Razz Poker is one of the newest additions to some of the biggest online poker rooms and is a poker game that is very similar to seven card stud. The only difference really between the two poker games is that in Razz the goal is to have the lowest hand possible and not the highest hand possible. One of the most important things to remember when you’re playing Razz is that straights and flushes have no value and also that pairs don’t help you at all.
The goal in Razz is to make the lowest hand possible using five unique cards and no pairs. If you need to use a pair in your hand then any hand with five unique cards would beat it. When you play Razz you should never play a hand where you need to use a pair because you’ll have no chance of winning the hand.
If you haven’t realized yet the best hand you can have in Razz is an A/2/3/4/5 because aces are always considered to be low in this poker game. To start the hand every player is dealt three cards in Razz so you should be able to tell right off of the bat if you have a hand worth pursuing. If you don’t have at least one card fewer than 5 and another under 8 then you shouldn’t really even play the hand. You should raise the pot when you’re dealt 2-3 cards that are fewer than 5 and unique because you have a great shot at winning the hand.
When you get dealt one or more face cards in your first three cards you should fold your hand because you won’t really have a shot at winning. The only way you would play this type of hand is if you plan on bluffing at the pot. One way to bluff in Razz when you don’t have a good hand is when your face up cards are low and your face down cards are high. With low face up cards your opponents can only assume you have low cards face down as well and if they don’t have a good hand then they will generally fold as long as you don’t do it too often. Another time you can bluff when you’re playing Razz is when your opponents have high cards face up because generally it means they won’t have a good hand.
You need to be a very tight poker player when you play Razz Poker and only play the best of hands because you’ll have trouble winning if you don’t. With up to eight players being allowed to play on one table there is always generally one player with a good hand and you don’t want to rush anything. You’ll eventually be dealt a hand worth betting and since most Razz players are still new to the game you should be able to double your stack up. Razz is a fun change from all of the other common poker games and a lot of players have been trying it out as an alternative to other games such as Holdem, Omaha and Seven Card Stud.