Each player will receive two cards face down and one card face up and the action will begin. In Razz there is no dealer button. That means that every hand starts with the dealer dealing to the 1 Seat first and continuing to the left. Every proceeding street will continue in the same fashion.
Razz is very similar to Seven Card Stud Hi Lo with a couple of exceptions. The player with the lowest hand wins the pot and there are no qualifying rules for the lowest hand so any hand is eligible.
Razz is a poker game for 2 to 8 players, using a standard 52-card deck and is one of the more interesting poker variants, based on the rules of Stud Poker, but with very different requirements for winning.
Razz Poker Rules. Razz poker is a lowball poker game meaning the rank of the poker hands is inverted. Therefore, the highest-ranking hand is 5 4 3 2 A. Straights and flushes do not count in razz poker; therefore, card suits are completely disregarded in what makes the best hand. Having three of a kind goes against your hand even more than a pair. Having three of a kind plus a pair (for example 9, 9, 5, 5, 5) is the worst possible hand combination you can get in this game. Remember, there are no straights or flushes in Razz poker. ROOKIE RAZZ (Kindergarten – 2nd Grade) games are on Friday Only. Games start on Friday morning. Click the following to preview & print the ROOKIE RAZZ Rules & Regulations: 2019 K-2nd Grade Rookie Razz Rules. Click the following to preview & print the Rules & Regulations for grades 3-Adult: 2019 3rd Grade-Adult Rules. Razz Poker Rules & How to Play Razz Razz Poker is a version of Seven Card Stud where the player with the lowest hand wins the pot. This game uses A-5 lowball rules, which simply means aces always count as high, and straights and flushes are disregarded as part of the hands rankings.
Poker overlay software download. In 7 Card Stud, like most poker games, the highest ranking hand wins the pot. In Razz, however, it is just the opposite – the lowest hand wins the pot.
Razz can be played in Fixed Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit; however Fixed Limit is the most common option and that's what I'll be focusing on in this guide.
Object of Razz Poker
The object of Razz is simple – to use any 5 out of the 7 cards dealt to you throughout the hand to create the lowest ranking 5 card poker hand.
As always in stud poker 3 cards are dealt face down so only the player can see them and the other 4 cards are dealt face up so everybody can see them.
Unlike Stud Hi Low, which requires a low hand to 'Qualify' as 8 or better (nothing better than 8-high), there is no restriction for a qualifying hand in Razz, therefore any hand qualifies. You simply must develop the absolute lowest hand to win.
The lowest possible hand would be A-2-3-4-5. How is this low, you ask? It's got an Ace, and by the way, it's a Straight! Actually, in any 'Low' version of poker, Aces are always counted as the number 1, the lowest card, whilst Straight and Flushes aren't considered combinations and hence are ignored.
Fixed Limit Poker – How to Bet
Razz is almost always played with a Fixed Limit betting structure, although you may come across a No Limit or Pot Limit game on occasion.
Fixed Limit means that no player may wager more or less than the stakes of the game; $2/$4 for example.
Fixed Limit means a player must place all Bets or Raises in a pre-determined increment which is related to the stakes of the table, for example at a $2 / $4 table.
- For the first two betting rounds (3rd and 4th Street), bets must be in increments of the low-end stakes of $2. Bet $2 -> Raise $4 -> Re-Raise $6 etc.
- The final three betting rounds (5th, 6th and 7th Street) require bets / raises in increments of the high-end stakes of $4. Bet $4 -> Raise $8 -> Re-Raise $12 etc.
There are a maximum of 4 raises permitted on each betting round.
The Antes & Dealer Button
In Razz Poker, a dealer button is used to mark the theoretical dealer before each hand begins. This is important as it dictates the order that the cards are dealt with the first card being dealt to the player to the left of the dealer button.
At the end of each hand the dealer button rotates to the next player to the left so that each player takes it in turn to be the 'dealer'.
Razz does not require blind bets, as in Texas Holdem or Omaha Poker, but uses a small Ante Bet and Bring-In Bet.
Before the start of each hand, every player must place an 'Ante' into the pot. This small amount ensures that there are chips to be won in every hand. The Ante varies somewhat, but is generally 10% to 25% of the low-end stakes, so for example at a $2 / $4 stakes table then the Ante would be around $0.20.
