This guide explains how to play Razz poker, one of the most fun lowball games.
As a variant of Seven-Card Stud, Razz uses the same betting structure. However, the rules are turned upside down, as the aim is to avoid high cards and form the lowest possible hand.
Ready to learn all about Razz? Let’s do it.
What is Razz Poker?
Razz is a lowball variant of Seven-Card Stud. In terms of structure, the two games play out in much the same way. But the object of Razz is to make the lowest hand possible, not the strongest.
Like pretty much all forms of poker, aces represent one in Razz. However, they don’t play as the highest card in this game. That honor belongs to the king. Aces are always low.
Straights and flushes are irrelevant in this game, too, meaning that 5-4-3-2-A is the best hand in Razz poker, even if it’s a steel wheel.
We usually refer to Razz hands as X low, rather than X high. For example, an 8 low, or simply “an 8”. So the nuts in this game is a 5 low.
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Razz History
The history of Razz isn’t particularly well documented, but it’s thought to be amongst the oldest forms of poker.
Seven-Card Stud was popular across the United States and beyond during the early 1900s, with records of servicemen playing during the World Wars.
Lowball poker games have also been popular since the early 20th century, with games like Ace-to-Five Low documented around the same time. It’s likely that the two games evolved around the same period, with Razz coming slightly after Seven-Card Stud.
Razz at the WSOP
1971 was the first “proper” World Series of Poker involving freezeout tournaments, and a $1,000 Limit Razz event was included. This event, won by Jimmy Casella for a $10,000 prize, helped cement the game’s status as a serious form of poker.
Until the early 2010s, a single Razz tournament would appear at the WSOP every year, with buy-ins varying wildly, from $500 to $5,000.
However, in 2004 ESPN’s decision to televise the Razz tournament – won by T.J. Cloutier – led to a boom in popularity at online poker sites.
Ten years later, the game would be recognized as the most popular form of lowball poker by WSOP organizers. A $10,000 Championship event was added to the schedule, alongside the standard $1,500 Razz tournament. This is still the case to this day.
Notable Razz Bracelet Winners
Along with T.J. Cloutier, several genuine poker legends have claimed Razz bracelets at the WSOP, including:
- Phil Hellmuth (2012 and 2015)
- Ted Forrest (1993 and 2014)
- Frank Kassela (2010)
- Jeff Lisandro (2009)
- Barry Greenstein (2008)
- Huck Seed (2000 and 2003)
- Billy Baxter (2002)
- Doyle Brunson (1998)
- Tom McEvoy (1986)
- Jimmy Casella (1971 and 1974)
Razz in Mixed Games
The WSOP always includes a number of mixed-game events, many of which incorporate Razz.
H.O.R.S.E. is the most common mixed tournament, in which the letter R stands for Razz. The full list is as follows:
- Hold’em
- Omaha Hi-LO
- Razz
- Seven-Card Stud
- Eight Or Better (Seven-Card Stud)
There are usually three or four of these events at every WSOP. In 2024, for instance the following tournaments took place.
| WSOP Event | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| #35 - $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. | Phil Hui | $193,545 | Daniel Mayoh |
| #55 - $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship | Maksim Pisarenko | $399,988 | Mike Leah |
| #91 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. | Gary Bolden | $206,321 | John Racener |
| #96 - $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. | Xixiang Luo | $725,796 | Albert Daher |
In more recent years, Eight Game Mix and Nine Game Mix tournaments have also been added to the calendar, both of which involve Razz poker.
Poker Players Championship
While the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event captures the headlines, serious players understand how difficult it is to win a mixed-games tournament. Hence the introduction of the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship in 2006.
Originally a H.O.R.S.E. event, the tournament has also experimented with Eight Game and Ten Game mixes. However, in 2021, organizers settled upon the current Nine Game format.
The tournament regularly features the biggest names in poker. Past champions include such luminaries as David “Chip” Reese, Scotty Nguyen and three-times winner Michael Mizrachi.
Here’s a look at the most recent results.
| Year | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Daniel Cates | $954,020 | Ryan Leng |
| 2022 | Daniel Cates | $1,449,103 | Yuri Dzivielevski |
| 2023 | Brian Rast | $1,324,747 | Talal Shakerchi |
| 2024 | Daniel Negreanu | $1,178,703 | Bryce Yockey |
How to Play Razz Poker
If you’re familiar with Seven-Card Stud, then you already understand the bulk of the Razz poker rules. The structure is identical, except that everything is turned on its head.
As we already mentioned, the objective is to make the lowest possible combination, rather than the highest. In addition, you can disregard flushes and straights.
This means the best hand in Razz poker is 5-4-3-2-A, as straights don’t count.
It’s possible to play Razz as both a cash game and in tournament format. These work exactly like any other poker game.
Cash games, or ring games, involve chips worth real money. You can buy in or cash out and walk away at any time.
Tournaments, on the other hand, require a fixed buy-in. Once you lose your chips, you’re eliminated. Whoever has all of the chips at the end is the winner.
Setting Up a Razz Poker Game
To incorporate Razz into your home game, you’ll need nothing more than a standard 52-card deck, a table and a set of chips. A maximum of eight players can sit in the game.
Although it’s possible to use a Pot Limit structure, or even No Limit betting, Fixed Limit is by far the most common way to play Razz.
