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razz poker - 7 card stud lowball
Updated In February, 2012 - Razz poker is the rarest of the three seven card stud poker games. It dates back to the riverboat casino days but was never as popular as seven card stud. Razz is a lowball poker game. This means that you are trying to obtain the lowest hand possible. This throws many players off because it goes against their instincts. nothing is worse than getting a starting hand like (A-A) - A, or any 3 of a kind. A hand like this in seven card stud poker or seven card stud hi-lo would likely win you a lot of money. In razz poker it is an automatic fold. Many stud poker players shun Razz because the action is so slow. Out of all the major poker games razz poker has the lowest 4th street percentage (flop percentage). This basically means that the action is very slow. In a slow paced game like Razz you will likely only stay in til the end of the hand around 5 hands out of a 100. you will spend around 75% of your time stealing blinds from each other. When two or more players get a starting hand that consists of three low cards that is when the action gets interesting. where to play razz poker?
Unlike seven card stud and stud hilo, razz is not offered at a majority of poker rooms. 99% of the rooms that do offer razz don't have enough traffic to maintain more than one or two small stakes ring tables. The two poker rooms listed below each has a healthy razz poker community and are home to the most and largest razz poker tournaments online.
- 2011 Full Tilt Poker review - $600 bonus + freerolls, U.S. players welcome.
- 2011 Absolute Poker review - $500 bonus + freerolls, U.S. players welcome.
razz poker rules
Razz poker uses the exact same ante system and dealing setup as stud and stud hl. The only difference is the objective. You want the lowest hand possible in razz poker. Straights and flushes will not count against you so the best possible hand is an ace through five straight. This is called a wheel. The player with the highest up card at the start of a hand will be forced to put the bring-in in the pot. This is a forced bet to get the action going.
