Playing Tips for Thirty-Two

General Considerations
	In the variations of thirty-two you will use 2 cards from the board. In each variation there are different combinations of those two board cards that can be used. In "L" there are 2 combinations, "Z" has 3, "squared" has 4 and "straight" has 6. As the number of pairs of board cards that are available increase, the average hand you need to win will also increase.

Since you must use 3 of the cards dealt to you to form you hand these cards will determine the strength of your hand. For example, if you are not dealt a pair (or trips), it is impossible for you to get a full house or four of a kind. Likewise, if you don't have 3 suited cards, you can't make a flush. Nor can you make a good low hand without being dealt at least 3 low cards.

Because each player uses 3 of the cards dealt to them to make their hand, it is not possible to determine the best high hand based on the board cards. The best high hand could be anything. For example: You are dealt at pair of aces and the board shows an ace and a card that pairs one of your othe dealt cards. You have a full house, which is indeed powerful and a probable winner. But, anyone who was dealt trips and matched them with just one of the board cards will beat you with four of a kind.

On the other hand, the best low hand can always be determined by the board cards. If you hold 32A, you have the nut low hand as long as no ace, deuce or three appears on the board. Tie hands for low are not uncommon.

Starting Hand Selection

Your best chance for success in the variations of "32" are to start with hands that have multiple possiblities for winning. These are the types of cards you want to start with and the more of these cards your hand contains the better: trips, pair, 3 stright flush, 3 flush, 3 straight, 3 cards 6 or less. Being dealt 2 pair is deceptive. If it is something like AA223 (with or without 3 suited) it would be a fantastic starting hand. But something like 6633T would not. While you increase your chances of getting trips by starting with 2 pair, you decrease your chance of turning it into a full house by pairing your one unmatched card. While your low trips might be a winner, it is often not.

"Protected" low hands are also desirable starting hands. A protected hand would be one with 4 low cards instead of 3. For example 432A vs. 32A. With the former hand if an A, 2 or 3 appears on the board you still have the best low, while your low hand is ruined with the later.

The Board Cards
	A general concept to keep in mind with "32" is that the board will "make" or improve your high hands and "break" your low hands. The most obvious example of this is when you start with 32A and one of those cards appears on the board. While you started with the best low it's been ruined. For the high hand, unless you start with high trips, you'll need the board to improve your hand enough to win.

Read playing tips for high-low split.