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Draw poker starting hands and range guides.
Compare starting hands across seven draw games. Choose a guide to explore hand classes, draw plans, and Top X% ranges for the format you play.
Seven game guides
Find your starting-hand chart
The best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 with at least two suits. Aces play high, while pairs, straights, and flushes count against you.
Explore the range guide Three draws · five-card lowball2-7 Triple Draw starting handsMake 7-5-4-3-2 without a flush. Aces are high, and pairs, straights, and flushes all damage the hand.
Explore the range guide Three draws · ace-to-five lowballA-5 Triple Draw starting handsA-2-3-4-5, known as the wheel, is the best hand. Pairs are the main structural problem because every rank should be different.
Explore the range guide Three draws · four-card lowballBadugi starting handsA-2-3-4 in four different suits is the best Badugi. Any four-card Badugi beats every three-card hand, regardless of the ranks involved.
Explore the range guide Three draws · split-pot lowballBadacy starting handsThe ideal five-card side is A-2-3-4-5, while the ideal Badugi side is A-2-3-4 rainbow. A perfectly coordinated five-card hand can compete strongly for both halves.
Explore the range guide Three draws · split-pot lowballBadeucy starting handsThe best five-card half is 7-5-4-3-2 without a flush. In the common Badeucy ranking, aces are high on the Badugi side too, making 5-4-3-2 rainbow the best four-card Badugi.
Explore the range guide One draw · traditional high pokerFive-Card Draw starting handsMake the highest standard five-card poker hand, from one pair through a royal flush. Unlike the lowball games on Mixed Game Pro, ordinary high-hand rankings apply.
Explore the range guideReading a range
Start with the ranking system and draw plan
A good starting hand depends on the game. Five-Card Draw rewards high poker hands; 2-7 and A-5 use different lowball rankings; Badugi also requires distinct suits. Badacey and Badeucy divide the pot between two different hand evaluations.
In each guide, choose a table format and adjust the Top X% filter to compare the hand classes included. Look at the cards you keep and how many replacements you need. These visual rankings are a study framework; an opening range also depends on position, stack depth, and the action before you.
New to a variant? Read its poker rules first. Then use an equity calculator to compare exact cards, or practice betting decisions in the 2-7 Single Draw trainer.