Razz is a lowball variant of seven-card stud poker where the objective is to make the lowest possible five-card hand. Dating back to the early 20th century, Razz gained renewed popularity through mixed game formats like H.O.R.S.E.
Razz poker represents one of the oldest and most strategic forms of poker, tracing its origins to the early 20th century when players transitioned from 20-card to 52-card decks. Unlike traditional poker variants where high hands win, Razz challenges players to construct the lowest possible five-card hand from seven dealt cards. This fundamental inversion creates a completely different strategic landscape that rewards patience, hand reading ability, and mathematical precision.
The game experienced a significant resurgence in popularity during the mid-2000s when the World Series of Poker introduced H.O.R.S.E., a mixed game rotation that includes Razz as its R component. This exposure introduced a new generation of players to the nuances of lowball poker and established Razz as a critical skill for well-rounded poker professionals.
Razz is a stud poker variant played exclusively for low hands using ace-to-five rankings. The game accommodates two to eight players, with eight being the standard maximum for practical dealing purposes. Unlike community card games such as Texas Hold'em or Omaha, Razz deals each player individual cards with no shared board, making hand reading more complex and information management crucial.
The defining characteristic of Razz is its lowball objective combined with specific hand evaluation rules. Straights and flushes hold no negative value in Razz, meaning these combinations don't count against your low hand. Aces always play as the lowest card, valued at one. This creates the best possible Razz hand: A-2-3-4-5, commonly called the wheel or bicycle. This hand cannot be beaten, only tied.
Razz typically employs a fixed limit betting structure, though pot-limit and no-limit variants exist in some home games and online formats. The fixed limit structure creates a game of incremental edges where mathematical precision and consistent decision-making over many hands determine long-term success.
Understanding the complete dealing and betting sequence is essential for playing Razz correctly. The game progresses through seven streets, with five distinct betting rounds creating multiple decision points.
Every player posts an ante before cards are dealt, creating the initial pot worth competing for. Ante sizes typically range from 10% to 25% of the small bet in the limit structure being played. After antes are collected, each player receives three cards: two face down (hole cards) and one face up (the door card).
The player showing the highest door card must post the bring-in bet, a mandatory wager usually set at one-third to one-half of the small bet. When determining the highest door card for bring-in purposes, card rank takes precedence, with kings being worst, followed by queens, jacks, and so on down to aces being best. If two players tie with the same rank door card, suit hierarchy breaks the tie: spades highest, then hearts, diamonds, and clubs lowest. The king of spades represents the absolute worst possible door card, guaranteeing the bring-in.
The player posting the bring-in may choose to complete the bet to a full small bet. Action then proceeds clockwise, with each player having the option to fold, call, or raise. On third street, betting occurs in small bet increments.
Each remaining player receives another face-up card. From fourth street onward, the player showing the best (lowest) hand acts first. This represents a significant strategic shift from most poker variants where position remains fixed. The lowest showing hand may check or bet the small bet amount. Action continues clockwise with standard betting options.
Another face-up card is dealt to each player. The betting limit doubles starting on fifth street, moving to the big bet. Again, the lowest showing hand acts first. This street often represents a critical decision point where players must evaluate whether their hand has sufficient potential to continue against the visible cards of opponents.
A fourth face-up card is dealt, giving each player six total cards with four visible to opponents. Betting continues at the big bet limit. The player showing the best low hand initiates action. With only one card to come, hand strength becomes increasingly defined, and strategic decisions center on pot odds and opponent hand ranges.
The final card is dealt face down, giving each player three hidden cards and four exposed cards. The player who opened betting on sixth street acts first on seventh street. After this final betting round, remaining players proceed to showdown, revealing their hands to determine the winner.
Razz hand rankings operate inversely to traditional high poker, but with specific rules that distinguish it from other lowball variants. Understanding these rankings thoroughly is fundamental to making correct decisions.
Hands are evaluated by reading the five lowest cards, starting from the highest card in your low hand and working down. The hand with the lowest high card wins. If high cards tie, the second-highest card determines the winner, and so on. Unpaired hands beat paired hands, and lower pairs beat higher pairs.
The absolute best hand is A-2-3-4-5, called the wheel or bicycle. This hand is unbeatable. The second-best hand is A-2-3-4-6, followed by A-2-3-5-6, and so forth. Any five unpaired cards eight or lower (an eight-low or better) represents a strong hand. Nine-lows are marginal, and ten-lows or worse are generally weak hands that should be played cautiously.
When evaluating a Razz hand, identify your five lowest cards and arrange them from highest to lowest. For example, if you hold 8-7-4-3-2-K-Q, your hand is 8-7-4-3-2, called an eight-seven. The king and queen are irrelevant. If your opponent holds 8-7-5-2-A, they have an eight-seven-five, which beats your eight-seven-four because when the first two cards tie, the third card (5 versus 4) determines the winner, and your 4 is lower.
Pairs significantly damage hand value in Razz. If you hold 7-5-4-2-2-A-K, your best five cards are 7-5-4-2-A, but you must use both the 2 and the A, making your hand a seven-five rather than a seven-four. This concept, called counterfeiting, occurs when you catch a card that pairs one of your low cards, forcing you to use a higher card instead.
Razz follows a structured betting format across multiple streets. Each player receives seven total cards through five betting rounds, with the goal of assembling the lowest five-card combination. The game uses antes and a bring-in bet to initiate action.
Betting begins with the highest door card making a mandatory bring-in bet. Subsequent betting rounds favor the player showing the lowest hand, creating a unique dynamic where weak-looking boards control the action. The betting limits typically double on fifth street.
Successful Razz play requires a different strategic approach than high-hand poker variants. Starting hand selection, awareness of exposed cards, and understanding equity shifts across streets form the foundation of winning play.
