Razz is a variant of poker where the player who has the lowest hand (in the standard sense) wins, or as it’s officially called, the low combination. Another big difference from popular games like Texas Hold’em or Omaha is that here, players are dealt 7 cards, there is no flop, and 4 cards are dealt face up. Instead of 4 betting rounds like in Hold’em, there are 5. Let’s break it all down and see how combinations are formed in this exciting game.
Combinations in Limit Razz Poker
Each player receives 7 cards in total—first 3, and then one card per street. Naturally, the game may end before the showdown, in which case the player who makes a bet that no one can call wins the pot. When all 7 cards are dealt, the player creates a combination using 5 cards, regardless of how many of those cards are face-up or face-down.
Combinations in Limit Razz must be made up of different ranked cards. If a player can’t form a hand using 5 distinct cards, the combination will consist of 4 or fewer cards. For example, if you have 5-5-5-6-8-9-9, your hand will consist of 5-6-8-9, as the other cards are pairs. Any 4-card hand will lose to a hand made up of 5 different cards.
The lower the rank of the cards in your combination, the stronger it is. So, the best possible combination in Razz poker is 5-4-3-2-A. Even though this would be considered a straight in traditional poker, there is no straight in Razz, and there is no flush either. So, same-suit cards or sequential cards are not considered when comparing hands.
Combinations in Razz poker are compared from the highest to the lowest card. For instance, 2-3-4-5-6 and A-3-4-5-6—here, the top four cards are the same, but the fifth card in the second hand is lower, meaning the second combination is stronger. In another example, 2-3-5-6-7 and A-3-4-6-7—although A is lower than the 2 in the first hand, the second hand is stronger because 4 is lower than 5, which is the third card in both hands.
Rules of Razz Poker
If you’re only familiar with Texas Hold’em or Omaha, the rules of Razz poker might seem a bit tricky at first. These games differ significantly from each other.
So, Razz starts with each player posting an ante, the mandatory bet. The ante is set in advance and may increase as the game progresses. After this, the dealer deals 3 cards to each player—this is called the Third Street. The first two cards are dealt face-down, and the third one is face-up for everyone to see.
Now, the player with the weakest open card must make the first bet, known as the bring-in. If two or more players have the same lowest card, suits are compared. The suits are ranked as follows: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
It’s important to note that if two hands are identical in strength, suits don’t matter. Suits are only used to determine who gets to act first, in case the lowest cards are the same.
In Limit Razz, the betting amount is capped by the small bet on Third and Fourth Streets. This means that players cannot bet more than the small bet. After the bring-in, players act in turn, clockwise. They can fold, call, or raise, but any raise is limited to the small bet.
After betting ends and all bets are called, the dealer deals one more open card, known as the Fourth Street. This time, the player with the lowest combination (according to Razz rules) makes the first move—so the weakest hand with no pairs. If no one has a pair on the Fourth Street, the minimum bet is the small bet. If anyone has one or more pairs, the bet increases to the big bet.
On the Fifth Street, each player gets one more open card. Once again, the player with the strongest combination (from three open cards) makes the first move. Starting from this street and continuing through the game, the minimum raise is the size of the big bet (usually twice the small bet).
On the Sixth Street, each player receives their fourth open card, bringing the total to six cards in hand. The player with the best combination of open cards leads the betting, and the betting continues with the minimum raise being the size of the big bet.
The final street—the Seventh—sees the dealer deal another card, but this time face-down. Each player now has 4 open cards and 3 face-down cards. The player with the best hand (from the open cards) makes the first move, unless they’re out of the game.
If there are still two or more players in the hand after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. The player who made the last raise must show their cards first, and then the others follow clockwise. The player with the strongest low combination wins the pot.
In an 8-handed game, it’s possible that there won’t be enough cards for everyone on the last street. This happens when all players reach the Seventh Street. In this case, the dealer places the last card face-up in the center of the table, and it becomes a community card.
Typically, Razz is played with limit rules, which means betting is capped at the small bet on the first two streets and the big bet on the last three streets. But even with these limits, the game is fast-paced and fun. For an extra thrill, try Pot-Limit Razz!
