The games · Coolhand Poker

A-5 Triple Draw

Five cards and three swap rounds. The lowest hand takes the pool; runs and suits don't count against you, and the ace is low.

18+ · Nothing to win but the hand.

Players: 2 to 6
Family: Draw
App: Coolhand Poker · iOS and Android, soon

How it goes

You're dealt five cards face down and get three swaps. It has the same shape as 2-7 Triple Draw, with kinder counting: runs and five of one suit are ignored, so a hand in sequence loses nothing, and the ace is always low. The only thing to avoid is two cards of the same rank. Before each swap there's a round of offers: put tokens in the pool, match what someone else put in, or pass. After the last swap there's one more round, then the reveal. The lowest hand takes the pool.

A good hand

Ace-two-three-four-five (the wheel) is the best hand, and it's a run, because runs cost you nothing here. Five different ranks, all under a nine, is usually worth playing to the end. Pairs are what hurt: a pair is two cards doing the work of one. Suits don't matter at all, so never spend a swap on them.

The usual mistake

Playing it like 2-7. Here a run costs you nothing and the ace is the lowest card in the deck, so ace-two-three-four-five is the hand you're swapping toward, not one of the worst you can hold. Throwing away a low ace out of habit means giving up the best card in the game.

Played differently where you are?

Card games change from table to table, and we researched some of these games instead of playing them. If A-5 Triple Draw goes differently where you play it, tell us. That's one of the things the closed beta is for.

The closed beta is by invitation. How to ask to join.