Deuce to Seven Dramaha: Single Draw Primer

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Last issue, we learned that the overwhelming majority of hands that we will play in Deuce to Seven Dramaha are low oriented. And since there is only one draw, starting hands would typically be similar to those we would play in straight no-limit 2-7 single draw lowball. Some consideration is given to Omaha features of our draws such as being suited and having some connectivity, but in general, our hand selection and preflop strategy is going to at least resemble how we would play in no-limit deuce.

Strategically there are some differences. For example, we have the ability to reraise and cold call reraises with more impunity due to the fact that it is a limit game and thus cannot be shut out of the pot with a massive four bet. While there are two betting rounds after the draw in 2-7 Dramaha, players are denied the ability to make huge polarizing big bets.

Most mixed game players have a lot of experience playing 2-7 Triple Draw but may have little to no exposure to no-limit 2-7 single draw. This inexperience may lead to errors regarding pre-draw hand selection and strategy, as opposed to pat/break errors. However, this article will address both.

Let’s get started by examining how often we are dealt certain hands.

Pat Hands

Your pat hand distribution on the initial deal is as follows:

Pat Hand Combinations Probability Cumulative Probability
Seven 4,080 0.2% 0.2%
Eight 14,280 0.5% 0.7%
Nine 34,680 1.3% 2.0%
T5432 – T7654 15,300 0.6% 2.6%
T8 low 20,400 0.8% 3.4%
T9 low 34,680 1.3% 4.7%
Jack 127,500 4.9% 9.7%

A pat jack is typically a small favorite over any one drawing hand thus that is the break-point in what is usually considered a pat hand and why the above chart ends at that point. However, sometimes the flop and situation will dictate that we stay pat with a hand worse than a jack and in multiway pots we should often break a jack to improve our chances on both sides in addition to avoiding reverse implied odds.

On the initial deal you only have a .7 percent cumulative probability of being dealt a pat eight or better. For comparison purposes, the odds of being dealt pocket aces or any other specific pocket pair in hold’em is .45 percent. Thus, being dealt a pat eight or better is less than the probability of being dealt either A-A or K-K. The probability of being dealt a nine or better is approximately the same as getting dealt J-J through A-A, plus a few combinations of A-K suited.

The takeaway from all of this is that these hands are relatively rare. When you draw a seven, an eight, or a strong nine against a player that initially stood pat, you are a big favorite to hold the best low. And the times you are dealt a nine or better and are up against another initial pat hand you would play it strongly assuming you hold the best low until heavy action possibly indicates otherwise.

Pat tens can be trickier to play which is why their distribution is shown in finer detail. Suppose you get reraised by an opponent who you feel in the situation will have a range of any pat jack or better. In that circumstance, with any ten low you are a favorite to hold the best low because if you look closely at the chart you will notice that there are more pat jacks than all of sevens through tens combined.
However, if you open-raised from first position with 10-9-7-6-2 and are reraised by the big blind who stands pat, your low would almost always be second best.

Card removal is a factor, for example when you hold 10-8-7-5-3 it is less likely your opponent holds a ten you beat and more likely he holds a nine. However, on the flip side of the coin it’s also less likely your opponent holds a better 10-8, a 10-7, an eight, or one of the rare sevens. The most important considerations are any reads that you have on your opponent and the situation.

The times you are unsure what to do if the ten helps you on the Omaha side you should tend to stay pat and hope for the best. And when the ten does not help but another card could (such as another suit that would make a flush) that fact may tip the scales towards breaking. Good judgment comes from both experience and knowledge of your opponent’s tendencies and there is no substitute for that.

One-Card Draws

Most of the hands that you will play in this game are one-card draws to a good low. The following chart details how often you are dealt such hands.

Seven Draw 2.3%
Eight Draw 3.5%
Nine Draw 6.2%
Ten Draw 9.9%
Jack Draw 14.9%

Included within the draws to a seven are hands such as 5-4-3-2 through 6-5-4-2 as they have the ability to make a seven. These hands are all very strong, however, we must specifically discuss 7-6-5-4 and in general, other open-ended straight draws. We must be much more selective in playing these hands; however, 7-6-5-4 and 8-7-6-5 can be used to try and steal the blinds or defend the big blind against a lone raiser. Its obvious deficiency on the low side is partly made up for by the fact that in Omaha, it’s a four-card rundown with no gaps.

Being suited or double suited and having straight potential with any hand is important as it adds value on the Omaha side. For example, I would prefer playing 10♠ 8♥ 7♠ 5♥ to an unsuited 10♦ 8♣ 3♠ 2♥. In some situations, this can make the difference between opening and folding.

