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Razz (poker)
Encyclopedia
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 possible five-card hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against the player for low, and the ace usually plays low. Thus, 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 featured in the mixed game rotation H.O.R.S.E. as the "R" in the game's name.
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.
Razz is usually played with a maximum of eight players, 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 (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 one half of the regular bet. The player responsible for the bring-in can instead opt to "complete the bet", i.e. make a whole regular bet. If he opts to make a normal bring-in, the remaining players can either call his bet or "complete", by raising to a regular bet. From that point the betting continues in regular bet increments.
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 is 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 betting on the 6th card. In hand-dealt games, after each hand the deal rotates to the left, as with most forms of poker; although the dealer doesn't play a strategic role as in blind
games.
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. 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.
since 1971
, when Jimmy Casella
won the first ever WSOP Razz event for a grand prize of $10,000. Razz is the most popular form of lowball poker but in the overall popularity stakes sits firmly behind Texas hold 'em
and Omaha hold 'em
. In 2004
, the WSOP Razz event was televised by ESPN
; the tournament was won by professional poker player and multiple bracelet winner T. J. Cloutier
. After the event Razz grew massively in popularity and most of the major online poker
rooms added Razz to their spread of games. Full Tilt Poker
was the first online site to offer Razz games but soon after the televised tournament, Poker.com, Absolute Poker and finally in 2006 PokerStars
added Razz to their selection of games. Since 1971 Razz was featured in every World Series of Poker apart from the 1972 series
.
Observing the door cards of other players is also very important. A player's hand is much stronger if there are cards of the same denomination already showing (less chance of pairing up on a draw) and weaker if there are make cards visible (i.e. a A-6-7 is a much stronger hand when other players are showing Aces, 6s and 7s than when others are showing 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s .)
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.
Stud poker
Stud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round...
that is normally played for ace-to-five low (lowball poker). The object of Razz is to make the lowest possible five-card hand from the seven cards you are dealt. In Razz, straights and flushes do not count against the player for low, and the ace usually plays low. Thus, 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 featured in the mixed game rotation H.O.R.S.E. as the "R" in the game's name.
Play
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...
, except the lowest hand wins. Seven cards are dealt, but only the best five are used in forming a complete hand.
Razz is usually played with a maximum of eight players, with limit betting
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
, 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 (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 one half of the regular bet. The player responsible for the bring-in can instead opt to "complete the bet", i.e. make a whole regular bet. If he opts to make a normal bring-in, the remaining players can either call his bet or "complete", by raising to a regular bet. From that point the betting continues in regular bet increments.
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 is 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 betting on the 6th card. In hand-dealt games, after each hand the deal rotates to the left, as with most forms of poker; although the dealer doesn't play a strategic role as in blind
Blind (poker)
The blinds are forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button in flop-style poker games. The number of blinds is usually two, but it can range from none to three....
games.
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 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. 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.
World Series of Poker
Razz has been an event at the World Series of PokerWorld Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
since 1971
1971 World Series of Poker
The 1971 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe during May 1–15, 1971. This was only the second installment of the World Series of Poker, but unlike at the 1970 event, freezeout tournaments were played to decide the winner of the main title. The...
, when Jimmy Casella
Jimmy Casella
Fiore "Jimmy" Casella was a prominent poker player at the World Series of Poker in the 1970s.In the 1971 World Series of Poker he won the Limit Razz event, but his main poker success came in the 1974 World Series of Poker, where he won the Seven Card Razz and the Seven-Card Stud world championship...
won the first ever WSOP Razz event for a grand prize of $10,000. Razz is the most popular form of lowball poker but in the overall popularity stakes sits firmly behind Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
and Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
. In 2004
2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
, the WSOP Razz event was televised by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
; the tournament was won by professional poker player and multiple bracelet winner T. J. Cloutier
T. J. Cloutier
Thomas James "T.J." Cloutier is a professional poker player from Richardson, Texas. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006.-Early years:...
. After the event Razz grew massively in popularity and most of the major online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
rooms added Razz to their spread of games. Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
was the first online site to offer Razz games but soon after the televised tournament, Poker.com, Absolute Poker and finally in 2006 PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
added Razz to their selection of games. Since 1971 Razz was featured in every World Series of Poker apart from the 1972 series
1972 World Series of Poker
The 1972 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held during early May 1972 at the Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the third annual installment of the World Series of Poker, and also the second one to feature the freezeout structure...
.
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, 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.Strategy
Normally the best starting hand in Razz is A-2-3. A general strategy in a full-ring game is to only play unpaired cards none of them higher than 8s. 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.Observing the door cards of other players is also very important. A player's hand is much stronger if there are cards of the same denomination already showing (less chance of pairing up on a draw) and weaker if there are make cards visible (i.e. a A-6-7 is a much stronger hand when other players are showing Aces, 6s and 7s than when others are showing 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s .)
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.