We had a game last night and I had a heretic joker during lowball, taking my hand rank to below 1. I assumed that you could go to rank 0, after applying modifiers, another player assumed it could never go below 1. In the end, we went with rank 0 (it wouldn’t have mattered either way with the hands we all had). So, I checked the rules today and saw that, sure enough, a hand can never go below 1. However, if it would go below 1, it is then considered to be the lowest possible hand with those cards in it. Reading further, I couldn’t actually find anything in the 2T2D updated rulebook which clarified exactly how this has an impact. Yes, it states that each rank has a value from 1 to 13, and it states that if two players have the exact same cards then re-draw a tie. However, it never actually states that someone with a A, 2, 3, 4, and 10 has a higher hand than someone with an A, 2, 3, 4, and 6. We just always assumed that based upon our knowledge of poker in general.
So, my question is, does someone with a K have a better hand than someone with a 6 as their highest card? Am I correct in assuming that when the rules state “lowest possible hand with those cards”, it basically means the player has 6 as their highest card and “lowest possible hand” means they have a K?