How to Play Razz Poker

Razz is 7 Card Stud where the best low hand wins, played with two to eight players. As in regular 7 Card Stud poker rules, every player is dealt a total of seven cards, three of them face down, and the other four face up.

Razz Poker Rules: The Objective

When playing in Razz poker, your objective is to make the best possible five card low hand, using any combination of the seven cards you are dealt. Aces are always low, and straights and flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand. The lowest possible hand is A2345.

Rules Of Poker: Forced Bets

Ante

7 Card Stud is normally played with an ante that is approximately 1/5 of the low limit bet size. Every player must ante up before the hand begins. The ante does not count towards any future bets.

Bring in

After the initial deal when every player has 1 card showing, the person with the highest card must "bring in", which means he must place the low limit bet size in the pot. When determining the bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order being spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs (in descending order). If the highest visible cards are the king of spades and the king of clubs at the beginning of the hand, the king of spades would have the bring-in. This bet counts as your first round bet, so as long as nobody raises, you won't have to place any more money in the pot to see the next card.

Razz Rules Of Poker - Betting Rounds

There are five rounds of betting. In fixed limit Razz, all bets and raises must be equal to either the low limit, or high limit bet size, depending on what round it is. In the first two rounds, all bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size. In the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, all bets must be equal to the high limit bet size. If, for example, you're playing 3-6 razz, all bets in the first two rounds will be in increments of 3 dollars, and all bets in the last three rounds will be in increments of 6 dollars. A maximum of 3 raises are allowed per betting round.

1. 3rd street

Two cards are dealt face down to every player, followed by another card face up. The player with the highest card must bring in, by betting 1/2 of the low limit bet. He may choose to raise by betting the full low limit bet. Play proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player choosing to fold, call, or raise. All bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size.

2. 4th street

A fourth card is dealt face up to every player. The player with the lowest hand showing (at this point, the lowest possible would be ace-two) is the first to act. He may choose to fold, check, or bet. If two or more players are tied for the lowest hand, the one closest to the dealer's left will be the first to act. Play proceeds clockwise around the table as before. Unlike regular 7 card stud, an open pair does not affect the betting limit. All bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size.

3. 5th street

A fifth card is dealt face up to every player. Play proceeds as in the previous round, with the lowest hand betting first, except now all bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size.

4. 6th street

A sixth card is dealt face up to every player. Play proceeds as in the previous round. All bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size.

5. 7th street

A seventh and final card is dealt face down to every player. Play proceeds as in the previous round. All bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size. In the rare event that all eight players remain in the hand at this point, there would not be enough cards for each player to receive another one. If that occurs, instead of every player receiving a card face down, a single card is placed in the middle of the table face up which every player is free to use.

Showdown

Anyone who has not folded after the last round of betting will now have the option of showing their hand in hopes of taking down the pot. The person who bet last is the first to show their hand, and then it proceeds clockwise from there, with each remaining player either choosing to show their hand, or muck it. Often times a player will muck their hand if they aren't going to win the pot, and don't want their opponents to see what they played.

Community Card

Razz tables can seat 8 players. Since each player that remains in the hand until the river receives 7 cards, it is possible that there will not be enough cards remaining in the 52-card deck to deal all players the seventh card. When this happens, a single community card is dealt in the center of the table face up and all active players can use the community card to build their lowest hand.