Razz Rules

Razz is a stud poker game. In fact Razz is Seven-Card Stud Low, the lowest hand wins the pot.

Stud
In stud poker each player receives a mix of downcards (that only you can see) and upcards (that everyone can see) dealt in multiple betting rounds. In all stud games, the last card is always dealt face down. All card are individual, there are no community cards as in hold'em games. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each subsequent round does not necessarily have to be the same. Antes are used instead of blinds.

Seven Cards
Razz (or Seven-Card Low) generally follows the same rules and sequence of game play as regular Seven-Card Stud. That is, Razz is played with seven cards, whereof three are downcards and four are upcards. Two downcards and one upcard are dealt before the first betting round. Thereafter one card is followed by one betting round, in total there are five betting rounds. The lowest five-card poker hand can be constructed by any mix of the seven cards.

Low (Ace to Five)
There are two principally different ways to determine the lowest hand. The winning hand in Razz follows the Lowball Ace to Five format. That is the same way as in Hi/Lo split games, except no rules on qualifying hands apply.

In Razz straights and flushes do not count against the lowest hand, pairs do. Aces are the lowest ranking cards. That makes 5-4-3-2-A (suits does not matter) the best possible hand, it is called a wheel. For a more detailed discussion on this, please see the example below or the section on hand rankings for low.

Remaining differences to Seven-Card Stud
There are a few logical differences between Razz and Seven-Card Stud. The high card (instead of the low) is required to make the forced bet on the first round. Consequentially the low hand (instead of the highest) acts first on all subsequent rounds. (For the already knowledgeable player it should also be noted that there is no double bet option if there is a pair showing on fourth street as there is in Seven-Card Stud.)

Sequence of Game Play

1. Antes Each player must place a forced bet, the ante, before the cards are dealt.
2. Starting hand Each player receives two cards face down and one card face up. The face down cards are also known as hole cards, and the first open card as the door card.

3. First betting round The player with the highest ranking upcard (also by suit) has to open the betting. That player has a choice of making the bring-in bet, which is less than a full bet, or making a regular full sized bet. The action then continues clockwise.
4. Fourth street Each player receives another card face up.

5. Second betting round From now on the player with the lowest hand showing (of the upcards that is) starts the action.
6. Fifth street Each player receives another card face up.

7. Third betting round The betting advance as before. (In a fixed limit betting structure the bets are now doubled.)
8. Sixth street Each player receives another card face up.

9. Fourth betting round The betting advance as before.
10. River Each player receives a seventh and final card face down.

11. Last betting round The betting advance as before.
12. Showdown If more than one player reaches this stage, all remaining players show their hands. The first bettor or last raiser shows first, and then only those who beat that hand has to show. The lowest hand wins the pot. Players can use any five of their seven cards to make their best low hand.

Example

Player As cards

Player Bs cards


Studying each players hand in this example shows that Player A must have started the betting on the first round of betting as the eight is higher ranked than the six (had ace been showing, it should be noted that it always counts as low). On the second round, player A continues to act first as 8 4 is lower than 6 8. On all subsequent rounds, player B has started the action as player As Q is the highest upcard and none of the players have pairs amongst their upcards.

Player A wins the pot with a seven high. That player As lowest cards are a flush does not matter. Player Bs pairs does cripple the hand. No more than one of the sixes and aces may be used. Not until the final card does player B have a low at all with a king high.

Player As final hand

Player Bs final hand

In Depth Issues

Suits To determine who should start the action on the first round of betting, if two or more players have the same highest card, suits are utilized. The person who brings it in is determined by suit order progressing from spades (the best), hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

Position To determine who should start the action on subsequent betting rounds, if there is a tie for the highest hand, position is considered. The player who received cards first, is then also first to act.

Cap The term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round since betting is then capped and no one can make another raise. A cap of three raises are usually used. Increasing the amount wagered by the opening forced bet up to a full bet does not count as a raise, but merely as a completion of the bet. So three raises can still be made before the cap is reached.

Too small deck On a few rare occasions the number of cards in the deck are not enough to give each player their own river card. This happens when all player at a full table chooses to stay in the game all the way. In such a case, the final card is dealt face up in the center of the table, the river card becomes a community card.