How To Play Razz

Razz is a popular game but it can put people off because of its unusual name. If it became known as Stud Low it would probably be a lot more popular than it is.

If you are familiar with Stud then you are already familiar with the game of Razz, however unlike Stud Hi-Lo or Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz doesn’t not have the “8 or better” rule. This means that it is possible (although not very likely) that a Q low hand could lose to a Jack Low hand.

The betting structure is the same as in Stud and Stud Hi-Lo, but the ‘bring in’ is not the player with the lowest card showing, but the highest. After that, the process of a Razz hand is exactly the same as a Stud hand, only in Razz; our objective is to get as low a combination of five cards from a total of seven dealt to each player. After the 7th street is dealt face down, the final round of betting takes place and the lowest hand wins. Unlike other low handed games, you are not penalised for holding cards in sequence, or cards of the same suit.

Below is a selection of Razz hands, ranked from strongest to weakest;

• 5, 4, 3, 2, A,
• 6, 4, 3, 2, A
• 6, 5, 3, 2, A
• 6, 5, 4, 2, A
• 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,
• 7, 4, 3, 2, A
• 7, 5, 3, 2, A
• 7, 5, 4, 2, A
• 7, 5, 4, 3, A
• 8, 6, 4, 3, A