Handout 08 · Limit · High-low split with qualifiers
Archie
Triple draw played for high and low at once, with a minimum hand required each way. It is the game on this site where the rulebooks disagree most, so read the box before you play it anywhere.
- Cards
- Five, all face down
- Draws
- Three (a one-draw form exists A2)
- Betting
- Fixed limit, four rounds
- High half
- Best high hand, if it qualifies
- Low half
- Best A-5 low, eight or better
- Also called
- High-low triple draw
1How it is dealt and bet
Button and blinds; five cards each; a round at the small bet; a draw of up to five cards; a round at the small bet; a second draw and a round at the big bet; a third draw and a last round at the big bet; showdown. B W The best qualifying high hand takes half the pot and the best qualifying low takes the other half. If only one direction has a qualifying hand, that hand takes everything. W A2
2Hand ranking and qualifiers
Low
Ace-to-five ranking: aces low, straights and flushes ignored. To qualify, your five cards must be an eight low or better, meaning five different ranks with nothing above an eight. Every rule set we read uses eight or better. The BARGE and Asian Poker Tour texts name the ace-to-five ranking; the WSOP text says only "8 or better". W B A2 C5
High
Ordinary high poker ranking, with a minimum pair needed to qualify. How big a pair is where the sources part company.
Both ways with the same five cards
Because the low ignores straights and flushes while the high counts them, a small straight or flush qualifies in both directions. C5
- 7♠6♥5♦4♣3♦A seven-high straight for high and a 7-6 for low. It qualifies both ways.
- 5♠4♥3♦2♣A♦The wheel: the best possible low and a straight for high.
- 8♥6♥4♥3♥2♥A flush for high and an 8-6 for low.
- 9♠9♥4♦3♣2♦A pair of nines: qualifies high under either rule set, and has no low, because a pair is not five different ranks.
- 8♠8♥4♦3♣2♦A pair of eights: a qualifying high where sixes are the minimum, nothing at all where nines are.
- 9♠7♥4♦3♣2♦A nine low and no pair: qualifies neither way under every rule set.
Sources disagree: three rules to settle before the first hand
| Rule | WSOP live-action rules W | BARGE rulebook B | Asian Poker Tour A2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum high hand | Pair of nines | Pair of sixes (notes that nines are sometimes used) | Pair of sixes |
| Nobody qualifies either way | Pot is split among all players still in the hand | The best high hand takes the whole pot, even below the minimum | Pot is split among all players who showed their cards |
| Odd chip | High hand, under the general high-low rule | Not addressed in the Archie entry | High hand |
A published strategy column on the game also uses nines. C5 The difference is not small: under sixes, a pair of sixes, sevens or eights is a qualifying high hand; under nines it is nothing.
3The draws, step by step
| You keep | You finish with | Cards that hit | 1 left | 2 left | 3 left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4-5-6 | A qualifying low | 16 | 34.0% | 57.0% | 72.3% |
| A straight: both ways | 8 | 17.0% | 31.5% | 43.6% | |
| A qualifying high, nines rule | 8 | 17.0% | 31.5% | 43.6% | |
| A qualifying high, sixes rule | 11 | 23.4% | 41.7% | 56.0% | |
| A-2-3-4 | A qualifying low | 16 | 34.0% | 57.0% | 72.3% |
| The wheel: both ways | 4 | 8.5% | 16.5% | 23.9% |
3-4-5-6 and A-2-3-4 make a low equally often. The difference is the high side: a two or a seven turns 3-4-5-6 into a straight, eight cards in all, while only the four fives make A-2-3-4 a wheel. Under the sixes rule 3-4-5-6 has three more cards, the remaining sixes, that give it a qualifying pair.
4Starting hands
Thin sourcing. We found one published strategy piece on Archie, a single worked hand, and no opening-hand guidance we could cite. C5 Our solver work does not cover this game. What follows from the rules alone is the table above: low cards that can also make a straight have a road to both halves.
5The key decisions
- Which way is everyone going? How opponents draw tells you. A player who keeps drawing and betting may be going high; one who takes a single card on the last draw is less likely to be going low only. C5
- A rough eight is a marginal low when several players may have made one. Betting it invites a raise from a better low or from a high hand. C5
- An inside straight draw among low cards can win both sides, or at least the high. C5
- If everyone left is going the same way, one player usually takes the whole pot, because the other half has no qualifier. C5
Heads-up, winning one half and losing the other returns your own money, leaving aside the blinds and any rake. As in every split game, the profit comes from scooping, and in Archie a hand can scoop simply because the other direction is empty.
6Common mistakes
- Not asking about the qualifier. Nines or sixes changes which pairs are worth anything.
- Thinking a pair has a low. A qualifying low needs five different ranks, eight or lower.
- Forgetting that straights help. In deuce-to-seven a straight is a disaster. Here a low straight is the best kind of hand.
- Betting a rough eight into a field. Published C5
Archie: cheat sheet
Seminar 27 · Handout 08 · limit, five cards, three draws, high-low
The order of play
Deal 5 → bet (small) → draw → bet (small) → draw → bet (big) → draw → bet (big) → showdown → split.
Qualifiers
- Low: ace-to-five, five different ranks, eight or lower. Straights and flushes do not hurt it.
- High: a pair of nines or better (WSOP) or a pair of sixes or better (BARGE, Asian Poker Tour).
- Only one direction qualifies: that hand takes the whole pot.
- Low straights and flushes qualify both ways.
Ask before you sit
| Question | Answers in print |
|---|---|
| Minimum high hand? | Nines · sixes |
| Nobody qualifies? | Split among all remaining · best high takes all |
| Odd chip? | High hand |
Odds to carry (one-card draws, 47 unseen)
| Keep | To | Hits | 1 left | 2 left | 3 left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4-5-6 or A-2-3-4 | a qualifying low | 16 | 34.0% | 57.0% | 72.3% |
| 3-4-5-6 | a straight (both ways) | 8 | 17.0% | 31.5% | 43.6% |
| A-2-3-4 | the wheel (both ways) | 4 | 8.5% | 16.5% | 23.9% |
seminar27.com · Odds computed by the site's own script. Rules: WSOP live-action rules, BARGE rulebook, Asian Poker Tour handbook. No solver baseline for this game. For education.