Razz Poker

Razz Poker is a variant of the Stud Poker game, and the gameplay is identical to the seven-card stud poker game. The difference lies in the hand rankings, where razz poker hands are lowball poker hands, and the lowest hands in razz poker win the game. Unlike other lowball games such as Omaha Hi/Lo and Seven Card Hi/Lo, Razz poker implies an eight or better rule where players don't have to make a low hand that is below eight.

Razz poker is one of the first poker games played in the 20th century when people played the game with a 52-card deck instead of a 20-card deck. The game is also included in the scheduled mixed games of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This makes Razz poker quite popular amongst amateur players and poker pros.

How to Play Razz Poker?

The gameplay of razz poker game is quite similar to seven-card stud game. The game can be played with a standard deck of 52 cards between two to eight players with the objective of making the best possible five-card poker hand from seven cards. Community cards play no role in the razz poker rules. Below are the easy rules to play razz poker. Also, it is essential to learn the basic rules of poker to get a complete hang of the game.

Razz Poker Rules

The razz poker game table is set up with poker chips of each player placed on the table. The players use these chips to stake bets in a combination of small bet and big bet or an Ante.

Any bet must be more than the ante. A big bet must be almost double the small bet size, and an ante can be about 10% of the big bet size.

There is no value for a Flush or a Straight hand in razz poker.

The players are dealt seven cards over different betting rounds. The face-down cards are called hole cards, and any face-up card is called a door card.

Players place bets in each round of the game. The increments are added on the small bet in the first and second rounds. After that, increments are added on the big bet in the last three betting rounds.

The razz poker game follows a limited betting structure with a specified limit or pot limit. Therefore, there can be a maximum bet with only 3 to 4 raises.

Aces are always low in a game of razz; therefore, the King is the highest possible door card.

Razz Poker Hand Rankings

Razz Poker follows the Californian system for hand rankings.

• The Aces are always counted as low.

• Flushes and Straights are not counted.

• The best winning hands are those with no pair cards and the hands with lowest-denominations cards.

• A Wheel or a typical 5-4-3-2-A is the winning hand.

• The ranking of unpaired hands is generally done from the highest card down. Therefore, a 6-5-4-3-2 hand is referred to as a 'Six Low' because the lowest value card is 6.

Usually, suits hold no significance in a Razz Poker game other than in tie-breaker situations.

Top Razz Poker Starting Hands

The top starting hands in razz poker, in order of best hand to lowest-ranking hand, are:

A, 2, 3

A, 2, 4

A, 3, 4

2, 3, 4

A, 2, 5

A, 3, 5

A, 4, 5

2, 3, 5

2, 4, 5

A, 2, 6

Gameplay

When you learn how to play razz poker, remember that the gameplay is similar to 7-card stud poker. After learning the rules and hand rankings of the game, here's how you can begin playing:

The dealer deals three cards to each player, two cards face-down and one card face-up, after which the betting begins. This is called the First Deal or Third Street.

The face-down cards are called hole cards, and the face-up card is called door card.

The players decide to play or quit the round based on their hands.

The betting rounds take place in the order as below, and at the end of the last round, the player with the lowest-ranking hand wins the pot.

Betting Rounds

Razz poker is always played as a fixed limit betting game where the small bet size is used in the third and fourth street rounds, and the big bet size is used from the fifth street onwards.

Ante

Before the game of razz begins, all the players must ante an amount (the amount depends on the game). For instance, in a game with limits of 1/2, the ante will be 0.15. The ante bet is the cost of being dealt a hand.

Third Street

The second betting round begins after each player is dealt three cards - two hole cards, face-down and one hole card, face-up. The player with the highest face-up card becomes the 'bring-in' and is forced to start the betting action. That player has to make another nominal bet (the size of the bring-in bets depends on the game) or a full bet in the lower betting increment. Other players continue the betting action in a clockwise direction around the table until the betting round is complete.

Fourth Street

In this betting round, the dealer deals another face-up card to each player called the fourth street. The player with the strongest exposed hand (lowest-ranking card) is the first player to start the round of betting. According to the razz poker rules, this player can either check or bet. The amount shall be a small bet such as 1 in a 1/2 game. The betting round then continues in a clockwise direction.

Fifth Street

The dealer now deals another face-up card to each player, called the fifth street. The player with the lowest exposed cards acts first. For instance, a player with an eight-high will start the betting action if the other players in the hand have a pair of sevens and a Queen-high. The player to go first can either check or bet a larger amount. From the fifth street, all the bets and raises are made in big bet increments.

Sixth Street

Now, each player is dealt face-up card called the sixth street. The first player to act is the one with the lowest exposed cards. This is followed by a round of betting.

Seventh Street (or the River)

In the final betting round, the dealer deals the seventh and last card, face-down, to each player, called the seventh street or the river. Again, the player with the lowest exposed cards acts first, followed by other players. At the end of the seventh street round of betting, if more than one player remains in the game, they reach the Showdown.

The Showdown

If there are two or more players remaining after the final betting round, the last player to bet or raise shows their cards first. If no player had bet in the final round, then the player in the earliest seat shows their cards first. The players in the showdown expose their cards in a clockwise direction.

The player with the best 5-card Ace to Five low hand wins the showdown and takes the pot. Razz poker doesn't involve a qualifier like in Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo; therefore, the winner takes the entire pot. However, if two or more players have hands of the same value, the pot is split equally between them.

Betting Options

When you play razz poker, the available betting actions are similar to other poker variants - call, fold, check, bet, or raise. The betting action for a player depends on the action of the previous player. Be aware of the poker betting rules as well, just in case. For instance, if no player has made a bet, then a player can either check or bet. Similarly, if a player has bet, then the following players can either fold, raise, or call.

Call - Matching the amount of the previous bet.

Fold - Deciding not to play any further and pushing the cards to the centre of the table.

Check - Declining to bet but keeping the cards.

Bet - Betting an amount

Raise - Increasing the previous bet amount.

Razz Poker Rules for determining the Winning Hand

The player with the worst hand or the lowest-ranking hand wins razz poker.

Straights and flushes aren't counted in Razz poker hands, making the slowest straight, A-2-3-4-5, also called the wheel, the best hand possible.

In the Showdown, there is no qualifier for the winning hand.

The poker hands in razz poker are evaluated from the highest card down, making A-2-3-4-8 a losing hand to 3-4-5-6-7, where 7-low beats 8-low.

If two or more players have the same winning hand, the pot is divided between them without taking the suits' hierarchy into account.

Razz Poker Strategy

Be it any variant, it's ideal to know some tips to play poker. The best starting hand while playing razz poker is A-2-3. However, you must avoid using Aces as they can make you lose.

While making the lowest-ranking poker hand, ensure that no pair is formed by keeping a check on your face-up cards.

Play more unpaired cards than are lower than 8.

An important razz poker strategy is to also keep a check on the opponent's open cards to determine the hand they may be targetting.

If you are seated to the right of the bring-in, a good strategy is to raise with a lower-open card.