- Lesson: 11
Just A Few Things When Playing Razz
Jennifer Harman
March 28, 2005
The rules:
For those of you who aren't familiar with Razz, it is a game played like 7-card stud.
The twist is that in Razz, the worst hand wins. Straights and flushes don't count for
anything, but pairs are bad. Aces are always low cards. A five-high (or wheel --
remember that straights don't count against you) is the worst -- or I should say the
best -- possible hand for this game. A-2-3-4-5.
Starting hands:
When playing this game, it's important that you start with 3 little cards. You
shouldn't play with any card bigger than an eight in your hand. But there are two
exceptions to this rule.
1. You have a nine showing when the hand is dealt, everyone else's up card is
bigger than a nine, and you have two low cards in the hole. In this case, you have
the best starting hand.
2. You are in steal position with a baby showing, and the remaining player (or even
the remaining two players) has a big card showing. You can often raise in this spot
to steal the antes regardless of what your hole cards are. If somearticle calls, you
hope that their next card (fourth street) is a big card and yours is a baby. If your
opponent catches a baby and you catch big, you should let it go. There's no point in
continuing with the bluff.
Tracking cards:
Are your cards dead? This is another important thing to know when playing Razz.
What do I mean by 'dead card'? A dead card is a card that is no longer in the deck.
You know this because you have seen it in someone else's hand. Keeping track of
the dead cards allows you to know how many of the remaining cards can hurt you,
and how many will improve your hand. For example: your first three cards are 2-5-8.
There are seven other players in the game, and their upcards are: 2, 5, 8, 8, 2, 7, J.
Remember that pairs are bad in Razz. Fortunately, many of the cards that will pair
you are in other players' hands, or 'dead'. Now suppose your opponent is holding 7-
3-A. He needs a lot of the cards that are on the board (dead) to make his hand. The
cards you need to make your hand are still available. In this situation, you are a little
more than a 56% favorite. By tracking cards, you can more accurately make
decisions based on your real equity at any given time.
Jennifer Harman