The most critical strategic decision in Razz occurs on third street. Premium starting hands contain three unpaired cards eight or lower, with the best hands being three cards to a wheel (A-2-3, A-2-4, A-2-5, A-3-4, etc.). These hands have maximum potential to develop into very strong lows.
Hands with three cards nine or higher should almost always be folded unless you can enter very cheaply from the bring-in position with no raises. Medium-strength starting hands (one nine with two low cards, or three cards ten or lower) require careful consideration based on your door card relative to opponents, the number of players, and visible cards.
Unlike hold'em where only two cards are exposed pre-flop, Razz shows one card per player immediately. This visible information dramatically impacts hand values. If you hold A-2-3 but see three other aces and two deuces exposed among opponents' door cards, your hand loses significant value because cards you need for improvement are depleted from the remaining deck.
Tracking exposed cards, particularly aces through sixes, provides crucial information for calculating your true odds of improvement. If many low cards are visible in opponents' hands, drawing hands decrease in value while made hands increase in relative strength.
On fourth street, players must reassess based on their four-card holding and opponents' boards. Catching a low card (eight or better) while opponents catch high cards dramatically improves your relative position. Conversely, catching a high card or pairing while opponents improve should trigger caution.
Fifth street represents the critical decision point in most Razz hands. With betting limits doubling and only two cards to come, continuing with marginal holdings becomes expensive. Generally, you should have a made eight-low or better, or a strong four-card draw (four unpaired cards seven or lower) to continue facing significant action on fifth street.
On sixth and seventh streets, decisions center primarily on pot odds and hand reading. With most cards exposed, you can often determine with reasonable accuracy whether you hold the best hand or need to improve on the river.
When you show a strong door card (ace, deuce, or three) and opponents show weak door cards (nine or higher), aggressive play can win pots immediately through fold equity. However, experienced opponents will defend appropriately, and overly aggressive stealing against observant players becomes unprofitable.
Razz is fundamentally a mathematical game. On any street, you must compare the pot odds offered against your probability of improving to the best hand. With four cards to a seven-low or better on fifth street facing a bet, you typically have sufficient equity to continue. With four cards to a nine-low, you generally should fold unless pot odds are extremely favorable.
Developing accurate hand ranges for opponents based on their betting actions and exposed cards separates strong Razz players from weak ones. An opponent who called a raise on third street showing a nine likely holds two strong cards in the hole. If they continue betting aggressively as they catch more low cards, you should credit them with a legitimate hand rather than assume they're bluffing.
New Razz players frequently make several costly errors. Playing too many starting hands, particularly those with nines or tens, creates negative expectation situations. Chasing with weak draws when pot odds don't justify continuing wastes bets. Failing to fold made hands when opponents clearly show stronger boards costs money in the long run.
Another common mistake involves playing too passively with strong hands. When you hold a premium hand like a seven-low or better, betting and raising for value is correct, as weaker eight-lows and drawing hands will often call. Missing value bets with strong hands directly reduces win rate.
Razz appears most commonly in mixed game formats, particularly H.O.R.S.E., which rotates between Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight-or-Better. In these formats, Razz proficiency becomes essential for overall success. Many players who excel at hold'em struggle with Razz due to its unique strategic demands, creating profit opportunities for those who study the game seriously.
The World Series of Poker has featured Razz events since the 1970s, with the championship bracelet event attracting top professionals. Online poker sites offer Razz in both cash game and tournament formats, though player pools are smaller than for hold'em variants.
In eight-player Razz games, a mathematical possibility exists for the deck to run out of cards before seventh street completes. With eight players each receiving seven cards, 56 cards would be needed, but only 52 exist in a standard deck. In practice, players fold throughout the hand, making this rare. However, if all eight players remain to seventh street, the dealer burns cards before fourth, fifth, and sixth streets, potentially exhausting the deck.
When insufficient cards remain, the final card is dealt as a single community card placed face-up in the center, which all remaining players use as their seventh card. This unusual situation creates interesting strategic dynamics, as all players receive identical river cards.
Razz poker offers a unique challenge within the poker landscape, rewarding patience, mathematical precision, and disciplined hand selection. While less popular than hold'em variants, Razz remains an essential component of mixed games and provides a refreshing strategic alternative for players seeking to expand their poker repertoire. Mastering Razz requires understanding its inverted hand values, tracking visible cards carefully, and making mathematically sound decisions across all streets. Players who invest time in learning proper Razz strategy gain significant edges in mixed game formats where many opponents lack proficiency in lowball variants.
The best possible Razz hand is A-2-3-4-5, also called the wheel or bicycle. This hand cannot be beaten, only tied if another player also makes a wheel.
No, straights and flushes have no negative value in Razz. They are ignored when evaluating your low hand, so A-2-3-4-5 of the same suit is still the best possible hand.
Razz can be played with two to eight players, with eight being the standard maximum. More than eight players creates potential card shortage issues on seventh street.
Counterfeiting occurs when you catch a card that pairs one of your low cards, forcing you to use a higher card in your five-card hand. For example, if you have 7-4-3-2 and catch another 2, you're counterfeited because you must now use the 7 instead of having a lower hand.
The player showing the highest door card must post the bring-in. Kings are highest, followed by queens, jacks, down to aces being lowest. If two players tie, suit determines bring-in with spades highest, then hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
A good starting hand contains three unpaired cards eight or lower. Premium hands include three cards to a wheel like A-2-3, A-2-4, or A-3-4. Any three cards seven or lower represents a strong starting hand worth playing aggressively.
Play Razz poker at these recommended online poker rooms offering mixed games and H.O.R.S.E. tournaments
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