Basic Play and Strategy

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Admin Number of posts : 1856Location : Canada

Objective: to have the lowest 5 card hand at the end of play. In Razz the ace is considered low....so the lowest hand is 5-4-3-2-A, or the wheel. Remember that hands are ranked from top down.....so 6-5-4-3-2 beat 7-4-3-2-A.

Basic Play: Play in Razz is similar to regular seven-card stud. Razz is usually played as a limit poker game, 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. This card is known as 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 half of the regular bet. In a case where two people have a door card of the same rank, the bring in is determined by suit. Spades is the highest possible suit, followed by hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The K of spades would be 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. The seventh card is dealt face down, and action would begin with the same player who opened on the 6th card. After each hand the deal rotates to the left, as with most forms of poker.

Strategy:Normally the best starting hand in Razz is A-2-3. A general strategy in a full-ring game is to only play three card 8s or lower, meaning any three cards 8 or lower that are not paired. 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.

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.

Number of posts : 11Location : ireland

thanks admin for posting such a detailed article on razz which is a game i play during horse tournaments but never realized that the cards were counted from the top down(which should definetely improve my horse game)