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Razz Poker Rules - Learn to Play Razz

Courtesy of FullTilt Poker

Razz is one of the lesser-known poker games. And despite having its own event in the World Series of Poker, you won't find it in many of your local card rooms. The game is played eight-handed, and looks very similar to the more familiar 7 card stud. In razz, however, your objective is to make the lowest possible hand.

Playing Razz

Each player starts with two hole cards and one up card; the dealer then gives each active player three more up cards, and then a final down card. Each player that stays in for every round of betting ends up with seven cards -- four face up and three face down. At the showdown, the player holding the best LOW hand using five of his seven cards wins the pot. Aces are always low, and flushes and straights have no effect on the value of a hand. The best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5.

Each new hand of razz begins with each player putting an ante into the pot. The ante is a payment into the pot before cards are dealt for the purpose of instigating action. In razz, the ante is usually 20% of the smaller betting limit. For example, in a $2/$4 limit game, the ante is 40 cents. Each player must ante each hand in order to receive cards.

When you first sit down at a table, you will be asked to ante, and will immediately be dealt cards after doing so. There are no blinds in razz.

In razz, the dealer position does not rotate as in blind games. The nominal dealer position is indicated by a white disk called the stud button. The stud button is always by seat 8, and each new deal always starts at seat 1. The first card of each succeeding round always goes to the first active player (one who either has called all the bets thus far, or has gone all in -- that is, run out of chips with which to call) to the left of the button. If you rotate the table to change your position, the button also rotates. This makes it clear where the deal position is. This is only important in those rare situations in which two or more players have identical boards. After the first round, if hands are of equal value, the hand closest to the left of the button begins the betting

When the antes are in place, the dealer distributes two cards face down to each player and then one card face up, starting with seat 1. The two down cards are called hole cards. Your hole cards appear face up on your screen, but don't worry! Only you can see your hole cards. Only the backs of every other player's hole cards appear on screen. Every other player has a similar view, with only his own hole cards visible. You can tell which are your hole cards and which is your up card, because the hole cards are situated lower than the up card. You can see the up cards of all the other players, and they can see your up card.

Razz, as any form of poker, is about betting. Razz has five betting rounds. The sizes of the bets depend on the structure of the game. All razz games at Full Tilt Poker are limit games. The first two betting rounds are at one level, and the next three at double that level.

Third Street

On the first round (known as third street), the betting starts with the player having the highest up card. This bet is a forced bet. The bet must be at least a specified minimum, which is called the bring-in, but can be more. The bring-in is usually one-fourth the lower limit. If two or more players have the same rank of up card, who must make the bring-in is determined by suit, in bridge order (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs). This is the only time suits have any bearing in razz. For example, if three queens appear on the first round in this order, Qd, Qh, Qs, the holder of the Qs would be required to make the bring-in bet.

You must make a bet. You have only two choices. You can:

  • open for the bring-in
  • complete the bet - that is, increase the bet to the lower limit

You choose your action by clicking in a dialog box. While you can always complete the bet, you will find players usually open for the minimum. If everyone folds, you win the antes, and the next hand is dealt.

Normally everyone would not fold for a bring-in, however.

If you open for the bring-in, each succeeding player has three choices:

  • fold
  • call -- that is, match the bring-i
  • raise -- that is, increase the preceding bet

Each player in turn has the same three choices. If there has been a raise, each player who chooses to continue must either call the total bet thus far, or himself raise. In any one round of betting, there can be a maximum of one bet and three raises. The bring-in plus the completion count as one bet in the first round. For example, in a $2/$4 limit game, you open for the 50-cent bring-in, another player completes the bet to $2, and then two players raise. That makes the total bet $6. This is the equivalent of three bets, and another player could make one more raise. Doing so would cap the betting for that round, that is, cause it to reach the maximum.

If you fold for a raise, your cards are removed from play and no longer appear on the screen.

Fourth Street

Once the betting for the round is completed and everyone has had an opportunity either to fold or match the total betting, the dealer deals each active player a second up card (fourth street). Players still in the hand participate in a round of betting.

The betting on fourth street proceeds at the lower limit. On fourth and all successive streets, the betting always starts with the player showing the lowest board. If two or more players have the same low board, the betting begins with the player closest to the left of the button. In the picture, since you are closer to the button than the other player who holds [choose equal value hands], you are first to bet.

Don't worry about having to figure out which player starts the betting. The software prompts you when it is your turn to act. It also presents all the options available. All you have to do is click the choice you want.

In all rounds after third street, the player first to act has two choices:

  • check - that is, make no bet
  • bet - that is, make a bet at the proper limit for that round

If no one bets, each player in turn has the same choices. It is possible in every round except third street for no betting to occur. No betting in a round is called being "checked around".

If anyone bets, each succeeding player has three choices:

  • fold
  • call -- that is, match the bring-in
  • raise -- that is, increase the preceding bet

A player who checks retains his cards. If someone bets, when the action returns, a player who previously checked has the preceding three choices.

To check and then raise when the betting gets back to you is called a "check-raise". If you check with the intention of raising, you of course risk the possibility that no one will bet.

Fifth Street

Once the betting for fourth street is completed and everyone has had an opportunity either to check or match the total betting for the round, the dealer deals each active player a third up card (fifth street). Players still in the hand participate in a round of betting. The bets on fifth street are always at the higher level, and will remain so for the rest of the betting rounds.

Sixth Street

Once the betting for fifth street is completed, the dealer deals each active player a fourth up card (sixth street). Players still in the hand participate in a round of betting. Again, these bets are at the higher level.

Seventh Street

Once the betting for sixth street is completed, the dealer deals each active player a final card, face down (seventh street or the river card). Players still in the hand participate in a final round of betting. The betting proceeds exactly the same as in the three previous rounds.

(In the rare event that all eight players remain in the hand at this point, there would not be enough cards for each player to receive an individual card. Should this occur, a single "common" card is placed in the middle of the table face up which every player is free to use.)

Showdown

Once the betting for seventh street is equalized, the betting is over, and there is a showdown. Remaining active players show their cards, and the player making the best low hand using five of their seven cards wins. The software determines the winning hand, and awards the pot to the holder of that hand.

Players do not show their cards simultaneously. The showdown takes place in a specified order.

The software shows the cards of the first player to have bet or the last player to have raised in any previous round. (If there was no betting on the river, the cards of the first player to have bet or the last player to have raised on sixth street would be shown first on the showdown, and so on.) If the next active player has a lower hand than the one just shown (or ties it), the software shows his cards. If the next active player does not have a lower hand, the software offers that player a choice. He can show his cards, if he wishes, or he can just get rid of the cards (muck). The software treats each remaining active player in turn the same, either turning over the hand if it is lower than (or tied with) any shown thus far, or offering the choice of showing or mucking, and awards the pot to the best low hand.

Don't worry about inadvertently misreading your hand and accidentally throwing away a winner. As long as you have called to the end, the software awards the pot to the winning hand and reports in the chat box the value of that hand.

If the betting is not equalized on seventh street -- that is, one player bet or raised and no one called, there is no showdown, and the software awards the pot to the player who made the uncalled bet. This is the case on any previous street as well. If it happens on earlier streets, no further cards are dealt, the pot is awarded, and the hand is over.

Sometimes a player runs out of chips before all the betting is over. In such a case, one or more side pots are created, and the software awards appropriate main and side pots. When a player is all in, a bet or raise can be made that is not called, but a showdown still takes place.

See USA allowed Razz Poker Sites.

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