See also
Razz is Seven card stud poker where the best low hand wins. Must have two players at the least. As in standard Seven card stud, every participant is deal a total of seven cards, 3 concealed and 4 upcards.
At the end of the game, the player will have 7 cards and he will have to play 5 from them to create a combination. Aces are low, and flushes and straights have no effect on combination denomination. The lowest but the strongest achievable hand is A-2-3-4-5.
There are some clear rules of combination development that are observed in Razz Poker.
- Aces are always the smallest card
- Straights and Flushes don’t count against you
- Maximum of 8 players can play.
- Best possible Hand: A-2-3-4-5
- The 8 or better rule don’t utilize
These hands are ranked from least powerful (1 = will rarely win - have to fold this), to strongest (12 = the nuts):
3rd Street. This is an ante game, with all participants paying some amount to play the game. There is no dealer in the game. Each player receives 2 face-down cards (that only owners can see) and one open card, so called door card. The person with the highest card must “bring it in”, or begin the round of betting with either a small or a large bet. Other participants then can either call this bet or raise it.
Second round of betting - 4th street. Once the initial round of betting is finished another up card is dealt to each person. The round is started by the player with the worst cards. The maximal bet that he can make is the lower limit. The player has the right to bet or check. The Game proceeds in a clockwise until all gamblers have called or folded.
Third round of betting - 5th Street. Each person gets additional card face up. The similar betting arrangement as Round 2 applies, except that the completion and bring-in bet has risen now. Three raises are allowed in the betting round, restricted to the amount of the completion bet.
Fourth round of betting - (6th Street). A sixth open card is dealt up to each player, followed by the Fourth round of betting.
Fifth round of betting - 7th Street. The open card is dealt. It will still follow the same procedure with the 5th and 6th street. The seventh street becomes extremely important since it will be the last card before the showdown. Just in instance 8 opponents are still in the game after the Sixth street, players will have to distribute the community cards placed in the middle of the table.
Showdown. Players open their cards at this level. The player with the lowest combination wins the pot. Straights and Flushes don’t count against the players low cards. For instance, A-2-3-4-5 suited has the equal power as A-2-3-4-5 offsuited.