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Razz is a 7-card stud variant, and one of the most popular “lowball” poker games, in which the object is to make the worst possible poker hand. Ace-to-five low rules are used, meaning that Aces are always low (a value of ‘one’) and straights and flushes are ignored — so the best hand would be A-2-3-4-5 (five-high).
Razz is rare, unless you go to a full-featured
online poker room like PokerStars.
After the ante (minimum bet contributed by all), each player gets two face-down cards and a face-up card. The player with the highest card bets first (the bring-in), and ties are settled by suit value (from highest to lowest: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs…so an Ace of clubs would be the safest card to show).
During the next round, another face-up card is dealt, and each player bets normally starting with the one who has the lowest hand showing. However, when the fifth card is dealt, the betting doubles as each player can now make a full hand with their cards (lowest showing hand again starts the bet). A sixth card is also dealt face-up, so each player can see a total of four of the other players’ cards (but with two each still in the hole). Once again, but for the last time, the lowest showing hand begins the bet.
Full Tilt’s version of Razz – a lighthearted look
to go with a unique poker variant
The final round (the River) is very different. In the event that the maximum of 8 players are playing (and none have folded before the final round), the dealer will deal the final card face-up into the middle and all players will share this as a community card (similar to Hold’em). Otherwise, each player gets a final hole card. The player who started the bet on the sixth round will also begin on this round.
A high amount of bluffing can be utilized due to the number of hole cards, so a player with a low card showing may be able to steal the ante and bring-in by raising on the first round and getting everyone else to fold. Likewise, two to three cards out of of each players’ possible final hands will always be visible to everyone, so simply having the best (or “worst”) hands is no guarantee of winning.