Why Lowball? Why Not Lowball? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Deuce-to-six

The clue refers to the fact that a deck of cards has 52 cards in it. Half the deck would be 26. The answer that most closely resembles 26 is deuce(2)-to-six(6). Each of the variations dictates how a low is made and whether or not straights and flushes count.

The deuce-to-six is also known as 6-5 low because a hand of six, five, four, three, two would be the best possible low because aces play high in this variant. In this variant straights and flushes do not count.

Answer: Ace-to-five

The Ides of March is the 15th of March. The answer that most closely resembles 15 is ace(1)-to-five(5). A hand containing ace, two, three, four, five is also called a wheel and in highball is the lowest possible straight. In ace-to-five lowball though, straights do not count so it is the best low possible.

In high/low games the wheel is one of the best hands you can get because it is a very strong high and the nut low.

Answer: Ace-to-five

Razz employs the ace-to-five ranking system where straights and flushes are ignored and only the rank of the cards is determinative. The best Razz hand is therefore the wheel (A,2,3,4,5). Razz does employ suits but only in determining who has to make the bring-in bet if two or more players hold the high card after the first three cards are dealt.

Answer: False

In both deuce-to-seven and deuce-to-six the ace is high not low. In ace-to-five and ace-to-six, the ace is low. In the majority of high/low games the ace plays high for the high hand and low for the low hand because most high/low games use the ace-to-five ranking system for the low.

Answer: The qualifying low must have no card higher than an eight

Eight or better refers to the qualifying low hand. If no one has a low that is no higher than an eight, then the low part of the pot will go to the winner of the high side. It is impossible to win the whole pot with just a low hand but it is possible to win the whole pot with just the high hand. If there is a qualifying low hand and it is not held by the person with the winning high hand, then the pot is split between the two players. If the same player holds both the high hand the low it is said he scoops the pot.

Some high/low split games do not require the low to qualify and are split between the best high and the best low no matter what. This then is the difference between Stud Eight and Stud High/Low. Stud Eight requires a qualifying low where Stud High/Low does not.

Answer: 3

H.O.R.S.E. stands for
H-Texas (H)old'em
O-(O)maha eight or better
R-(R)azz
S-7 card (S)tud
E-7 card Stud (E)ight or better
Of these games Razz is a lowball game and the Omaha and the second Stud are high/low split games. Therefore three of the games have lowball as part of their play.

Answer: Kansas City

The hint of Baxter being a sports bettor and the word 'chiefly' are references to Kansas City's NFL team the Chiefs. There is no clear delineation of how it became known as Kansas City Lowball other than the supposition that riverboat gamblers on the Missouri River, which dissects the Kansas City metro area, came up with the game so the city and the game were linked. It is named Billy Baxter Lowball in honor of the great poker player Billy Baxter who won five of his seven WSOP bracelets in the event between 1975 and 1993. Baxter's other two bracelets are in other forms of lowball, Razz and Ace to Five Draw.

In Deuce to Seven Single Draw or Triple Draw poker aces are always high and straights and flushes count. Therefore the best possible hand is an unsuited sequence of seven, five, four, three, two. This avoids both a flush and a straight while providing the lowest rank in the cards.

Answer: Four

Badugi uses four cards instead of the traditional five of Ace to Five Draw. In Badugi the best possible hand is A234 of all different suits. Although suits are not determinative of a winner, they do disqualify hands. So a hand of Ah2c3s4h would only be a Badugi hand of A23 and the 4 would be disallowed because its suit matches the A.

In Badugi a four card hand beats a three card hand no matter the card ranks and a three card hand beats a two card hand. If both players have all four cards of different suits then the ranks of the cards determines the winner. If the ranks are all the same then the suits are ignored and the hand is a tie.

Answer: Deuce-to-seven

The clue is a reference to the 27 Club, a group of talented musicians who all died at the age of 27. The best answer that fits with this club is deuce(2)-to-seven(7). Baduci combines Badugi with Deuce to Seven Triple Draw. It is a split pot game in which players must form a Badugi hand of four cards max and a deuce-to-seven hand that must use all five cards.

This becomes tricky because the ace is the lowest possible card for Badugi but the highest card in deuce-to-seven. The betting follows the typical rules of a triple draw game.

Answer: Four

Deuce to Seven Triple Draw and Razz are both lowball games. Omaha Eight or Better and Stud Eight or Better are both high/low split games. This means half of the games or four have some lowball component to them. Deuce to Seven Triple Draw uses the deuce-to-seven hand ranking system while the other three all use the ace-to-five hand ranking system. Deuce to Seven Triple Draw is a five card draw game. Razz and Stud are both dealt two cards down, four up, and one down. Omaha is a seven card community game in which each player is dealt four down cards and share the five cards on the board.

In Omaha a player must use two cards from his hole cards to make his five card hand.