One of the currently popular mixed game variants is a triple draw game called Archie where players can go high, low, and occasionally both.
Each person initially gets five cards and then has three draws to make whatever hand they are going for, with the caveat that there is a qualifier in each direction. Players need to make a pair of nines or better to contest for the high end and an eight low using all five cards to qualify for the low end.
Some hands like a low straight, for example 7-6-5-4-3, have the feature of qualifying in both directions and thus have a decent chance to scoop. Also, if all players at showdown go in the same direction, the pot will most likely be scooped by a single player.
For example, if three players go low and table 7-6-4-3-2, 7-4-3-2-A, and 6-5-4-2-A, then the player with the six low would win the whole pot since no hand meets the qualifier to contest for the high portion.
With that in mind, I want to talk about a recent $20-$40 hand at the Wynn which involved a tough spot on the river.
A nosebleed-stakes hold’em player couldn’t get a seat in his regular game and was playing in this mixed game since he wanted to become more familiar with different variants of poker. He had been playing decently considering it was his first time at several of the games, but this was his first round of Archie.
A few hands in, he opened for a raise from the cutoff, and it folded to the small blind who was a loose splashy player and called. I was in the big blind and looked at Q-8-7-6-4 and paused for a moment.
My draw to a qualifying low here is quite marginal since if multiple players make a low, my rough eight will almost certainly never be good enough. Alternatively, I at least have a gutshot straight draw potentially enabling me to win both sides of the pot or at least get the high if I am fortunate enough to find a five.
Also, with the raise, call, and my blind, there is already $100 in the pot which lays me 5:1 pot odds. With anything remotely mediocre, those odds make it worth at least seeing what develops and how many cards my opponents take, so I tossed in the $20 and we went to the draw.
The small blind drew two, I of course drew one, and the raiser drew one. The small blind checked, and I looked down at a brick with a 10 so I also checked, and the raiser bet out. We both called, growing the pot to $180.
On round two the small blind drew one, I drew one, and cutoff again drew 1. This time, I hit an ace to improve to a hand of 8-7-6-4-A for a very rough eight low. This is never a hand to be excited about, but it does make a qualifying hand where I can consider what I wish to do next.
The small blind again checked, and I briefly considered the merits of betting.
If I bet out and get raised, my opponent could have a better low than me. Even worse, if I throw away the eight and he happens to have a 7-5 low, I would be drawing to a 7-6 and would thus be stone dead to the pot. That would make me lean towards mucking if faced with a raise.
Also, since this is Archie, he could easily have some high holding such as a newly made straight or flush and raise me off my hand even it is good for half the pot.
All things considered, I arrived at a check and the cutoff bet $40. The small blind called, and I quickly called, planning to pat.
On the river, the small blind took one, I patted, and I was thrilled to see the cutoff still draw one. This meant he most likely had a high hand and was value betting the last two streets. Either way, my low was good heading into the last draw.
Once again, the small blind checked, I checked, and the cutoff bet. This time when it came back to the small blind, she raised to $80, and I suddenly had a very tough decision.
With the $120 in river action, the pot was now at $420 but I was competing for half as I effectively needed both opponents to be going high for my hand to be good. Since I am playing for half, I can win $210 at the price of $80 so the pot is laying me about 2.6 to 1 on my money.
It is a decidedly decent price, but I would hate to be wrong when paying two bets. I replayed the action in my head as I contemplated, and I remembered that the cutoff drew one after betting both of the previous streets, so he was most likely to be going high since most pure low draws would have taken the free card on the last round.
As for the small blind, she drew two coming in, so she may have started with three to a low straight like 3-4-5 or 4-5-6, but could easily have some type of high which improved too.
Now it’s also worth noting, the cutoff is almost certainly going to at least call, which improves my payoff to $230, but if he did raise I would have to reevaluate when back to me.
All factors considered, I thought I was about 50-50 to be good and called the two bets cold, and the cutoff called too.
The small blind thankfully showed A
K J 10 8, and I tabled my low. The cutoff then showed 9-9-9 and mucked his other two cards.
I’m guessing the small blind most likely started with three to the high straight flush, improved to a flush draw right away, and then connected on the river. By analyzing the hand, odds, and situation I was fortunate to win a decent pot here with a relatively lousy holding.
Mark Mazmanian has been a mixed-game specialist for more than two decades playing in games all over the country. The Las Vegas resident can be reached on Instagram maztastic1 or by email at markmaz17hotmail.com.
