Online poker - How to play Razz. If you've already been playing some online poker, I'm sure you've complained about the good luck that other players have and how you get only dead cards. Well, if you're a notorious unlucky player, you'll love Razz. Because in Razz, it's not the best hand that wins it's the worst possible! Razz is a variation of Seven Card Stud and, as mentioned before, the winning hand is actually the lowest one.
The best possible Razz hand you can have is "the wheel" or A-2-3-4-5, which is the best hand in other games as well, like Omaha Hi-Lo. The interesting thing is that there are no straights and flushes in Razz which help you make your winning hand. The betting structure is like that of the 7 Card Stud: everybody antes up, then the players receive two cards face down and a card face up.
A 4th, 5th and 6th cards are received face up all followed by a round of betting. Finally, the 7th card is received face down and there is a last round of betting. As you can see there are numerous points in the game where the pot can grow to a pretty juicy size so, especially if you're a beginner, try to play a low limit first before you jump in with the big guys. Being that there are so many opportunities to bet, there are also more opportunities to bluff. Say your card facing down is a 9 and the cards facing up are 2-3-4-9. Even though you have a pair, which isn't that good in Razz, you can still make a bet and your opponent is likely to fold.
Razz requires the players to put in an ante. An ante is a small forced bet in the beginning of the game that makes the pot grow bigger and, therefore, creates action. The amount is about a 5th of the lowest bet. That is, if you're playing $1-$2, your ante will be $0.20. After everyone has put their antes, the players will receive the first set of three cards. Remember, there is only one card face up for everyone to see it. The player with the highest card will have to "bring in" as they call it. The bet is 1/2 of the low bet, so, again, following the above example, if you're playing Razz $1-$2, you will have to bring in 50 cents.
Of course, you also have the choice to fold. So remember, if you're interested in getting started playing Razz, please do it online for fun money. That way you'll get the hang of it and risk losing nothing before you move in for the money! Have fun at the tables!
