “pocket” cards and they belong only to the player who is holding them.
After the cards are dealt, there is another round of betting. Players in turn have the option to discard one or two hole cards in exchange for new cards, so that each player ends up with four cards after this round. One card at a time is dealt face up in the center of the table until all players have four cards in their hands. These face up cards are called the “flop”.
Another round of betting follows, starting with the player who has the best poker hand showing after the flop – in most cases it is the player with three matching cards. If no one can beat this initial winning hand, there is no need for further betting because the pot already has one player who has won it.
After the initial round of betting is over, each player in turn can choose to make a bet or drop out. At this point, any player with two pair or better will be likely to continue playing – to get a better hand and win more money. This time, each player gets to draw one, two or three cards from the deck and discard unwanted cards (face down) in order to create the best 5-card hand possible.
This continues until all players but one drop out of the game. At that point, there is another round of betting and eventually a showdown between the last two remaining players. The player with the best 5-card poker hand wins the pot.
The biggest difference between 2-7 Triple Draw and traditional draw poker is that you don’t have to discard all your cards after the first round of betting. You can choose to hold some or all of them instead, and then use them in a second round of betting if you want! Another difference is that you don’t have to use all 5 cards in your final hand – it can be as few as 2.
2-7 Triple Draw Poker is also played with antes instead of blinds, which generally makes for smaller minimum bets that increase more slowly over the course of the game. The game has plenty of action and no player ever has to worry about a bad run of cards ruining their prospects.