I wrote this a while ago as part of my blog on another forum out there. It starts off very basic because it was posted for general discussion - not in a specific Stud forum like this. I think it's good, but not great. All the same I'm willing to throw it out for discussion.



First the disclaimers and disclosure etc: The following is my humble opinion. More accurately, it's mostly a transcription of the hand written notes I made while studying 'Sklansky on Razz' (part of the book 'Sklansky on Poker') mixed with a little info gleaned from online sources and personal experience.

Basic game play

Before getting into details, it would be useful to ensure everyone understands the game and it's structure. Razz is 7 Card Stud Lowball, A-5. The lowest 5 card hand wins, with Aces playing low only, and ignoring straights or flushes. The game is played limit, with antes to start, a forced bring in of half the SB for the worst (highest) card on 3rd street to start the action. The next player to act can either call the half bet, or raise to a full bet ('completing' the bet, and then betting and raising is in regular SB increments), and the bets double to the BB from 5th street on. From 4th street on the player with the best/lowest board acts first.

Remember this is a limit game, SB=Small Bet, BB=Big Bet, not Small or Big Blinds as in a PL or NL game. In a 2/4 stud game the antes should be 25 cents, the forced 'bring-in' half bet is $1, the SB is $2 and the BB is $4. This is the structure I'll use for all examples.

More details here: http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/games/razz/

Everyone knows that in stud games each player starts with 2 down cards, and one face up card right? Then a 4th, 5th, and 6th cards are dealt to each player remaining face up with a betting round after each. These are referred to as 'streets', as in '6th street'. The 7th card is face down, and can be referred to as the river as in Hold'em, or just '7th street'. Stud games are played with 8 players at most, because if every player stayed in for all 7 cards we would need 56 cards. Now in thousands of hands I've never seen that happen, but theoretically if it did, the dealer would place one card face up in the middle of the table for 7th street and each player would use that card for their 7th.

Now can you see where Hold'em came from? Imagine 10 guys sitting around years ago, wanting to play some poker together but having too many for a single stud or draw game, yet not wanting to play as 2 tables of 5. So someone gets the bright idea of still dealing everyone their 2 face down cards, but then dealing the rest of the cards face up in the middle, so there are enough cards for everyone to play

In more than one place I've read that Razz is the simplest of all poker games (Stud Hi and Hold'em being the hardest). I think that is because someone's best possible hand is always exposed in Razz, making your decisions easier. In Stud Hi, someone can start rolled up (three of a kind in the first 3 cards) and you'll never know that your two pair is no good. Heck, if they start rolled up it's entirely possible (yes I've been there) to have your flush beaten by a full house from a guy without even a pair showing. Imagine:

Your [Kh Th]2h 5c 6h 3d[8h] (the square brackets indicate the cards that are down)
His [Jc Jh]Jd Tc 8c 9s[9h]

You think he has a middle straight. Your board shows nothing scary, but you've rivered a flush. In fact you hope he thinks you have a small straight (which is entirely possible with the cards you are showing) and he has a bigger straight, so you plan on taking a lot of his money. By the time he reraises you for the 3rd time you start to wonder, so you just call, then sob as he takes a huge pot.


In Razz, all you have to do is imagine that your opponent’s hidden cards are low cards and you know the best possible hand he could have. You don't have to wonder if they are straight cards, flush cards, or hidden pairs. In high games you can win a hand with just 3 cards (if your 3 of a kind is the best hand for example). In lowball games all 5 cards are always a factor since your worst/highest card has to play - in fact it's the most important card (remember even though your 8432A has smaller smallest cards than my 76543, I win because it's the highest small card that matters (7 beats 8 ), not the lowest (A vs. 3)).

You can usually factor out his two highest cards showing, and figure out his best hand. Here are some examples:

[XX]49J8[X] - dump the 9 & J, and this guys hand is an 8 high. At the very best he has 8-432A.
[XX]66Q9[X] - the second 6 is counterfeit (no pairs in lowball games!), forcing the 9 to play, so his best hand is a 9-6XXX.
[[XX]2638[X] - this is a scary one. He could possible have started [A4]2 and have a nice 6432A, or even rivered a 5 for a wheel.


Starting Hands

Obviously we're looking to make a wheel, so the closer our three starting cards are to that the better. Depending on position and the other cards visible, 8's (as in an 8 as your highest card) or maybe good 9's (good meaning although 9 is your highest, your other two cards are very low - also called a smooth 9) are as high as you would go for a starting hand.

If we were to categorize the starting hands, we'd do it like this:

Great - any three wheel cards, A23 obviously being the best start
Good - 6 high, or 7-4 high
OK - rough 7 (rough meaning your kickers aren't that great) or smooth 8
Poor - smooth 9 or rough 8

***This is the most important concept for all Stud versions, and if there is any one thing that separates the winners from the losers, this is it – LOOK AROUND AT THE CARDS THAT ARE OUT. Stud is a game of live cards, so pay attention***

You’re looking at two things. Most obviously look at what your opponents have – if they have all started with face cards and you have a 5 showing, all you have to do is raise and they all will fold (except the total morons, but we’re going to proceed under the assumption that your opponents are reasonable, and a 2/4 they better be or they go broke fast). Don’t lament this result – you may have has a great hand like [A2]5, but you can also raise in this situation with [7J]5. In 2/4 there is $2 in antes, plus the $1 bring in to start the pot, so your raise to $2 should win you $3. You’re probably a good player if you can make $10 an hour at 2/4 (2.5 BB/hr), so be happy you just got a third of that.

