In the last few decades, the casino game Poker has made a bit of a resurgence. Made famous by the World Series of Poker and popularised in culture – take 2006 movie Casino Royale as an example – Texas Hold’em is understandably the most-loved variation of the game.
To a beginner, that may well be the only version you understand or play, but there is more to Poker than Hold’em. In fact, back in the day, Razz was incredibly popular – it has, of course, since waned and been toppled by Hold’em. But the introduction of mixed games, such as HORSE (which made its WSOP debut in 2002) has helped reintroduce Razz to the masses.
In fact, the variant has been played on the tour since 1971. Playing Poker online at Paddy Power will open your eyes to many different variations of the game, and if you’re new to Razz, here’s all you need to know before getting started.
A quick intro
Razz is a low-ball game, meaning that unlike Hold’em, the lowest (or worst) hand wins. Again, unlike Hold’em, there are no community cards. There are some similarities between Razz and Seven-card Stud, and if you can play Stud, you’ll ultimately be at an advantage here. But the main difference is, in Razz there is no flop. This variation is usually played with up to eight players, who are looking to create a five-card hand using seven cards.
How to play
As we mentioned, Razz is fairly similar to Seven-card Stud, at least in terms of game play anyway. To begin, each player is dealt three cards, two face-down and one face-up. These are known as ‘hole’ and ‘door’ cards, respectively. Starting hand selection is a key element of the game’s strategy and generally speaking, players will be able to decide on the basis of the first three cards whether or not they’ll continue with the game.
The player with the best Razz hand (that is the lowest-ranked cards) will begin play. Players have the option of checking, betting or folding. Once each player has made their move, each receives a further face-up card, which is known as the ‘fourth street’. Like before, the next round begins with the player with the best Razz hand, and the same actions apply. Then each player receives another face-up card, called the ‘fifth street’. Once the fifth street has been dealt, all bets and raises must be in increments of the big blind, upping the stakes for the remaining players. The ‘sixth street’ follows, and this is the same as all previous rounds of betting. The ‘seventh street’ is also known as the ‘river’ and it’s the final card that players are dealt – this time, face-down. It’s then time for all remaining players to showdown.
What’s showdown?
After the final round of betting takes place, the players that remain in the game must reveal their hands. Players are required to create a five-card hand, as low in the rankings as possible – the two cards they leave out are known as ‘dead’ cards and have no bearing on the game or result.
Like in Hold’em, the last player to bet or raise will reveal their hand first. But what counts as a winning hand?
- Straight and flushes do not count, so the best hand is 5, 4, 3, 2, A
- There is no qualifier for a winning hand, meaning the lowest hand wins, regardless of how low it is
- Suits are not taken into consideration when it comes to defining the winner, so if multiple players share the same value hand, the pot is split
- Hands are decided from the highest card downwards, meaning 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 would beat A, 2, 3, 4, 9 – because 8 beats 9
While Razz isn’t one of the most popular variations anymore, it’s well worth learning to play, because if you’re playing a mixed-variant game (like HORSE), you’ll instantly be at an advantage against other players, who focus more on Hold’em or Omaha.
