rules
Razz turns the ranking upside down.
Razz is seven card stud with one change: the worst hand wins. Same deal, same five betting rounds, same face up cards. But at showdown you are looking for the lowest five cards you can make, aces count low, and straights and flushes are ignored entirely. A pair is a problem and three of a kind is a catastrophe.
best to worst
| Rank | Hand | Called |
|---|---|---|
| Best | The wheel, five low | |
| Second | Six four low | |
| Third | Six five low | |
| Playable | Eight low | |
| Weak | King low | |
| Worst | Two pair, which is a disaster here |
Read a razz hand from the top down. Compare the highest card first, and the lower one wins; if they match, move to the next. Eight, seven, four, three, two beats eight, seven, five, two, ace, and the ace at the end of the second hand does not save it, because the third card was already worse. Everything you know about the ranking of poker hands in a normal game applies here in reverse, and the parts about straights and flushes do not apply at all.
the deal, which is stud
Everyone antes. Each player gets two cards face down and one face up, then three more face up one at a time, and a seventh face down. There is a betting round after every card, five in all, and the game is normally dealt fixed limit with the bet doubling on fifth street. That whole structure is the seven card stud deal, card for card.
What flips with the ranking is who acts. In stud the lowest card showing has to open on third street; in razz it is the highest, because that is now the worst card. Aces play low, so the king brings it in, and if two players show the same rank the suit decides with spades highest. From fourth street onwards the best hand showing acts first, and in razz that means the lowest board.
Because four of everyone's seven cards end up face up, razz gives away more than almost any other game. Two low cards showing against your two high ones is a fact, not a guess, and the round order tells you who is winning before anyone has bet. The mechanics of that round, the minimum raise and how it closes, are on the page about betting rounds.
what a good start looks like
Three unpaired cards, all eight or lower.
That is the whole starting requirement, and it arrives 16.2 percent of the time, counted over all 22,100 combinations of three cards from a full deck. Roughly one hand in six, which is why razz is a folding game before it is anything else. Three unpaired cards of seven or lower is better again, and ace, two, three is as good as a start gets.
A pair among your first three is not fatal, because you still have four cards to come and only five of your seven need to count. It does mean one of your cards is dead weight, and against an opponent showing two low cards that is usually enough reason to let it go.
A finished low is five different ranks out of thirteen, and suits never matter, so there are only 1,287 possible hand values in the whole game. That is a very small number, and it is why razz pots are so often decided by the fifth card rather than the first. If a term here is unfamiliar, it is likely in the poker glossary.
next
One game reverses the ranking. The rest keep it.
Razz is worth knowing precisely because it shows what the rest of poker takes for granted. The rules hub has the four things that are true in every variant, including the ones razz leaves untouched.
razz questions
What is razz poker?
Seven card stud played for the lowest hand instead of the highest. It is dealt exactly like stud, two down and one up followed by three up and one down, with five betting rounds. At showdown the worst looking five card hand wins the pot.
What is the best hand in razz?
Five, four, three, two, ace, which is called the wheel or the bicycle. Aces always count low, and straights and flushes are ignored, so having all five in one suit does not spoil it. The second best hand is six, four, three, two, ace.
Do straights and flushes count in razz?
No. Razz uses the ace to five ranking, in which only the ranks matter and duplicates are the only thing that can hurt you. Five, four, three, two, ace is a straight in any other game and the best possible hand in this one.
How do you read a razz hand?
From the highest card down. Compare the highest card in each hand first, and the lower one wins. If those match, compare the next highest, and so on. Eight, seven, four, three, two beats eight, seven, five, two, ace, because the third card decides it.
Who brings it in in razz?
The player showing the highest card, which is the opposite of seven card stud. Since aces play low, the king is the highest card, and if two players show the same rank the suit decides, with spades highest. From fourth street on, the lowest hand showing acts first.
How many different razz hands are there?
A complete low is five different ranks out of thirteen, and suits never matter, so there are 1,287 possible hand values. Compared with the millions of distinguishable hands in a high game that is a small number, which is why razz showdowns are decided by a single card more often than not.
Back to all poker rules.