The Hole and Door Cards
The hand begins with all players putting their Ante bet of $0.20 into the pot.
Each player is then dealt 3 cards:
- The first two cards are dealt face-down for only the player to see. These are called the 'hole cards'.
- The third card is dealt face-up so that everybody at the table can see it. This is called the 'door card'.
The door card is important as the player who has the lowest door card must place a forced 'Bring In' bet into the pot. If two or more players have the same lowest card then it is decided by the player with the lowest suit. Suits rank lowest to highest in alphabetical order – Clubs (lowest), Diamonds, Hearts, Spades (highest).
The bring in bet can also vary, but is most often equal to half of the low-end stakes, so for example at a $2 / $4 stakes table then the Bring In would be around $1.
The First Betting Round ('3rd Street')
Once the Bring In bet has been placed then the first round of betting begins, starting with the player left of the bring in player and proceeding around the table in a clockwise fashion.
Each player in order must choose the action they wish to take from the following options:
- Call: You match a bet already placed in the current betting round. In this case it will be the bring in bet amount unless another player has already raised that bet.
- Raise: You not only match, but increase a bet already placed in the current betting round. After a raise is made all other players must match your raised bet or fold (or raise again!).
- Fold: To forfeit the current hand, and all chips in the pot by throwing in your cards, face-down without showing them to any other player (in order to not influence the hand)
- All-In: If you do not have enough chips to cover a bet (or just enough to cover), you may go All-In by pushing your remaining chips into a separate stack near the center of the table. If you lose, you are out of chips and out of the game. If you win, you may only collect chips from each player equal to the amount of your All-In Bet.
When it comes back around to the bring in player, he may call by adding enough chips to his bring-in bet to match the current bet. He may also raise or fold, of course.
4th Street – Second Betting Round
Each card dealt is called a street. A fourth card is dealt to each player, face-up.
The second round of betting commences, same as the last, except that for this round and every round hereafter, the player with the highest open hand (face-up cards only) will always start off the betting.
On 4th Street there are only two exposed cards per player so the highest possible hand at this point is a pair of Aces.
As no bet has yet been placed in the pot in this round of betting there are additional betting options now as follows:
- Check: To place no chips in the pot, but to continue in the hand (not fold). A check can only be placed if no other player has already bet in the current betting round. If a player bets after a check has been made, all players who checked must at least call the bet or fold their hand
- Bet: The first person to place chips into the pot in a betting round is placing a bet which must then be matched by any other player who wants to continue in the hand.
Betting will continue until all players who wish to continue in the hand have placed an equal amount of chips into the pot. Players who do not, must fold and play no further part until the next hand is dealt.
5th, 6th and 7th Street
The pattern continues with another 3 cards dealt individually and after each card is dealt a betting round takes place:
- 5th Street: Each player is dealt a fifth card face-up, followed by another round of betting, same as the last and starting with the player showing the best hand from the three exposed 'up cards'. From here out, all bets and raises must be equal to the high-end stakes, for example in a $2/$4 fixed limit game the increment would be $4.
- 6th Street: Each player is dealt a sixth card, face-up. Another round of betting begins again with the player showing the best hand from the now four exposed 'up cards'.
- 7th Street: Each player receives a seventh and final card, this time face-down. The exposed 'up cards' have not changed, therefore the player who started the previous betting round will do so again for this final betting round.
The Showdown
It is not uncommon for all but one player to fold at some stage during the hand, with other players not wishing to match the winning players bet and negating the need for a showdown, In this situation the winning player receives the pot and is not required to show his hand to the table.
If two or more players are left in the hand after the betting completes on 7th street then a showdown will take place to decide the winner.
Rules Of Razz Poker
All remaining players will use any 5 of their 7 cards to reveal their lowest ranking 5-card poker hand. Again, Aces are always low and Straights / Flushes do not count as combinations.
The player with the lowest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot. In case of a tie, the winning players will split the pot.
The lowest hand is always read from the highest card down, and the hand with the lowest high card will win. To review the low hand rankings and get more information about how low hands are formed then please see our Poker Hand Ranking Guide.