The second, less obvious thing you are looking at is how the cards out affect your cards. Suppose you have a reasonable starting hand like [57]4. Your worst card, the 7, is hidden which is always a good thing, and your other two cards are low. But, you really can’t take any cards higher and still expect to be a favourite, so you really want to catch As, 2s, 3s and 6s. Any two of those makes you a good hand, catching any three of them makes you a monster. You also do not want to catch cards that pair what you have, especially a 4 which would make the pair exposed for everyone to see. So if you look around and see the other seven exposed cards are K, 9, 7, 4, 2, J, and a T, you like it. Two of your cards are dead (a good thing in lowball), one of those is your doorcard 4, and only one of the cards you want is gone. Contrast that to K, A, 5, 2, A, T, 9. Now three of the cards you want are out, only one of the cards you have is dead, and all your doorcard 4s are still out there. That’s a bad thing – it doesn’t make this an unplayable hand, but it’s not as strong as it was.

Accordingly, we can modify our Great, Good, OK and Poor starting hands by factoring in the cards out:
Nice – needed cards are live
Very Nice – cards you hold are dead
WAY Nice – your doorcard is very dead (very = 2 or 3 out).

The last case will be fairly rare, but in general if you meet one of these criteria you can bump your hand up a notch, and if you fail one of the first two, lower it a notch. Meeting or failing two is even more powerful. So from the example above, our [57]4 starts somewhere between OK and good. In the first case, the cards showing make it a definite good hand. In the second case the out cards make it borderline, and even worth folding if you are first to act with several lower cards yet to act (but likely worth limping on a passive table) or playable from late position against weak boards.

Playing your hand on 3rd St

Now that we’ve established our starting hand criteria, most of the work is done. Now how do you play your hand?

Early position – as in any game you can sometime limp with a great hand, both hoping to reraise a raiser, and buying you some image for later on if you limp with medium hands. And as in any other game, it’s risky to play marginal hands from early position.

In the middle be more inclined to play your hand straight forward. Don’t reraise with medium hands – building the pot now makes it correct (because of pot odds) for weaker hands to chase on later streets even if they miss, and you'd rather they be chasing your monsters, not your medium hands.

Late position – depending on the cards showing, if it's folded around to you you’re likely best off raising with any OK or better hand. If you have a [74]5 I would raise because the 7 is hidden, but I would not raise it with the 7 showing when there were smaller cards yet to act. On the other hand, if your doorcard is the lowest card left, as long as it’s 8 or lower you can raise with darn near anything in the hole and expect to win the antes.

If it’s limped to you – limp with OK hands, now there’s some money in the pot to make it worth seeing the next card. If you don’t have a strong hand, be cautious about raising because you may get a reraise from someone slowplaying a monster from EP. If you have a good or great hand, and there are players to act after you, you should raise to force marginal hands out, reducing your risk of being outdrawn. Think about it: if you can play an OK hand after one limper, if you just limp with a Good hand then the next guy can quite reasonably play a Poor hand given the money in the pot (especially if he is last to act and it can’t be raised behind him).

If it’s been raised in front of you – remember the ‘Gap Concept’. It takes a stronger hand to call a raise than it does to make the first raise. If it seems there is little risk of more raises behind you, your good 7s are playable, and maybe smooth hidden 8s (that is an 8 in the hole with 2 other very small cards) at the most. If you know the other players, be aware of who is raising. A first raise in the middle from a fairly loose player means a lot less than an EP raise from an absolute rock. And you’d best have a huge hand if you want to reraise, unless it’s a LP raise that’s a potential steal, then raise with Good hands to isolate.

One last starting hand concept: If you caught the forced bring in half bet with a 9, T or J, but your two hole cards are wheel cards, then you’re OK to call if it comes back to you for only a completion bet (i.e. someone raised from the half $1 bring in to the complete $2 SB). Doubly so against a late raise from someone who may be stealing. If you’re up against only one player you have roughly a 4-1 chance of out flopping him on the next card. If he catches a face card and you get a baby, you may be able to take the pot away on 4th street. If he was stealing with crap in the hole, then a bet from you on 4th will almost certainly take the pot.

And, upon review, a second 'last' concept: most all you Hold'em players are away of positional considerations. These exist only to a tiny extent in Stud games, since where the dealer is becomes irrelevant. Remember the first round of action starts with the worst card out, and after that it's the best cards out that start the action each round. So your position can, and most likely will, change during the hand. Don't overcall a raiser and a few callers with a mediocre hand just because you are last to act on the first round (as you would in hold'em on the button with suited connectors) - there may be other reasons to do this (did I mention the importance of LIVE CARDS!?!), but position is not one of them.