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Jean Gabriel | January 5, 2023 | Updated on: January 17th, 2023

Best Draw Hi-Lo Casino Game Guide

Draw Hi-Lo is a popular poker variant that can be played for real money at top Australian casino sites. Part of the reason Draw Hi-Lo has gained so much popularity is that it is a remarkably easy game to play. The rules are easy to understand, and the payouts are good. The game’s primary goal is to wager on whether the following card dealt will be of a higher or lower value.

Best Draw Hi Lo Games

In this in-depth guide to Draw Hi-Lo, we will take players through all the rules, card values, payouts, and winning strategies. Once you have finished reading this game guide, you will be well versed and ready to play Draw Hi-Lo for real money. So, let’s jump in and find out everything there is to know about Draw Hi-Lo Poker.

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Draw Hi-Lo Rules

One of the things that has helped Draw Hi-Lo Poker gain popularity is that the game is quite simple and easier to understand than most versions of Poker. Draw Hi-Lo is typically played with a single 52-card deck. The game’s goal is simple, bet whether you think the next card dealt will be a higher or lower value.

Card Values in Draw Hi-Lo

Now that you understand the basic rules and goals of the game, you need to understand how the cards are valued. The card ranking is very simple; a 4 is a lower value than a 9, for example. The lowest-ranked card is an Ace, while the highest-ranked card is a King. The card rankings are as follows:

Lowest: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King: Highest

Draw Hi-Lo Payouts

There are a wide range of payouts in Draw Hi-Lo Poker. The payouts largely depend on what the last card was. If the previous card is a 3, there is a much higher chance the following card will be a higher value. So the payout for winning a Higher bet will be much lower. The full Draw Hi-Lo paytable is as follows:

Lower Bet Previous Card Higher bet
N/A Ace 1x
12x 2 1.1x
5x 3 1.2x
3x 4 1.3x
3x 5 1.4x
2x 6 1.5x
1.8x 7 1.8x
1.5x 8 2x
1.4x 9 3x
1.3x 10 3x
1.2x Jack 5x
1.1x Queen 12x
1x King N/A

 

As expected, the more difficult the wager is to win, the greater the payout. If the previous card is a Queen, there is only one card that can win the Higher Bet. If a King comes up and you can win, you will get an impressive 12x payout.

Tie Payouts in Draw Hi-Lo

There is one final bet players can make. Players can bet that the following card will have the same rank as the previous. If the next card has the same rank, the payout is for a Tie Bet is 10:1

Understanding The Payouts in Draw Hi-Lo Poker

We need to clarify one thing with the payouts in Draw Hi-Lo Poker. Most casino games use payouts as such, 5:1 or Five to One. This means that if you bet AU$1 and you win, you will receive AU$6 after a win, a AU$5 profit plus your original AU$1 bet.

However, in Draw Hi-Lo, the payouts are listed as Five For One, instead of to one. This means that the casino will keep your bet, no matter what. If you win a Five for One payout, as in our previous example, you will receive your AU$5 win, but not get the AU$1 original bet back.

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Draw Hi-Lo Automatic Rebet

There is another important aspect of the game that we must point out is that winnings from the previous bet are automatically added to the next bet. If you bet AU$5 and win another AU$5, your next bet will be automatically set to AU$10. Players need to specifically click on the Cash Out Button to have the winnings added to their bankroll.

Once this is done, players can then set the next bet to whatever they like, as they did initially. The plus side of this system is that a winning streak will lead to larger and larger wins. However, the downside is that if you win five hands in a row and then lose, without cashing out, you will lose everything.

How to play Draw Hi-Lo

For those players who have never played Draw Hi-Lo Poker before, we have compiled an easy-to-follow guide on how to play your first few rounds. As you will see, this game is extremely simple and fun to play.

  • Step 1 – Each round of Draw Hi-Lo will begin with players placing their initial Ante Bet. This is the mandatory first bet required for the round to begin.
  • Step 2 – Once the Ante Bet is placed, the first card will be dealt.
  • Step 3 – Once the first card is dealt, players will look at that card and decide whether they want to bet if the next card will be a Higher Value, Lower Value, or a Tie.
  • Step 4 – Once the player decides, the next card is dealt, and the game determines if the player wins or loses.
  • Step 5 – If the player wins, remember to click Cash Out unless you want your winnings to be added to your Ante bet for the next round.

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Winning Draw Hi-Lo Strategy

For the best winnings in Draw Hi-Lo Poker, the player ideally wants to string several wins together before cashing out. Because the previous wins are automatically added to the next Ante Bet unless the Cashout button is pressed, your bets will get larger, and you can win more money. The drawback is one loss after several wins will wipe out everything you have won so far.

This is why it is important to stick to the optimal betting strategy, which will give you the best chance to string those wins together before banking the money. Below is the ideal betting decisions you should make, based on the last card dealt.

Previous Card Betting Decision
2 Higher
3 Higher
4 Lower
5 Lower
6 Cash Out, or Bet Higher
7 Cash Out, or place a Higher or Lower bet. Both have an equal chance.
8 Cash Out, or bet Lower
9 Higher
10 Higher
Jack Lower
Queen Lower

 

Sticking to the Draw Hi-Lo betting strategy above will give you the best chance to win big. The strategy is not designed to give you the most wins possible but rather to make the most money with those wins. For example, if you look at 4 and 5, we suggest betting Lower. Logically, you have a better chance of winning with a Higher Bet. However, the payout relative to the odds of winning makes the Lower Bet the better decision in the long run.

House Edge in Draw Hi-Lo Poker

The House Edge in Draw Hi-Lo is largely determined by how players make their bets. The betting strategy we listed above gives a house edge of around 3.93%. This is a pretty decent House Edge, on par with many other hybrid casino games. However, numerous other casino games are available to Aussie players with a lower house edge.

As mentioned, our winning strategy is based on what gives players the best mathematical chance to make the most amount of money in the long run. However, it does come with more risks. Players can always choose to play it as safe as possible and try to get the most number of wins possible.

Draw Hi-Lo FAQs