Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
When the hand shifts to Lowball, which happens about once in four
When the hand shifts to Lowball, which happens about once in four times, the low hands are usually better than those encountered in California Lowball; this is caused by the absence of high cards, which makes the presence of low cards mathematically more available. Probably the reason for the shift is that since no one opened for high, it naturally follows that most players are holding low cards.
The problem that confronts the average High Back to Low player
The problem that confronts the average High Back to Low player occurs when he is dealt a weak mixed high and low hand and can't make up his mind whether to play for high or to fold and hope the round becomes Lowball and he can play for low with a three- or four-card low hand. The best advice I can give is to study the standard Draw Poker strategy on pages 98 to 104 and play the high hand accordingly. If it doesn't warrant a play, drop out, regardless of your low-hand possibilities. And when it's Lowball time, make use of the strategy pertaining to California Lowball Ace to Five described above.