Poker News & Discussion News, Views, and Gossip Poker Goals & Challenges Poker Beats, Brags, and Variance That's What She Said! Poker Legislation Twitch Online Poker Televised Poker. Is A-2-3-4-5 a straight? Yes, A2345 is a straight.this is known as the 'wheel' in hi/low games because it can be used as the nut low and a straight for high. With online casinos continuing to develop new games seemingly every week, though, and many designers unafraid to mimic or replicate successful games to create imitation versions, there’s still a chance that 3-5-7 Poker may enjoy a second life at some point in the future. Strategic Considerations for 3-5-7 Poker. Three Fifty Seven (357 or 3-5-7) Base Game: Non-Standard Stud Poker Wild cards: Yes Created by: Unknown Submitted by: Brian O'Neill. This is one of our favorite games, but it can last literally FOREVER in the original rules (and gets quite expensive), so we ALWAYS play our home-brew variation listed at the end.
Hand rankings[edit]
The most fundamental of poker concern the hand rankings, because the hand rankings determine the winner. While betting is extremely important to the game, players are wagering on whether they have won, therefore a complete understanding of hand rankings must come first. These hand rankings do not apply to games played 'low', such as lowball or razz; see the section on 'low hands' below.
The cards are ranked thus, from low to high: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. An ace is the highest card, but it can also function as the lowest in completing a straight. The two is usually called a 'deuce', and the three is sometimes called a 'trey'. Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace are often abbreviated T, J, Q, K, and A, respectively, so that each card name has a single number or letter associated with it. This is commonly used in describing hands, for example, A-2-3-4-5 is a hand with an ace, a two ('deuce'), a three, a four, and a five — not necessarily in that order, but presenting them in that order makes it clear that the hand is a straight. A hand may also be written, say, A-A-x-x-x, where 'x' means any other card that does not form a better hand.
| Rank name | Also called | Cards needed | Example | Names for example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High card | No pair, nothing | (Anything) | A-x-x-x-x | Ace high |
| Pair | Two cards of same rank | A-A-x-x-x | Aces; pair of aces | |
| Two pair | Two pairs | A-A-K-K-x | Aces up; aces and kings; aces over kings | |
| Three of a kind | Trips, a set | Three cards of same rank | A-A-A-x-x | Three aces; set of aces |
| Straight | Five cards in sequence | 10-J-Q-K-A | Ace-high straight | |
| Flush | All five cards same suit | A♣10♣7♣6♣4♣ | Ace-high flush | |
| Full house | Boat, full boat | Three of a kind plus a pair | A-A-A-K-K | Aces full; aces full of kings |
| Four of a kind | Quads | Four cards of same rank | A-A-A-A-x | Quad aces; four aces |
| Straight flush | Five cards forming straight and a flush | 10♠J♠Q♠K♠A♠ | Ace-high straight flush (Also called a Royal Flush) |
A-2-3-4-5 is considered a five-high straight, and it is called a wheel or bicycle; this is the only time an ace plays as a low card. An ace-high straight flush is called a royal flush and it cannot be beaten. The only time it ties is when all 5 cards to the royal flush, i.e. A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥, are on the community board. Higher cards always beat lower cards, for example, a pair of aces beats a pair of kings, and a flush with a king beats a flush whose highest card is a Queen. If two players have the same pair, a kicker is used to break the tie if possible (more about them soon). When two players have two pair, the highest pairs are considered, for example, aces up always beats kings up, no matter the other pairs. If, for example, two players both have aces up, then the higher of the smaller pairs wins: aces over kings beats aces over queens. If, for example, both players have aces over kings, then the kicker card is considered. Kickers also come into play when more than one player has the same three or four of a kind (possible only in community card games or wildcard games). If players have the same straight, flush, full house, or straight flush, it is always a tie and the players split the pot. There is no suit superiority or trump suit; a spade flush with A-10-9-6-4 does not beat a club flush with the same values.
A kicker is any card that you hold in your hand that does not make part of it, that is, an otherwise useless card. A hand can have more than one kicker; A pair for instance has three kickers and a three-of-a-kind has two, and they are considered in rank order highest-first. When two players hold the same pair, two pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind, the highest kicker wins, for example, A-A-K-x-x beats A-A-Q-x-x, A-A-K-Q-x beats A-A-K-J-x, and A-A-K-Q-J beats A-A-K-Q-T. A kicker can be higher than the rest of the hand, for example, K-K-A-x-x beats K-K-J-x-x, so an ace usually makes the best kicker. If the first kicker ties and there is a second or third, they are compared in rank order; A-A-K-J-x loses to A-A-K-Q-x. If the hands are totally equivalent, the pot is split.
Low hands[edit]
Some games have a high-low split, and some games such as lowball or razz are played low-only. In a high-low split game, typically a low hand must not have any cards ranked higher than eight and no cards must be paired, or it does not count as a low hand. In low-only games, any cards can be used. Many forms of poker do not use low hands, so you need not concern yourself with these until you intend to play games that do.
There are three common ways of ranking low hands: ace-to-five low, ace-to-six low, and deuce-to-seven low, named after the best possible hands in the respective systems. In all systems, paired cards are bad and cannot be used to beat any hand that does not have a pair. Likewise, a pair beats three of a kind, three of a kind beats a full house, and a full house beats four of a kind. The most common hand ranking system for low hands is ace-to-five, used almost universally in high-low split games and very common in other games. This means A-2-3-4-5 (called a wheel or bicycle, just as it is as a high hand) is the best possible low hand, and the ace is the lowest card. For a high-low split game, it also forms a high hand: a five-high straight. In order to avoid confusion, we will discuss only ace-to-five low at the moment.