Help – We've Run Out of Cards!
There's not enough cards! Okay, it is possible, though very rare, for an 8-seater hand of Razz to run out of cards before the 7th street is dealt out.
If all 8 players remain in the hand without folding (hence the rarity of this occurrence) there will not be enough cards remaining to deal the 7th street (8 players x 7 cards = 56; there's only 52 cards in the deck!).
Should this occur, the 7th street will be dealt as a single, face-up card in the center of the table. This card then becomes a community card and all players will use it as their 7th card.
Where to Play Razz Poker?
We recommend Pokerstars for a great place to play Razz Poker. To find out more about them see our Pokerstars Review or to see alternate rooms to play Razz Poker then see the Professor's reviews in our Poker Reviews section.
Razz is a form of stud poker that is normally played for ace-to-five low (lowball poker). It is one of the oldest forms of poker, and has been played since the start of the 20th Century. It emerged around the time people started using the 52-card deck instead of 20 for poker.[1]
Razz Rules And Strategy
The object of Razz is to make the lowest possible five-card hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against the player for low, and the ace always plays low. Thus, the best possible Razz hand is 5-4-3-2-A, or 5 high, also known as 'the wheel' or 'the bicycle'. Deuce-to-seven Razz is also sometimes played. Razz is featured in the mixed game rotation H.O.R.S.E. as the 'R' in the game's name.
Play[edit]
Razz is similar to seven-card stud, except the lowest hand wins. Seven cards are dealt to each player, but only the five best cards (generally the five lowest unpaired cards) are used in forming a complete hand.[2]
Razz is usually played with a maximum of eight players,[3] with limit betting, meaning that there is a fixed amount that can be bet per player per round. Each player antes and is dealt two cards face down (the hole cards), and one card face up (the 'door card'). The highest door card showing has to 'bring it in' – put in the mandatory first bet, which is usually one third to one half of the regular bet. The player responsible for the bring-in can instead opt to 'complete the bet', i.e. make a whole regular bet. If they opt to make a normal bring-in, the remaining players can either call the bet or 'complete', by raising to a regular bet. From that point the betting continues in regular bet increments.[2][3]
In a case where two people have a door card of the same rank, the bring in is determined by suit.[2][3] Spades (♠) is the highest possible suit, followed by hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), and clubs (♣). The K♠ is the worst possible door card in Razz, and a guaranteed bring-in. Play continues clockwise from the bring in, as in normal Stud poker. After the first round of betting, each player still in the hand receives another card face up. Betting begins with the lowest hand showing. Play continues like this until the fifth card, at which point the betting increments double.[2][3] The seventh card is dealt face down, and action would begin with the same player who opened betting on the 6th card.[2][3] In hand-dealt games, after each hand the deal rotates to the left, as with most forms of poker; although the dealer doesn't play a strategic role as in blind games.[3]
Shortage of cards[edit]
It is possible for the dealer to run out of cards before the end of the hand. This can occur when eight players are still in the hand when the seventh cards are to be dealt. Seven cards for eight players would require 56 cards in the deck. Since Razz uses a standard 52 card deck, the hand would be four cards short.
To fix this problem, the dealer does not deal a seventh card to any player. Instead, the dealer deals one final card face up in the center of the table, which becomes a community card. All eight players may use this card as the seventh card in their own hands. This is the only time a community card is ever used in Razz.[4]
World Series of Poker[edit]
Razz has been an event at the World Series of Poker since 1971, when Jimmy Casella won the first ever WSOP Razz event for a grand prize of $10,000.[5][6] Razz is the most popular form of lowball poker but in the overall popularity stakes sits firmly behind Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em. In 2004, the WSOP Razz event was televised by ESPN; the tournament was won by professional poker player and multiple bracelet winner T. J. Cloutier.[3] After the event Razz grew massively in popularity and most of the major online poker rooms added Razz to their spread of games. Full Tilt Poker was the first online site to offer Razz games but soon after the televised tournament, Poker.com, Absolute Poker and finally in 2006 PokerStars added Razz to their selection of games.[7] Since 1971, Razz has been featured in every World Series of Poker apart from the 1972 series.
