How To Play Razz Poker

Before getting into the details of how to play razz poker, it would be useful to ensure everyone understands the game and its structure.  Razz is 7 Card Stud Lowball, A-5.  The lowest five card hand wins, with Aces playing low only, and ignoring straights or flushes.  The game is played limit, with antes to start, a forced bring in of half the SB for the worst (highest) card on 3rd street to start the action.  The next player to act can either call the half bet, or raise to a full bet (’completing’ the bet, and then betting and raising is in regular SB increments), and the bets double to the BB from 5th street on.  From 4th street on the player with the best/lowest board acts first.

Note that there are five betting rounds in a Stud game, whereas there are only four in a flop game.

Remember this is a limit game, SB=Small Bet, BB=Big Bet, not Small or Big Blinds as in a PL or NL game.  In a 2/4 stud game the antes should be 25 cents, the forced ‘bring-in’ half bet is $1, the SB is $2 and the BB is $4.  This is the structure I’ll use for all examples.

Everyone knows that in stud games each player starts with two down cards and one face up card right?  Then a 4th, 5th, and 6th cards are dealt to each player remaining face up with a betting round after each.  These are referred to as ’streets’, as in ‘6th street’.  The 7th card is face down, and can be referred to as the river as in Hold’em, or just ‘7th street
Stud games are played with eight players at most, because if every player stayed in for all seven cards we would need 56 cards.  Now in the thousands of hands I’ve played, I’ve never seen that happen, but theoretically if it did, the dealer would place one card face up in the middle of the table for 7th street and each player would use that card for their 7th.

In more than one place I’ve read that Razz is the simplest of all poker games (Stud Hi and Hold’em being the hardest).   I think that is partially because someone’s best possible hand is always exposed in Razz, making your decisions easier.  In Stud Hi, someone can start rolled up (three of a kind in the first three cards) and you’ll never know that your two pair is no good.
Razz, all you have to do is imagine that your opponent’s hidden cards are low cards and you know the best possible hand he could have.  You don’t have to wonder if they are straight cards, flush cards, or hidden pairs.  In high games you can win a hand with just three cards (if your three of a kind is the best hand for example).  In lowball games all five cards are always a factor since your worst/highest card has to play - in fact it’s the most important card (remember even though your 8432A has smaller smallest cards than my 76543, I win because it’s the highest small card that matters (7 beats 8 ), not the lowest (A vs. 3)).

You can usually factor out his two highest cards showing, and figure out his best hand.

Here are some examples:
[XX]49J8[X]  - dump the 9 & J, and this guys hand is an 8 high.  At the very best he has 8-432A.
[[X]66Q9[X] - the second 6 is counterfeit (no pairs in lowball games!), forcing the 9 to play, so his best hand is a 9-6XXX.
[[XX]2638[X] - this is a scary one.  He only needs two cards out the the remaining Aces, 4s, and 5s to have a 6 – low hand.If he has all three of those, then he has a wheel.

Frez is Bonus Internet Poker’s writer on strategy and theory in most poker games. He has been playing poker for over 5 years between a mix of online and live games. If you would like advice or to have Frez look over a hand that you have question about you can email him here. Your questions will be posted on the site and/or monthly newsletter.   frez   @    bonusinternetpoker.com

More Razz Poker Strategy

How to Play Razz

Starting Hands in Razz

Playing 3rd Street

Playing 4th Street

Playing 5th Street

End game - 6th and 7th street