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Razz Poker-Rules and Betting Structure
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Party Poker Play Now 2. PokerStars Play Now Razz Poker Rules
Razz is a stud poker game getting a lot of attention in recent years, mainly due to the World Series of Poker. The newly added H.O.R.S.E. tournament, with its $50,000 US buy in, features Razz as one of the five poker variants in its rotation.Winning Hands
Razz is very similar to Seven Card Stud, only it is played for ace-to-five low. This means that the winning hand in Razz is the lowest hand in the poker hand rankings. In ace-to-five low games, flushes and straits are not counted against the player, making A2345 of any suit the best possible hand (hence the name ‘ace-to-five’). This hand is also known as ‘the wheel’ or ‘the bicycle’. Pairs, triplets and all other combinations (other than straits and flushes) are considered part of the hand, and are therefore counted against the player holding them. As is the case in all ‘low hand’ games, any hand without a pair beats any hand with a pair. A pair beats a triple, and so on. Aces only count as low cards.Hands with no pairs are compared from the highest card down. For example, 87643 (‘an eight’) beats a 9432A (‘a nine’), because 8 is lower than a 9, even though the hand with the 9 ends with lower cards. If the highest card is tied, the second card decides the hand, and so on. For example, 85432 (‘an eight-five’) will defeat 8623A (‘an eight-six’), because 5 is lower than 6. Since aces are played as low cards, 85432 will loose to 8543A. The same is true of low pairs – 943AA beats 54322, since a pair of aces rank lower than a pair of deuces. However, both hands will loose to any hand with no pair.
Game Flow and Betting Structures
Razz is usually played as a limit game, meaning there is a fixed amount each player can bet during each round. The betting structure is almost identical to Seven Card Stud.The Ante
Razz is an ante game, meaning that at the beginning of every round a mandatory predetermined amount of chips is collected from each of the players. The size of the ante is usually a fraction of the small bet.First Betting Round – Third Street
Each player is dealt three personal cards, one face up (the ‘door card’) and two facing down (the ‘hole cards’). The player holding the highest showing card must place a forced bet, which is similar to the blinds in Texas Hold’em. The size of the forced bet (the ‘bring in’) is usually half of a normal bet. For example, in $2/$4 Razz, the bring-in might be $1. In case of tied door cards (two or more showing cards with the same rank), the bring-in is determined by suit. Spades is the highest (worst) suit, followed by hearts, diamonds, and finally clubs. The worst door card in Razz is, therefore, a king of spades, which means a sure bring-in. Remember – aces only count as low cards. After the bring-in, the betting round continues clockwise.Second Round - Fourth Street
Where to Play
Each player that is still in the hand receives another card face up. The next round of betting begins with the lowest (best) hand showing.Third Round – Fifth Street
Another card is dealt face up, bringing the total number of cards to five – two facing down, three showing. Again, the best (lowest) showing hands acts first, except the bets from Fifth Street on are doubled. For example, in a $3/$6 Razz game, each bet is now $6.Fourth Round – Sixth Street
Players are dealt their sixth card, face up. Betting takes place just like on Fifth Street – lowest showing hand acts first, bets are double.Fifth and Final Round – Seventh Street
The final card is dealt, face down. The final round of betting, with double bets, takes place. The first player to act is the same player who acted first on Sixth Street – the lowest four-card-hand showing. If required, the showdown determines the winner. The player with the lowest five-card hand takes the pot.