London lowball[edit]
London lowball is a game played almost exclusively in Europe. It is almost identical to Razz in play with the following exceptions: straights and flushes count against a player for low, so the best possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A,[8] and its canonical version is played at pot limit. Some variations of the game are played at no limit, but the name 'London lowball' is typically reserved for the pot-limit version.[9]
Strategy[edit]
Normally the best starting hand in Razz is A-2-3. A general strategy in a full-ring game is to only play unpaired cards none of them higher than 8s.[10] Players want to avoid making pairs and should evaluate other door cards in relation to the strength of their hand. For instance, Jane holds 3-4-5 and sees four 'dead' door cards of 3-4-4-5 behind her. This is a strong hand, as the likelihood of pairing her hole cards is now greatly diminished.
Observing the door cards of other players is also very important. A player's hand is much stronger if there are cards of the same denomination already showing (less chance of pairing up on a draw) and weaker if there are make cards visible (i.e. a A-6-7 is a much stronger hand when other players are showing Aces, 6s and 7s than when these players are showing 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s).
Another key strategy in Razz is stealing the antes and bring-in bets. If a player is to the right of the bring-in bettor, and everyone else folds, a raise with a lower exposed card is normally the correct play. For example, if Mary has a 9 showing, and John, the bring-in bettor, has a K showing, Mary should normally raise if everyone else folds. Raysimulpha.ml usa live roulette online.
It is not uncommon for all but one player to fold at some stage during the hand, with other players not wishing to match the winning players bet and negating the need for a showdown, In this situation the winning player receives the pot and is not required to show his hand to the table.
If two or more players are left in the hand after the betting completes on 7th street then a showdown will take place to decide the winner.
Rules Of Razz Poker
All remaining players will use any 5 of their 7 cards to reveal their lowest ranking 5-card poker hand. Again, Aces are always low and Straights / Flushes do not count as combinations.
The player with the lowest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot. In case of a tie, the winning players will split the pot.
The lowest hand is always read from the highest card down, and the hand with the lowest high card will win. To review the low hand rankings and get more information about how low hands are formed then please see our Poker Hand Ranking Guide.
Help – We've Run Out of Cards!
There's not enough cards! Okay, it is possible, though very rare, for an 8-seater hand of Razz to run out of cards before the 7th street is dealt out.
If all 8 players remain in the hand without folding (hence the rarity of this occurrence) there will not be enough cards remaining to deal the 7th street (8 players x 7 cards = 56; there's only 52 cards in the deck!).
Should this occur, the 7th street will be dealt as a single, face-up card in the center of the table. This card then becomes a community card and all players will use it as their 7th card.
Where to Play Razz Poker?
We recommend Pokerstars for a great place to play Razz Poker. To find out more about them see our Pokerstars Review or to see alternate rooms to play Razz Poker then see the Professor's reviews in our Poker Reviews section.
Razz is a form of stud poker that is normally played for ace-to-five low (lowball poker). It is one of the oldest forms of poker, and has been played since the start of the 20th Century. It emerged around the time people started using the 52-card deck instead of 20 for poker.[1]
Razz Rules And Strategy
The object of Razz is to make the lowest possible five-card hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against the player for low, and the ace always plays low. Thus, the best possible Razz hand is 5-4-3-2-A, or 5 high, also known as 'the wheel' or 'the bicycle'. Deuce-to-seven Razz is also sometimes played. Razz is featured in the mixed game rotation H.O.R.S.E. as the 'R' in the game's name.
