What is Razz Poker? An absolute guide on how to play razz

 Razz Poker 

Do you want to play a game of online poker where you can win with low-cards? Then razz poker is the game for you!  To get the best hand in razz poker, you need to have low cards. This online poker game is also a part of the famous H.O.R.S.E tournaments held by the World Series of Poker. If you are also intrigued by this game and want to know more about its rules and how to play it, you should read below:

Razz Poker Rankings

Before you learn the rules of the game, you should know about its rankings. Razz poker is a low ball game where the lowest hand wins, but it differs from other low ball games due to the following reasons:

•  Straights and flushes will not count in any razz poker strategy.
• Aces are considered the lowest cards in razz poker and are good cards to have.

The best hand in razz poker is Wheel A, 1, 2, 3, 4,5.

An important thing to remember about the rankings in a razz poker game is that when you have a low hand like A,1,2, 3,4, 5, the value of the highest card in your hand will decide the game. To explain this further, let’s take a look at two players:

• In this case, player 1 will win the game because his highest card is 6, whereas Player 2’s highest card is 8. Thus, player 2 will lose the game even though he has the lowest card, which is the ace. 
• Also, the highest card’s value will also name your razz poker hands. For instance, player 1’s hand will be called Six-low, and Player 2’s hand will be called Eight-low.
• The value of the high card will also matter in naming the hand if two players have the same card. For instance, if both players 1 and 2 in the above scenario had the 8 card, the next card would count. 
• For example, in the above case, Player 1’s hand would be named Eight-five-low and Player 2’s hand would be named Eight-seven-low and Player 1 would be the winner.

Creating A Hand In Razz Poker

Now, let us understand how cards are dealt in razz poker:

• You will be dealt three cards in the first round, out of which two will be facing downwards, and one will be facing upwards.
• The downward cards are called down cards, and the ones facing upwards are called upcards. 
• The upcards will give you an insight into your opponent’s possible hands.
• At the end of the game, each player will have seven cards, out of which four will be upcards, and three will be down cards. The format of this is (dd)uuuu(d).
• This means you can see four of your opponent's upcards and try to guess their hands.
• The upcards are called a player’s board and you should compare your own hand with your opponent’s board to see if you have a chance of winning. 

Razz Poker Rules

Let us now understand the rules of the game and then learn how to play razz poker.

Rule 1- Bets are determined by the upcards

The upcard determines who places the bets in each round. In the first round, the player with the highest upcard will start the betting. In the subsequent rounds, the player with the lowest upcard will have to start the betting.

Rule 2- Each player has to pay the ante before every round

• Before you are dealt your cards, you have to place your ante. 
• The antes have to be paid by all players in each round of razz poker. 
• The ante amount is defined in a limited betting game. 
• For instance, if you are playing in a fixed betting limit game, your ante could be 0.15. 
• This is the amount you will have to pay in each round.

Rule 3- Limited betting games have a small and big bet

• If you are playing a limited betting game, you will have a small bet and a big bet. 
• The small bet is a fixed value that determines how much you raise the bets in each round. For instance, if the small bet is $1, in each round, you can raise the bets in increments of $1.
• The big bet is a fixed value that determines how much you can raise the bets, like in the later rounds of razz poker. For instance, if the big bet is $2, you can raise the bets in increments of $2.
• The small bet, big bet and ante are the three values or stakes that you place in a game and are clearly defined in a fixed betting razz poker game.

How To Play Razz Poker

Once you have understood the rules of the game, you can learn how to play razz poker. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you:

• First round 

•  The rounds of betting in razz poker are called streets and are determined by how many cards you get in each round. So, in the first round, you will be dealt three cards, and this round is called the Third Street.

• Players will be dealt two downcards and one upcard on Third Street. 
• Then, the player with the highest upcard will start the betting with a bring-in.
• This bring-in is already defined in limited betting games and falls somewhere between the small bet and the ante.
• Once the first player bets his bring-in, the other players can either check or complete.
• In check, the players will only match the bring-in amount and not raise.
• In complete, if the second player likes his hand, he can raise the bring-in amount to the small bet. For instance, if the bring-in amount is $0.50 and the small bet is $1, then the second player can raise the bring-in amount to $1.
• The subsequent players can then further raise the bet by increments of $1 or fold.

• Second round 

• Once the first round of betting is complete, the players are dealt another upcard each.
• This second round is called the Fourth Street because each player has four cards.
• In Fourth Street, the razz poker hand rankings are defined by the upcard. 
• The player with the lowest upcard will start the betting in this round. If two players have the same upcard, then the second upcard will be considered.
• In this round of betting, players can only make increments of the small bet value. For instance, if the small bet value is $1, then all the players can raise the bets in increments of $1.

• Round Three

• In the third round, players are dealt another upcard, and thus the round is called Fifth Street as each player has five cards in total.
• Again, the player with the lowest upcard starts the betting, but this time, you can do it in increments of the big bet.
• For instance, if the big bet is $2, all the players can raise the bets in increments of $2.

• Fourth round 

• In this round, the players are again dealt another upcard and have six cards in total, so it is called the Sixth street.
• In this round, the players can again make increments in big bet amounts or fold.

• Fifth round  

• The fifth round is the last round of betting, and each player is dealt a seventh card which is a downward card. Thus now each player has three downward cards and four upcards.
• Players can start betting, and increments are done in terms of the big bet, and players can either fold or raise.
• If there are two players left, then there is a showdown to determine the winner.
• This is done by showing both their hands and deciding who has the lower hand by seeing the value of their highest low-card.
• For instance, if Player 1 has 3,45,6,7, then 7 will determine if they win the showdown or not. If Player 2 has 4,5,7,8,9, then Player 1 will win the game as 9 is higher than 7.

Special Considerations 

Here are some special considerations about the razz poker game that you should know:

1. Tie-breaker

• If you and your opponent both have the same upcard on Third Street, the suits are considered. The suits are ranked in the order of Clubs< Diamonds< Hearts<Spades.
• If you have a club card and your opponent has a heart card, then your opponent will have to start the bring-in amount. 
• This is because, in Third Street, the player with the highest upcard has to start the betting.
• Since hearts are ranked higher than clubs, your opponent will have to place the first bet.

1. Fewer cards 

• Razz poker online can be played with up to 8 players, but if all eight players reach the last round, there will be fewer cards. 
• This is because a deck only has 52 cards. 
• If all eight players do make it to the last round, then one card is put down on the table. 
• This becomes the last card for each player, who can then make their hand with this card.

1. Fixed limit bets

• In some razz poker online games, there is a fixed limit on how many raises you can make in one round. 
• For example, if the fixed limit is one bet and two raises, and Player 1 has made one bet in Third Street, Player 2 may raise the bet.
• Player 1 can respond with a raise, but this will be the last raise. 
• Player 2 will have to either match this bet (call) or fold. Of course, in the next round, the bets are reset automatically.

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