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Low hand (poker)

Some forms of poker, often called lowball or "low poker", reward poor poker hands (in the traditional sense). There are three common variations on this idea, differing in whether aces are treated as high cards or low cards, and whether or not Straightss and Flusheses are used. The methods are:

Some games are played High-low split, where the player with the best traditional poker hand (called the High hand) splits the pot with the best low hand (by one of the methods above). Low hands tie more frequently than high hands, especially in Community card games, so it is not uncommon for such a hand to win a small fraction of a poker pot. For example, if one player has the high hand on Showdown, and two other players tie for the best low hand, the high hand wins half of the pot and each low hand wins only a quarter of the pot.