How to play
Razz is Seven Card Stud turned upside down: the lowest hand wins the whole pot. Here you sit at a fixed-limit cash table with one to five computer opponents. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips and a fresh 52-card deck is shuffled for every hand.
- Antes and cards. Everyone antes 5. You get two cards face down and one face up, then one more face-up card on fourth, fifth and sixth street, and a last card face down on seventh street, with a betting round after each.
- The bring-in. On third street the player with the highest up card brings in for 10 or completes to 20. Kings are highest and aces are lowest; on equal ranks, spades are highest, then hearts, diamonds and clubs. Others fold, call the 10, or complete to 20.
- Who acts first. From fourth street on, the player whose up cards are lowest acts first. A pair showing counts as a bad (high) board.
- Fixed limit. Bets and raises are 20 on third and fourth street and 40 from fifth street on, with at most four bets per round.
- Showdown. Each player makes the lowest five-card hand from their seven cards, and the lowest hand wins.
How low hands rank. Aces are always low, and straights and flushes don’t count against you, so A-2-3-4-5 is the best hand. Hands are compared from the highest card down: 7-5-4-3-2 beats 8-4-3-2-A, and 7-6-4-3-2 loses to 7-5-4-3-2. Pairs are bad: any hand without a pair beats any hand with one, even K-Q-J-10-9 beats 2-2-3-4-5. There’s no qualifier, so someone always wins.
All-ins, side pots and the uncalled bet work as in the other poker tables. Your face-down cards have a blue edge; folded players’ up cards stay on the table, faded, until the end of the hand. When an opponent runs out of chips, a new player sits down with 1,000 chips; if you run out, you can get 1,000 free credits at a new table. Your table is saved between visits.
Strategy
Three low cards to start. Good starting hands are three different cards of 8 or lower, best with an ace. A-2-3 is the best start. A king or queen in your first three cards is usually a fold.
Watch the door cards. If your low cards are already showing in other players’ hands, you’re less likely to catch them. Count the small cards on the table before calling.
A pair is a disaster. Catching a card that pairs you is like catching a high card. When an opponent’s board pairs, their hand just got worse.
Bet when your board looks better. In Razz, everyone can see who looks low. If your up cards are lower than your opponent’s, bet: they have to hope their hidden cards are good. If they catch a king on fifth street and you catch a small card, the pot is usually yours.
Read the labels. Each computer player is marked Tight or Loose, and aggressive or passive.
More poker. For the high-only game, play Seven Card Stud. For a pot split between high and low, try Stud Hi-Lo.
