What Is Razz?
Razz is the lowball variant of Seven Card Stud. While standard poker rewards the highest hand, Razz inverts the objective: the lowest 5-card hand wins the pot.
In Razz, Aces are always low (worth 1), and straights and flushes have no value against you—they don't count. The best possible hand in Razz is A-2-3-4-5, commonly called "the wheel" or "the bicycle." The worst possible hand is four Kings plus a Queen.
Razz originated in the mid-20th century and gained prominence through mixed-game tournaments. Today, it's most commonly encountered as part of HORSE or 8-Game rotations at major poker operators and WSOP events, where the game tests fundamental poker skills in a variant most casual players rarely study.
How to Play Razz — Rules
Razz uses the same dealing structure as Seven Card Stud—cards are dealt over seven streets from third street through seventh street. However, several rules differ significantly.
Hand Progression
Ante: All players post an ante to seed the pot.
Third Street: Each player receives 2 face-down cards and 1 face-up card (the door card). The player showing the highest visible card is forced to post the bring-in (opposite of Stud, where the lowest card brings it in). This makes sense in Razz because a high card is less valuable. From there, action proceeds normally.
Fourth Street Through Seventh Street: Cards are dealt face-up (except seventh, which is face-down). From fourth street onward, the player with the lowest visible hand acts first. This is the opposite of high-hand poker, where the highest visible hand leads.
Showdown: Players make their best 5-card low hand from their 7 cards. The lowest hand wins.
The Key Rule: Bring-In by High Card
In Stud, the lowest door card is forced to bring in because a low card is strong. In Razz, the highest door card brings in because a high card is weak. This structure encourages aggressive play from players starting with premium low cards.
Hand Rankings in Razz
Razz hand rankings are inverted from standard poker. Understanding them is critical.
Best hands (in order):
- A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel or bicycle)
- A-2-3-4-6
- A-2-3-5-6
- A-2-4-5-6
- A-3-4-5-6
- 2-3-4-5-6
- A-2-3-4-7
- (And so on, adding ranks in ascending order)
Worst hands (in order):
- ...
- K-Q-J-T-9
- K-K-K-K-Q (four Kings with a Queen kicker)
Key principles:
- Lower is better. A-2 is fantastic. K-Q is terrible.
- Straights and flushes don't count as bad hands (they don't penalize you). An A-2-3-4-5 straight flush is still just the wheel—the best hand.
- Pairs are extremely bad. Two Aces is worse than A-2-3-4-6.
- Trips (three of a kind) are even worse than pairs.
- If no qualifying low hand exists (everyone pairs up), the lowest unpaired hand wins. This is rare.
Basic Razz Strategy
Starting Hand Requirements
Third street is everything in Razz. You need a strong three-card low to continue. Standard guidelines:
- Always play three cards 8 or lower, provided they're live (you haven't seen duplicates at the table). A-2-3 is premium. A-2-4, A-3-4, 2-3-4 are all strong.
- Avoid entering with hands like 7-8-9. While you're theoretically "in range," you'll find yourself drawing to mediocre hands frequently.
- Watch your opponents' door cards. If you hold A-2-3 but have already seen three low cards among your opponents' door cards, your playable outs are reduced.
- Position matters. Acting after opponents with high door cards gives you information. If they fold, you've won before wasting chips.
The Concept of Live Cards
This is identical to Stud but even more critical in Razz. If you need to catch low cards and the table has exposed mostly low door cards, your draw is nearly dead.
Example: You're holding 2-3-4 and need to hit an Ace, 5, or 6 to improve. But you've seen four Aces, two 5s, and three 6s exposed. Your draw is practically dead—there may be only one or two of each rank left.
Stealing the Antes
Razz is primarily played with antes and a small bring-in, so there's money in the pot even on third street. A well-timed raise with a deceptive door card (say, a 7 when most of your other visible cards are low—though you must have a legitimate low to continue) can win the antes without a showdown.
However, this works best in heads-up or three-way pots. In multi-way pots, someone almost always calls.
Fold Aggressively on Fourth Street
If your door card (third and fourth street) bricks (doesn't improve your hand) and you're facing aggression, folding is standard, especially in a multi-way pot. Continuing to fifth street with a weak hand is expensive.
Where to Play Razz Online
Standalone Razz tables rarely run. Traffic is very thin compared to Hold'em or Omaha.
PokerStars offers Razz games, primarily during North American peak hours.
WSOP.com features Razz tables, especially as part of their mixed-game rotations.
Razz is most commonly played as part of Mixed Games like HORSE or 8-Game, where the rotation includes five or eight variants. If you want to play Razz regularly, learning the mixed-game format is often more practical. For more on mixed games, see HORSE Poker.
FAQ
Why are Aces low in Razz and not high?
Razz is a lowball game, and Aces are the lowest rank in lowball. This is a historical convention that distinguishes lowball games from high games. Think of Aces as 1 instead of 14 in this context.
Can I make a straight or flush in Razz?
Straights and flushes do not count as bad hands in Razz. An A-2-3-4-5 straight flush is still just the wheel—the best possible hand. If you happen to make a flush while pursuing a low, it doesn't hurt you; only your five lowest cards matter.
What if two players tie with the same low hand?
Ties at showdown are split evenly among tied players. For example, if two players both have A-2-3-4-6, they each win half the pot.
Is Razz harder than Seven Card Stud?
Razz requires you to invert your entire poker brain. If you're used to high games, every instinct is wrong in Razz—low is good, pairs are bad, drawing to 9-8-7 feels wrong even though it's correct. Paradoxically, many high-hand specialists find Razz easier than Stud because the objective is simpler (lower is always better), but the learning curve is steep.
How much skill is in Razz versus luck?
Razz is highly skill-dependent. Starting hand selection, card reading, and bet-fold decisions are critical. However, since you're drawing to specific ranks, variance is higher than in other poker variants. You can make all the right decisions and still miss your outs.