Razz is a form of stud poker that is normally played for ace-to-five low (lowball poker). The object of Razz is to make the lowest five-card possible hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against you for low, and the ace always plays low. 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 the "R" game featured in H.O.R.S.E.
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Play
Razz is similar to seven-card stud, except the lowest hand wins. Seven cards are dealt, but only the best five are used in forming a complete hand.[1]
Razz is usually played with a maximum of eight players,[2] 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. 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.[1] Spades is the highest possible suit, followed by ♥, ♦, and ♣. The K♠ 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.[1] 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.
World Series of Poker
Razz has been an event at the World Series of Poker since 1973, when Sam Angel won the first event for a grand prize of $32,000. However, the Razz event does not draw as many players as do more popular variants of poker such as Stud or Texas hold 'em. The Razz tournament was televised by ESPN in 2004. This tournament was won by professional poker player and multiple bracelet winner, T. J. Cloutier.[2]
London Lowball
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,[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.
Shortage of Cards
In rare situations, a dealer may run out of cards in the middle of play when the maximum of 8 players are in play. This occurs when all 8 players are still present before the 7th and final card is about to be dealt and no one has folded. 7 cards for 8 players would require 56 cards in the deck. Since Razz poker uses a standard 52 card deck, the game would be 4 cards short.
In order to fix this problem, the dealer will deal the last card into the center of the table face up instead of face down and this card will count as a community card.[6] Everyone at the table will use this one card as part of their own hand. This is also the only time a community card is ever used in Razz poker.
Notes
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