[mshalen]

I was rereading Sklansky on Razz and don't understand the rational for the answer to one of the examples. Any help would be appreciated.

In the example the hands are as follows:
Opponent: XX783
You hold: A2394
Q: What do you do if your opponent bets?
A: Raise because you are either a monster or a small underdog.

I understand if xx are 2 random cards you are a 78/22 favorite. Certainly you are ahead of a bluff. But how often do you see a 7 door card used as a bluff against a 3 when the pot is opened? I would put the odds of this being the situation, and you holding a "monster" as being pretty remote. If you always assume that your opponent has 2 random cards and raise based on this assumption then you will soon be broke.

If your opponent has 2 cards ranked 6 or below, which could be a reasonable holding, then you are a 55/45 dog and you are raising hoping to catch a 5,6 or 7 in the next 2 cards. You also hope that your opponent doesn't catch to improve. I don't understand the reason that you would grow the pot in a situation where you need to catch to possibly get ahead.

In holdem I may raise with a flush or straight draw but this is a semi-bluff and a big part of my potential profit is gained from where I can get my opponent to fold the currently best hand. But in Razz where your board is open to view by all players your 9 upcard defines your hand and your opponent will not fold to a raise, if I was the opponent I would probably reraise.

As a side note: One problem I have with the book is that the examples do not give any information concerning dead cards or previous betting. This information would make the problems much more usefull.