Poker Rules - Razz
Razz is a form of 7 Card Stud and is played with the same format for the cards being dealt and the overall betting structure. The difference between Razz and 7 Card Stud is the winning hand is the best low hand using five out of the seven cards provided. Additionally, players will not need to have an 8 or better in order to qualify for low.
Players will not need to worry about straights when playing Razz as suits don’t have any meaning in the game. A straight will also not work against your low hand since the best possible razz poker hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5, also referred to as a “wheel”. Unlike Badugi Poker where an A is high, the A’s in Razz will also count as low
Razz (7 card stud low) is a poker game in which the low poker hand wins the pot at showdown. In razz poker, players are dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand, but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner. Note that unlike seven card stud hi-lo or Omaha hi-lo, there is no "eight or better" requirement to win the pot in razz.
How To Play Razz
Before any cards are dealt each player will need to ante first. Once this has done the dealer will begin by dealing two hole cards face down and one up card. The player with the highest exposed card will be the bring in and will be forced to pay half the big blind or a full big blind. The player with the bring in will not be able to fold until the next betting round if they should choose to do so. Once the first betting round is complete, players will receive an additional card again face up. This will be followed up with a betting round with the player holding the lowest poker hand. Each player will then take their turn to bet, call or fold.
After betting round has completed players will receive an additional card (Fifth Street) followed by another betting round whereby bets are increased to the big blind. This will continue process will continue with a sixth card followed by the final round with the card dealt face down. During showdown the player with the best low hand wins the pot, or in the event of a tie, the pot will be split between all winning players.
Razz, like many of the other mixed games is available at only a select number of online poker rooms. These include; Carbon Poker. This poker site provide this variation in ring games, tournaments, sit and go’s with free and real money games available.