Razz Poker Rules

Razz Poker is one of the most established versions of the game having been a central part of various Vegas casinos for years. More recently, it has enjoyed a new lease of life as the 'R' in H.O.R.S.E poker games so anyone looking to get involved in mixed-format games will need to have a good understanding of Razz.

The structure of the game is very similar to Seven Card Stud with the only difference being in the type of your hand you're looking to construct - in Razz, you will need to get the lowest hand possible if you're looking to take down the pot.

Hand Values

In Razz, Aces are always seen as low cards and there are no such rankings as Straights or Flushes. Therefore, the absolute nuts in Raz is A-2-3-4-5. Similarly, hands are ranked starting with a player's highest card and then working down. Therefore a player holding 3-5-6-8-9 would lose out to a player holding 4-6-7-8-10 even though the latter hand appears to be made out from higher cards.

Unlike 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, there are no requirements for a Razz hand to be classified as low. A player with a pair of Jacks can still take the down the post just as long as his opponents are holding Kings and Aces. Obviously, this is an extreme example and one that won't happen very often, but it illustrates a point.

Antes

An ante must be paid by every player before cards are dealt. The ante is a small bet which is usually equal to around 10% or 20% of the size of the smallest bet.

Third Street

Each player receives three cards - one is dealt face up, while the other two remain face down.

The player with the highest visible card is required to start the round of betting by paying the "Bring-In": a second compulsorary bet which is equal to half the lower betting amount. If two or more players have the same high card, then the player closest to the dealer (in a clockwise direction) is required to pay the Bring in.

With this second bet paid, the nominated player can decide whether to leave current betting levels as they are (and therefore allowing his competitors in on the cheap) or to raise the bring in up to the minimum betting amount.

Once this decision has been made, a round of betting rotates around the table in a clockwise direction with any bets or raises being made in increments of the lower betting limit.

Fourth Street

Another card is dealt face up to each player and a second round of betting is started by the player with the lowest hand on show. All players can bet, check of fold.

Fifth Street

A fifth card is dealt to each player face up. Again, a round of betting starts although this time all bets are made in the upper betting limit.

Sixth Street

Players are each given a sixth card face up which precedes another betting round which works in the same way as the last one.

Seventh Street

A final card is dealt face-down to each player before the final round of betting takes place. If more than two players are still involved in the hand after this round of betting, we procede to the showdown.

Showdown

With all betting out of the way, remaining players turn over their cards to reveal the best 5 card Razz hand possible. The player with the lowest value hand takes down the pot.