Razz Poker Rules and Hand Rankings

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Razz Poker Rules: Overview

Razz uses the same formula as Seven Card Stud: players are dealt a total of seven cards should they make it all the way to the river, and there are no community cards. To begin with, each player is dealt two face-down 'Hole Cards', and a face-up 'Door Card'. The dealer then deals to each player in turn three more face-up cards, and one more face-down card. The player with the lowest five-card hand takes the pot. The best hand in Razz is A,2,3,4,5; flushes and straights do not of course, mean anything, so A,2,3,4,5 suited and A,2,3,4,5 offsuit will share the pot should they be drawn against each other. One other important thing to remember is that drawing a pair does not affect the value of your hand.

Razz Hand Rankings

When assessing the strength of your Razz hand, it is best to count from your highest card down. Say you have 2694J, look at it like this: J9642. This is because the highest cards in your hand determine how low your hand is... Confused? Take a look at the following examples:

Say both hands have a highest card 8. The pot goes to the player with the next lowest high card. So 8-6-5-4-3 beats 8-7-3-2-A; K-J-9-7-6 beats K-Q-4-2-A and so on.

Likewise, if the highest two cards match, then the pot is decided by the next card: J-9-6-5-3 beats J-9-7-3-2.

Here are the **Razz hand rankings** from A2345 to 23578:
1-10	11-20	21-30	31-40
1) 5432A	11) 7632A	21) 8432A	31) 86532
2) 6432A	12) 7642A	22) 8532A	32) 8654A
3) 6532A	13) 7643A	23) 8542A	33) 86542
4) 6542A	14) 76432	24) 85432	34) 86543
5) 6543A	15) 7652A	25) 8632A	35) 8732A
6) 65432	16) 7653A	26) 8642A	36) 8742A
7) 7432A	17) 76532	27) 8643A	37) 87432
8) 7532A	18) 7654A	28) 86432	38) 8752A
9) 7542A	19) 76542	29) 8652A	39) 8753A
10) 7543A	20) 76543	30) 8653A	40) 87532

The Ante and the Bring-In

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The ante: As with Seven Card Stud, there is no 'blind' in Razz. What we have instead is an ante, a small bet which each player must contribute at the beginning of each hand. Antes serve to build the pot and to increase each player's interest in the hand. Once all the antes have been posted, the dealer then deals each player two face down cards (the pocket cards), then a face-up card (the door). After this comes the first betting round, beginning with the bring-in.

The Bring-In: The bring-in is a mandatory bet which must be made by the player with the highest showing door card (not the lowest as in Stud). The amount of the bring-in is usually half the smaller stake amount, but the player making the bring-in has the option to increase this bet to the full small stake. Subsequent to the bring-in, all players must call, raise (complete) or fold to the bring-in bet. Betting begins to the bring-in player's left, and continues clockwise. If the bring-in opens with half the low stake, the first raise will 'complete' the bring-in, raising it to the lower stake limit. Any raises after that must be the lower stake amount. For example, at a $5/$10 table, if a player brings-in with $2, and you want to raise him, you must raise $3, completing the bring-in. Now, any player that raises after you must raise $5.

From Third Street to The Showdown

Third Street: After the Bring-In bets have all been called, each player is dealt another face up card, called 'Third Street.' Unlike in Stud, if a pair is showing for any hand on Third Street, that player does not have the option of doubling his/ her bet amount.

Fourth Street: Another face up card is dealt to each player, and high hand opens the betting round. For these last three rounds, the bet amount is now the higher stake ($10 in a $5/$10 game).

Fifth Street: The fourth face up card is dealt to each player, and high hand opens the betting round. For these last three rounds, the bet amount is now the higher stake ($10 in a $5/$10 game).

The River: The final card is dealt to each player face down, making a total of 7 cards in each hand. Now the final betting round begins. The River bets are still limited to the upper stake. ($10 in a $5/$10 game).

The Showdown: The last player to bet or raise during the final betting round (the river) will show their hand first. If all the players checked through (nobody bet) on the river, the player to the left of the dealer will show first. The remaining players' hands will be automatically revealed moving clockwise, unless a hand is weaker (ie contains higher cards) than the winning hand shown. In this case, you'll have the option to show, or muck (fold without showing). The lowest five-card hand takes the pot.

Note: It sometimes happens in Razz that all 8 players remain in the game by the river. Of course, there are not enough cards in the deck for each player to have seven cards (not most decks, anyway!). When all eight players remain involved in the hand, the dealer will turn over a single community card in the middle of the table - this card is then used by all 8 players to fill their hand.

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