How To Play Razz Fixed Limit

Razz is an intriguing variant of 7 Card Stud where the players are essentially trying to do the opposite of the normal game – lose! Okay, maybe not “lose”, but develop the absolute worst, weakest 5-card poker hand in order to win. Simply put, Razz is 7 Card Stud in reverse.

Unlike its cousin, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, there are no restrictions on developing a “Qualifying” low hand. The weakest hand always wins, regardless of its strength. The following hand development rules apply to creating a low Razz hand.

• Aces are the lowest card, not the highest.
• Straight and Flushes DO count as combination.
• Best possible Razz Hand: A-2-3-4-5
• Tip: A Pair rarely wins in Razz

Razz uses a standard 52-card deck, offering seats to 2-8 players per table.

Object of Razz Limit Poker

The object of Razz is to use the 7 cards dealt to you throughout the course of a hand to develop the weakest possible 5-card poker hand. The lowest ranking 5-card poker hand wins the entire pot.

Betting Structure of Fixed Limit Razz

Razz can be played in any limit – Fixed Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit – but for the purpose of this “how to play Razz” tutorial, and simplicities sake, we will be discussing how to play Razz in a Fixed limit betting structure.

The term “Fixed Limit” applies to how much a player must wager to bet and/or raise in a particular round of betting. Razz incurs 5 betting rounds over the course of a hand. For the first 3 rounds of betting, all bets and raises must match the low-end stakes, while the final two betting rounds increase all bets and raises to match the high-end stakes. Therefore, in a $2/$4 stakes game of Razz, bets/raises start at $2, increasing the $4 in the last two round of betting.

The stakes also determine the Ante Bets and Bring-In Bets during a game. These are forced bets placed during a hand of Razz. I have detailed their amounts and purposes below.

Ante Bet: This is a very small wager placed by every player before the hand begins, essentially to ‘sweeten the pot’ and prevent everyone from Folding without a pat hand. Normally, the Ante Bet is equal to 10%-25% of the low-end stakes, varying by house rules.

Bring-In Bet: The Bring-In Bt is always 50% of the low-end stakes. After the initial deal, each player will have 3 cards – 2 Hole Cards (face-down) and 1 Open Card (face-up). This Open Card is referred to as the Door Card, because it determines the Bring-In Bettor. That player with the lowest Door Card must place the Bring-In Bet. Should two or more players tie for the lowest Door Card, lowest suit takes precedence. It is easy to remember the rank of suits as they follow alphabetical order, lowest to highest – Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and then Spades.

All other betting options are detailed below.

Check: If no player has Bet in the current betting round, you may Check, choosing not to place a wager, but to remain active in the hand. Note that Checking is not an option in the first betting round because the Bring-In Bet has already been placed, and must be Called to remain in the hand.

Bet: The first wager made in a betting round is the opening Bet.

Call: Once a Bet is made, you can Call the bet by wagering an equal amount.

Raise: Once a Bet has been made, you can Raise by wagering a higher amount than the original Bet.

Fold: To forfeit the current hand and pot, throwing in your cards. Tip: Do not Fold if Check is an option – take the free card.

All-In: To wager all remaining chips. An All-In bettor cannot win a higher amount from any player than his own All-In Bet, therefore it is kept in a separate pile from the actual pot.

How to Play a Hand of Razz Limit Poker

Note that we’ll be using a Fixed Limit betting structure with $2/$4 stakes for this “how to play Razz” example hand.

The hand begins with each player placing an Ante Bet into the Pot. Players are then dealt three cards each. The first two cards are Hole Cards, dealt face-down so that only the player can see them. The third card is dealt Open (face-up), called the Door Card.

The player with the lowest Door Card places the Bring-In Bet, starting the first round of betting. Betting continues clockwise, starting with the player left of the Bring-In. When betting comes back around to the Bring-In Bettor, he may Call/Raise by adding the required number of chips to his Bring-In Bet, or Fold, forfeiting the Bring-In and current hand.

Once all players have Called (or Folded), the game resumes.

4th Street: Players are dealt a 4th Open Card, followed by another betting round. Again, the lowest Open Hand always acts first.

5th Street: A 5th Open Card is dealt to each player, then another betting round.

6th Street: Each player receives a 6th Open Card. For this and the final betting round, all bets and raises increase to match the high-end stakes of $4.

7th Street: A final card is dealt to each player, this time as a face-down Hole Card. Because no player’s Open Hand has changed, the player who started the previous betting round will start the final round as well.

The Showdown: Depending on the tightness and stakes of the game, Razz does not always go to a Showdown because all other players may Fold before this point, revealing a winner. If, however, two or more players remain active in the hand, a Showdown commences. The active players combine 5 of their 7 cards to develop the weakest possible poker hand. The lowest ranking poker hand wins the entire pot.

Should a tie occur, the winners will split the pot.

If you’ve already considered the math involved, you may have realized that 8 player being dealt 7 cards each requires 56 cards. Obviously, there are only 52 cards in the deck. It is tremendously rare for this to occur since at least a few players will likely bow out before the 7th Street, but if not, a final 7th card is dealt face up to the center of the table. This card becomes community property, with all players assuming this to be their final card.

Razz Poker Winning Hand Rankings

Poker Hand Ranks (highest to lowest)
Royal Flush (Ace-high straight suited)
Straight Flush (straight suited)
4 of a Kind (4 cards of the same value)
Full House (3 of a Kind + 1 Pair)
Flush (all cards suited)
Straight (all cards in sequence)
3 of a Kind (3 cards of the same value)
2 Pair (1 Pair + 1 Pair)
1 Pair (2 cards of the same value)
High Card (none of the above combinations)

Best Razz Limit Poker Sites