Dear Mark,

In low poker, is the ace high or low? Saul N.

My crystal ball reveals that your question is about Lowball, a homespun five-card draw game where the lowest hand wins the pot. In most poker games, Saul, the ace ranks supreme, and the two (deuce) ranks rock bottom. But in Lowball online poker, the low hand wins, and the ace is the lowest card. The best handyou can get in Lowball is A-2-3-4-5, although some players insist that 6-4-3-2-A is the lowest hand, figuring A-2-3-4-5 would make a straight.

Dear Mark,

The online casino I play in allows you to resplit aces, plus the dealer must hit a soft 17. How much advantage is it the player playing under these conditions? Jeff B.

When I first started pitching sweaty, butchered cards, the classy joints where I worked did not permit the resplitting of aces. Today, if you draw a second bullet, many casinos allow the encore and you can split your aces again. This player-favorable rule adds about 0.05% edge for the player. As to your second query, the dealer hitting a soft 17, this is not a player-favorable rule, costing you about 0.2%.

Dear Mark,

I have been dealt the following hand in video poker online: An ace of clubs, a king of hearts, a queen of spades, a five of hearts and a seven of diamonds. What cards do I keep? Jack D.

Most players erroneously hold all three high cards, especially the ace figuring it is far too powerful to toss overboard. But when you hold an ace with two other high cards, the smart play is to keep the two high cards(in your example the king and queen), and to discard the ace. Hurts a little, but the thinking is that by holding the ace, you limit yourself to the ace-high straight. So, Jack, always discard the ace when holding three unsuited high cards.