Quick Razz Primer

Dante1126 · #1 08-20-2006, 01:19 AM

With HORSE catching on lately a lot of ppl are asking about Razz and Hi/Lo and it seems (on Razz especially) there's very little to go on. Here' s a quick Razz Primer I wrote for a friend who had absolutely no understanding of the game. Included are some cut and paste bits from a blog post by the Ante Up! podcasters.

Also, the Razz section of "Play Poker Like the Pros" is decent, and of course Sklansky wrote an essay on the game in "Sklansky on Poker." Hope it helps, and please feel free to add or correct. Remember it is intended as only a beginner's guide:

Razz Primer

Rules: You need to make the lowest or "worst" five-card hand, and straights and flushes don't count against you. The best hand is 5-4-3-2-A, known as a wheel. You can figure out the values of hands from there, such as 6-4-3-2-A being the next best hand and so on. So if you have a 9-4-3-2-A and someone has a 9-8-3-2-A, you win because you're playing a 9-4 and he's playing a 9-8. In this example, your 9-4 would be considered a SMOOTH 9-low and the 9-8 would be called a ROUGH 9-low because it's not the best 9-low possible.

TIPS
* I believe in the initial stages of learning this game, as with most games, tight is right. Don't play a hand that doesn't have three to an 8-low. And, ideally, you'd want that 8 to be concealed. If the highest card in your hand is concealed you have a much more powerful hand because of its deception. And if you're playing tight, as I suggest, then you really don't want to start with anything less than three to a seven. And, believe it or not, there are times when should you even FOLD three to a seven. When? If a lot of the cards you need are exposed; when you have to call two bets cold; or when it's a rough 7, like 7-6-5 or 7-6-2.

* People will often say position in stud games is not important, and they couldn't be more wrong. It almost always determines the strength of your hand and your play. For instance, you may have a 9 showing to start a hand. Everyone folded to you in fourth position and there are nothing but kings, queens, jacks and 10s behind you. At this point you want to complete the bet and force the other players to either be perfect in the hole or to fold. You have a very powerful hand at that point regardless of what you have in the hole. On the other hand, say you're second to act with an 8 showing and nothing but Aces, 2s, 4s, 5s, and 6s behind you. Your starting card is better than the 9 in the previous hand, but your position is horrible and it's a clear fold because there are a bunch of better cards to act after you.

* Look at the other cards on the board. This tip is true of all stud games, but in Razz it's much easier because you don't have to keep track of suits. In stud and stud hi/lo, if you or your opponents are going for a flush, you'll have to keep track of how many cards in your suit are out. Same for straights, you have to keep track of the ranks as well. In Razz, only the numbers count baby! If a lot of the cards you need are out already, you might want to consider folding. Also, if the cards YOU hold ARE out then that's called being duplicated, and that's a good thing. It's not like counterfeiting in hold 'em, which is bad. In this case, duplicating is good because the likelihood of your cards pairing you up or turning into a set grows thinner.

* If someone is playing an 8 or a 9 door card, it's more likely that he's PERFECT in the hole, that's to say he probably had two to a wheel in the hole or very close. Now, I may be giving some players too much credit here, but it definitely is likely he's not playing with a pair or 7-8-9 at that point. Which brings me to my next point, if he's playing a higher door card like an 8, if he gets a seven on fourth street, the likelihood that he paired that seven is remote since, like I said, he's probably perfect. However, if he gets an ace, two, or three, he may have paired those cards since he likely had two of them in the hole to consider his 8 playable. At this point it's up to you how you feel about your hand vs. his.

* If you're last to act, and it's just you and the bring-in bet (which is almost always paint), be sure to raise every time. You don’t want to give the bring-in a free card even if you have a powerful 3-card hand. There are two reasons for this: (1) He'll generally fold because he'd have to be perfect in the hole and still hope for you to miss and (2) If you give him a free card he may just get a perfect card for free and you could draw a higher card than his door card and then you’re off to the races. Make him pay to see another card every time. They will fold more times than not and it's always a profitable play because there are antes and his bring-in bet out there for the taking.

* Take a good look at the hands out there on fifth street. It's here where you know if you're leading or not. There's no deception. If someone has a K showing and all of your cards are under a king, you're leading. It's not like stud where he could have two kings in the hole for trips that beat your aces-up. At fifth street you know where you're at.

JohnnyFX · #2 08-20-2006, 01:38 AM

Very nice. I especially like the emphasis on position, which I consider very important in Razz.

Along those lines, the only thing I'd add is that if no one has raised and you are definitely playing your hand, you should usually complete, if just to get the bring-in out.
There's been more then one time I've brought it in with a totally unplayable hand, and the other players limp-checked until I was ahead.

Foucault · #3 08-20-2006, 08:18 AM

Thanks for posting this, it's much appreciated.

Hattifnatt · #4 08-20-2006, 08:30 AM

Good post,

If its HU on 5th street and I know I have the "best" hand (ie he have a J showing and I have 5 to a ten) at the moment, is it nearly always correct to just bet and raise until he calls or the betting is capped?

What about 6th street?

bobman0330 · #5 08-20-2006, 01:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Good post,

If its HU on 5th street and I know I have the "best" hand (ie he have a J showing and I have 5 to a ten) at the moment, is it nearly always correct to just bet and raise until he calls or the betting is capped?

What about 6th street?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Depending on the cards that are out, a draw to a 6 will be a clear favorite over a 9 or a rough 8. Also, a draw in that spot has a huge playing advantage over something like (34)29T

Dante1126 · #6 08-20-2006, 01:47 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Good post,

If its HU on 5th street and I know I have the "best" hand (ie he have a J showing and I have 5 to a ten) at the moment, is it nearly always correct to just bet and raise until he calls or the betting is capped?

What about 6th street?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Depending on the cards that are out, a draw to a 6 will be a clear favorite over a 9 or a rough 8. Also, a draw in that spot has a huge playing advantage over something like (34)29T

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly, but as with any Stud game be sure to notice any cards that are out. The other day I folded a (65)7 b/c I was second to act and nothing but wheel cards were left behind me to act. In other words, most cards I needed to improve were gone.

Dante1126 · #7 08-20-2006, 02:04 PM

Wanted to make a quick edit on credit. Looks the stuff I added for my friend after the blog post I copied isn't there. I just straight copy and pasted out of my Word file so maybe I didn't save it right. This post is actually all a strategy written by the Ante Up! podcasters which if you're more interested you can find at: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/poker/

Its a great podcast on poker each week and we have a nice community of listeners with our own forum and poker night Thursday's on FTP.

scottc25 · #8 08-20-2006, 09:31 PM

Good post

A couple of things I would add:

If you are starting out just play with three to a 7 low. You can add three to an e low depending on the other up cards. I definately do not play three to an 8 low if I see a board of 4,4,3,a, etc. As new player go along they will get the feel of when to play an 8 low or even a 9 low.

Also in Razz dont even bother keeping track of anything above an 8.

Hattifnatt · #9 08-22-2006, 05:49 AM

Is it ever worth (if new to the game) to take one card of with something like A2T? For example if they three players already have called the bring-in bet.

scottc25 · #10 08-22-2006, 07:57 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Is it ever worth (if new to the game) to take one card of with something like A2T? For example if they three players already have called the bring-in bet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Depending on the board cards behind you and ahead of you. Keep in mind that if you call the bring-in everybody is probably going to know what you have.

I hate having to hit 3 of 4 perfect cards though.