Low-Equity Matchups

In order to help develop our starting hand standards and overall strategic outlook on the game, it is useful for us to examine several different low-equity matchups. The following are some examples demonstrating how often a low draw will overtake several different pat hands:

7-4-3-2-X 44% 7-4-3-2-X 37% 7-4-3-2-X 30% 7-4-3-2-X 16%
J-10-9-8-6 56% 10-9-8-6-2 63% 9-8-6-3-2 70% 8-6-4-3-2 84%

The percentages will shift depending on what cards each player holds, however, a pat jack is almost always a small favorite and a pat ten is usually slightly above 60 percent to hold up. And as you can see, pat nines and eights are always big favorites to win against any draw.

Suppose you open-raise on the button with 7-4-3-2 and the big blind just calls. If the flop comes out king high and the big blind “donk” leads and ends up patting, he will often be holding a king low. If he had a stronger pat hand he would have typically reraised you on the initial betting round. His lead out is often with an Omaha hand he feels will not easily be beaten and is hoping you are drawing and will miss.

In this situation 7-4-3-2 is around 65 percent to win the low side and is worth a flop call simply on that merit alone. However, if you have any possibilities in Omaha at all, you may be pleasantly surprised how much equity you have on that side even when he’s betting a hand as strong as top two pair. There will be more discussion on these types of situations in a future issue.

In a battle of one-card draws the best draw has an equity advantage; however, these edges are not as dramatic:

7-4-3-2-X 54% 7-4-3-2-X 56% 7-4-3-2-X 58% 7-4-3-2-X 61% 7-4-3-2-X 64%
8-6-5-2-X 46% 9-6-3-2-X 44% 9-8-3-2-X 42% 10-8-3-2-X 39% J-8-3-2-X 36%

While the player holding the best low draw has an equity advantage, the inferior low draw will often hold an equity edge in Omaha due to simply holding higher cards. Therefore, the overall “hot/cold” equities of two drawing hands are often relatively close, so being up against a slightly better low draw is not really something to fear in 2-7 Dramaha.

We should not often be playing two-card draws. However, they can possibly be used as a button steal against tight blinds, so let’s look at a few matchups:
7-3-2-X-X 44% 7-3-2-X-X 40% 7-3-2-X-X 19% 7-3-2-X-X 27%
10-9-7-5-X 56% 9-8-3-2-X 60% 10-9-8-3-2 81% J-9-8-3-2 73%

As you can see, the two-card draws are an underdog against mediocre one-card draws and big underdogs against marginal pat hands. Additionally, you can experience reverse implied odds with these hands.

Suppose we open on the button with 7-3-2 and our opponent calls from the big blind and draws one. We end up making a king low and face a bet from our opponent. Is he betting because we drew two or does he have a good hand? Unless we have something pretty good in Omaha, this is typically a losing call down.

It can be argued that a holding such as 8♠ 7♠ 5♥ is a better hand to try and steal with than a smooth 7♣ 3♠ 2♥ because it has a much better chance of flopping a big Omaha hand and thus potentially put you in a nice freeroll situation. Personally, I am not a big fan of two-card draws, but when I do open them from the button or make a loose defend from the blinds, I choose holdings with more Omaha potential.

Now let’s look at a multi-way situation. Suppose the cutoff opens, you reraise on the button with 10-8-7-3-2, and the big blind cold calls. The flop comes down A-K-K rainbow and the action checks to you. We are now at a decision point in the hand. Given the action, it is highly likely the other two players are both drawing, or if someone is pat, it is with a worse low. When they are both drawing, your low equity when you either stay pat or draw would most often resemble the following:

7-4-3-2-X 39% 7-4-3-2-X 44%
10-8-7-3-2 42% 8-7-3-2-X 33%
9-7-5-4-X 19% 9-7-5-4-X 23%

Since you are breaking off almost 10 percent on the low equity by breaking, betting the flop and staying pat appears to be the best play. If the ten also gives you a backdoor flush draw it makes patting slightly better. When you pat, you cannot get married to your hand if both of the other players appear to like their hand. It’s highly unlikely both missed their low draw but “binked” a strong Omaha holding.

However, heads-up you need to go to showdown. When you are beat for low sometimes you can even sneak off with the Omaha side with just ten high! That actually happens quite often in this game.

However, when you hold a jack in the same situation, you should tend to break unless the jack forms a part of a strong Omaha hand:

7-4-3-2-X 45% 7-4-3-2-X 44%
J-8-7-3-2 30% 8-7-3-2-X 33%
9-7-5-4-X 25% 9-7-5-4-X 23%

The fundamentals of single draw are very important to master as they greatly impact your core strategy in 2-7 Dramaha. Then you build upon these concepts by incorporating considerations in Omaha where the goal is to maximize your total expected value in each situation. Next issue we will use everything we have learned thus far to develop a set of opening hand standards. ♠

Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but left the corporate job to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certified personal trainer. With regards to poker he got his start way back in 2003 and particularly enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. His new mixed-games website Counting Outs is a great starting resource for a plethora of games ranging from the traditional to the exotic. He can be reached at [email protected].