2 3 4 5 7 Poker Games
When pairs and any other 'bad' hands are not present, then the winner is the one whose highest card is lowest. For this reason, a low hand is usually described highest card first, to make it easier to tell which is lower. In ace-to-five, 8-4-3-2-A loses to 7-6-5-4-3 because the highest card in the first hand (eight) is higher than the highest card in the second hand (seven), even though all the other cards in the second hand are lower. If the highest cards are the same, then the next-highest cards are considered, and so on: 8-7-6-3-A loses to 8-7-5-4-2 because the second hand goes lower first.
In ace-to-six low, straights and flushes count for high (that is, they're bad), and the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-6 unsuited, since it's the lowest possible card combination that avoids pairing, straights, and flushes. Deuce-to-seven is identical except the ace is the highest card, so the best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 unsuited. Therefore, in deuce-to-seven low, the hand that would make the worst possible high hand in traditional poker is the best possible low hand, and vice versa: a royal flush is the worst possible hand.
On This Page
Introduction
3-5-7 Poker is a simple poker based game slowly finding a home in the casinos. It is actually 3 games in 1, the player can bet on a 3, 5, and 7 card hand and is paid according to the poker value of each.
Rules
Play begins with the player making 2 or 3 wagers. The player must bet on the 3 card and 5 card hand, the 7 card hand is optional. The player may bet any amount on any hand, subject to the table minimum and maximum.
After all players have bet, the dealer will give 3 cards to each player and 4 to himself, face down. Based on his first three cards the player may surrender half his 7 card bet if he wishes, in other words the dealer gets half the 7 card bet and the player gets back the other half.
The following pay tables show what each hand pays for each bet.
3-Card Hand Pay Table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Straight flush | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 25 to 1 |
| Straight | 6 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 |
| Pair | 1 to 1 |
| Nothing | Loss |
5-Card Hand Pay Table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 500 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 100 to 1 |
| 4 of a kind | 40 to 1 |
| Full House | 12 to 1 |
| Flush | 9 to 1 |
| Straight | 6 to 1 |
| 3 of a kind | 4 to 1 |
| 2 pair | 3 to 1 |
| Pair (6's or better) | 1 to 1 |
| Nothing | Loss |
7-Card Hand Pay Table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 100 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 20 to 1 |
| 4 of a kind | 7 to 1 |
| Full House | 5 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 |
| Straight | 3 to 1 |
| 3 of a kind | 2 to 1 |
| 2 pair (10's high or better) | 1 to 1 |
| Other | Loss |
Strategy
The player should never surrender. Since the 7 card hand has the lowest house edge I would recommend betting the most on that, and the least on the 5 card hand.Statistics
The following tables show the probabilities and return for each hand for all 3 bets.3-Card Hand Return Table
| Hand | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 48 | 0.002172 | 40 | 0.086878 |
| Three of a kind | 52 | 0.002353 | 25 | 0.058824 |
| Straight | 720 | 0.032579 | 6 | 0.195475 |
| Flush | 1096 | 0.049593 | 4 | 0.198371 |
| Pair | 3744 | 0.169412 | 1 | 0.169412 |
| Nothing | 16440 | 0.743891 | -1 | -0.743891 |
| 22100 | 1 | 0 | -0.034932 |
5-Card Hand Return Table
2 3 4 5 7 Poker Game
| Hand | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 4 | 0.000002 | 500 | 0.00077 |
| Straight flush | 36 | 0.000014 | 100 | 0.001385 |
| 4 of a kind | 624 | 0.00024 | 40 | 0.009604 |
| Full House | 3744 | 0.001441 | 12 | 0.017287 |
| Flush | 5108 | 0.001965 | 9 | 0.017689 |
| Straight | 10200 | 0.003925 | 6 | 0.023548 |
| 3 of a kind | 54912 | 0.021128 | 4 | 0.084514 |
| 2 pair | 123552 | 0.047539 | 3 | 0.142617 |
| pair (6's or better) | 760320 | 0.292548 | 1 | 0.292548 |
| Nothing | 1640460 | 0.631199 | -1 | -0.631199 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | 0 | -0.041238 |
7-Card Hand Return Table
| Hand | Combinations | Probability | Pays | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 4324 | 0.000032 | 100 | 0.003232 |
| Straight flush | 37260 | 0.000279 | 20 | 0.00557 |
| 4 of a kind | 224848 | 0.001681 | 7 | 0.011765 |
| Full House | 3473184 | 0.025961 | 5 | 0.129805 |
| Flush | 4047644 | 0.030255 | 4 | 0.12102 |
| Straight | 6180020 | 0.046194 | 3 | 0.138581 |
| 3 of a kind | 6461620 | 0.048299 | 2 | 0.096597 |
| 2 pair (10's high or better) | 20598408 | 0.153967 | 1 | 0.153967 |
| Other | 92757252 | 0.693333 | -1 | -0.693333 |
| Total | 133784560 | 1 | 0 | -0.032795 |
The next table summarizes the house edge of each bet.
House Edge Summary
Internal Links
There is a very similar game called Side Bet City, which adds a 'No Win' bet that pays if the 3-, 5-, and 7-card hands all lose.