When playing Razz poker online, via real money poker apps and sites, the software takes care of everything for you. Still, Razz really isn’t a complicated game to deal, especially if you already understand the rules of Seven-Card Stud.
How to Deal Razz
Each player receives three cards, starting from the dealer’s left. The first two are dealt face-down, with the third “door” card exposed.
Whoever has the highest upcard – the exact opposite of a Seven-Card Stud game – pays a forced bet, known as the “bring in”. The size varies by game, but it’s usually 25-40% of the small bet.
In turn, players have the option to call, fold, or to “complete” the bring in, making it a full-size regular bet. You can think of bringing in as paying the small blind in Hold’em or Omaha poker.
Should anyone complete the bet, players can then proceed to raise in the usual full-sized betting increments.
As a variant of Seven-Card Stud, there are four more possible betting rounds, dubbed fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh street.
Razz Betting
After the first round is complete, another face-up card is distributed to all players that remain in the hand. This is followed by another round of betting, led by the player showing the lowest door card.
The fifth and sixth street cards are also dealt face-up, with the final card on seventh street turned face-down. That makes for a maximum of three hidden and four exposed cards.
Just like Fixed Limit Seven-Card Stud games, the betting increments increase from fifth street onwards. For example, if the game is $1 / $2 Razz, you can only raise $1 at a time on third and fourth street. But on fifth, sixth and seventh street, any bets and raises are in $2 units.
Each street carries a maximum of one bet and four raises. However, most Razz games allow uncapped raising on the final betting round, as long as it’s a heads-up situation.
Other Points to Note
If two or more players have the same door card, ties are broken using suits. The ranking, from highest to lowest, is:
- Spades
- Hearts
- Diamonds
- Clubs
Remember, it’s always the highest-ranked hand that brings in. This is the only time suits are used to break ties.
Whenever two players have identical Razz hands at showdown, the pot is shared equally.
Razz Poker Hand Rankings
This game doesn’t follow the usual hand ranking hierarchy. According to the Razz poker rules, the lowest-value cards are the most powerful.
With that in mind, here are the best hands in Razz.
| Rank | Razz Hand |
|---|---|
| 1st | 5♠4♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 2nd | 6♠4♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 3rd | 6♠5♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 4th | 6♠5♦4♥3♣A♠ |
| 5th | 6♠5♦4♥3♣2♠ |
| 6th | 7♠4♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 7th | 7♠5♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 8th | 7♠5♦4♥2♣A♠ |
| 9th | 7♠5♦4♥3♣A♠ |
| 10th | 7♠5♦4♥3♣2♠ |
| 11th | 7♠6♦3♥2♣A♠ |
| 12th | 7♠6♦4♥2♣A♠ |
Razz Poker Variants
There are a couple of interesting Razz variants to be found. However, you’re not likely to see them online, either at offshore poker sites or in the US, as they’re pretty rare.
London Lowball
This game plays exactly the same way as traditional Razz poker, but straights and flushes count as valid hands. That means that a non-flush 6-4-3-2-A becomes the nuts.
As the name suggests, this game is almost exclusively played in Europe. It’s normally played with a Pot Limit structure, and very occasionally with a No Limit setup.
2-7 Razz
Similar to London Lowball, straights and flushes do count in 2-7 Razz. However, the main difference is that aces only play as high cards.
The best possible hand, therefore, is an unsuited combination of 7-5-4-3-2. Remember, aces are only high cards, and 6-5-4-3-2 would be a straight.
Razz Poker Strategy
Okay, so we’ve covered the rules. But how do you play Razz poker optimally? Follow these pointers to get your Razz career off to the best possible start.
- Razz is all about stealing. You need to represent hands much more than in other poker games. Imagine you start with (K-Q)-5, for instance. This is clearly junk. But if the players behind you are showing 9, J and Q as their door cards, a complete is almost certain to result in you winning the antes, blinds, and bring in.
- Observe the visible cards. Pay attention to what others are showing. This helps you pick stealing opportunities, as we mentioned, but it’s also crucial when drawing. You might have (3-2)-A, for example. But if everyone else is showing 4s and 5s, you can’t hit what you need for the nuts. So it’s not as strong as at first glance.
- Draws can be huge favorites. A made hand is by no means guaranteed to be a lock. It all depends on the strength of the second card. Compare J-T-7-2-A to Q-7-3-2-A, for instance. The J low is actually a 25.64% underdog here. The Q low can hit a 4, 5 or 6 to improve to an unbeatable 7 low, or take the lead with an 8, 9, T or J.
- Don’t overplay marginal edges. One card can change everything in Razz. Even if you have a strong hand with an apparent edge, you don’t want to get too crazy – especially in tournaments. Imagine (4-2)-5 against a 6. You’re ahead, but what happens if you catch a Q on fourth street? If your opponent is super aggressive, slow down in those spots.
- Hand selection does matter. Hand selection in Razz matters just as much as in any other form of poker. You should be folding a lot. The best starting hands contain three to a wheel, but any three below 8 are acceptable. At a full table, you should always fold a paired starting hand unless you’re showing an ace.
- No hero folds on the end. Finally, as a Fixed Limit game, seventh street pots are often huge in relation to the amount required to call. So, unless you have something insanely bad, it usually makes sense to just pay your opponent off. A made 9, for example, still has a chance of winning, and you’ll almost certainly be getting the right odds to play.
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