Play[edit]
Razz is similar to seven-card stud, except the lowest hand wins. Seven cards are dealt to each player, but only the five best cards (generally the five lowest unpaired cards) are used in forming a complete hand.[2]
Razz is usually played with a maximum of eight players,[3] with limit betting, meaning that there is a fixed amount that can be bet per player per round. Each player antes and is dealt two cards face down (the hole cards), and one card face up (the 'door card'). The highest door card showing has to 'bring it in' – put in the mandatory first bet, which is usually one third to one half of the regular bet. The player responsible for the bring-in can instead opt to 'complete the bet', i.e. make a whole regular bet. If they opt to make a normal bring-in, the remaining players can either call the bet or 'complete', by raising to a regular bet. From that point the betting continues in regular bet increments.[2][3]
In a case where two people have a door card of the same rank, the bring in is determined by suit.[2][3] Spades (♠) is the highest possible suit, followed by hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), and clubs (♣). The K♠ is the worst possible door card in Razz, and a guaranteed bring-in. Play continues clockwise from the bring in, as in normal Stud poker. After the first round of betting, each player still in the hand receives another card face up. Betting begins with the lowest hand showing. Play continues like this until the fifth card, at which point the betting increments double.[2][3] The seventh card is dealt face down, and action would begin with the same player who opened betting on the 6th card.[2][3] In hand-dealt games, after each hand the deal rotates to the left, as with most forms of poker; although the dealer doesn't play a strategic role as in blind games.[3]
Shortage of cards[edit]
It is possible for the dealer to run out of cards before the end of the hand. This can occur when eight players are still in the hand when the seventh cards are to be dealt. Seven cards for eight players would require 56 cards in the deck. Since Razz uses a standard 52 card deck, the hand would be four cards short.
To fix this problem, the dealer does not deal a seventh card to any player. Instead, the dealer deals one final card face up in the center of the table, which becomes a community card. All eight players may use this card as the seventh card in their own hands. This is the only time a community card is ever used in Razz.[4]
World Series of Poker[edit]
Razz has been an event at the World Series of Poker since 1971, when Jimmy Casella won the first ever WSOP Razz event for a grand prize of $10,000.[5][6] Razz is the most popular form of lowball poker but in the overall popularity stakes sits firmly behind Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em. In 2004, the WSOP Razz event was televised by ESPN; the tournament was won by professional poker player and multiple bracelet winner T. J. Cloutier.[3] After the event Razz grew massively in popularity and most of the major online poker rooms added Razz to their spread of games. Full Tilt Poker was the first online site to offer Razz games but soon after the televised tournament, Poker.com, Absolute Poker and finally in 2006 PokerStars added Razz to their selection of games.[7] Since 1971, Razz has been featured in every World Series of Poker apart from the 1972 series.
London lowball[edit]
London lowball is a game played almost exclusively in Europe. It is almost identical to Razz in play with the following exceptions: straights and flushes count against a player for low, so the best possible hand is 6-4-3-2-A,[8] and its canonical version is played at pot limit. Some variations of the game are played at no limit, but the name 'London lowball' is typically reserved for the pot-limit version.[9]
Strategy[edit]
Normally the best starting hand in Razz is A-2-3. A general strategy in a full-ring game is to only play unpaired cards none of them higher than 8s.[10] Players want to avoid making pairs and should evaluate other door cards in relation to the strength of their hand. For instance, Jane holds 3-4-5 and sees four 'dead' door cards of 3-4-4-5 behind her. This is a strong hand, as the likelihood of pairing her hole cards is now greatly diminished.
Observing the door cards of other players is also very important. A player's hand is much stronger if there are cards of the same denomination already showing (less chance of pairing up on a draw) and weaker if there are make cards visible (i.e. a A-6-7 is a much stronger hand when other players are showing Aces, 6s and 7s than when these players are showing 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s).
Another key strategy in Razz is stealing the antes and bring-in bets. If a player is to the right of the bring-in bettor, and everyone else folds, a raise with a lower exposed card is normally the correct play. For example, if Mary has a 9 showing, and John, the bring-in bettor, has a K showing, Mary should normally raise if everyone else folds. Raysimulpha.ml usa live roulette online.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Razz. |
- ^'Razz Rules'. somuchpoker.com. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
- ^ abcdePokerstars.com: Razz (7 Card Stud Low)
- ^ abcdefgPoker-Babes.com: How to Play the Game of Razz
- ^lolPoker.com: Razz poker rules
- ^'2nd World Series of Poker (WSOP) 1971 – $ 1,000 Limit Razz'. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- ^Razzpokerrules.org - WSOP Razz
- ^Playlowballpoker.com: Razz Poker
- ^PlanetPoker.com: Poker Dictionary
- ^Gambling-Poker.com: Razz Poker - London Lowball Poker
- ^Poker-Strategy.org: Razz poker
Razz Rules
