Razz Poker Rules:

Razz poker has started appearing in more online poker rooms and the poker game has been garnering a lot more attention from players recently. Poker players may not like to admit that they're gamblers and actually some aren't, but the majority of people that play poker like to gamble and have fun while playing poker. Grinding the NL Holdem poker games can earn you some good money if you know what you're doing, but it can also become really boring. To ensure you don't get bored you should try learning how to play other poker games as well including Razz, which we're going to look at today.

» Razz Poker Rules - Before the Deal

Razz is identical to seven card stud except there are a couple important rules changes you need to know. Before the dealer can begin dealing out any cards all players need to pay an ante into the pot. When the ante has been paid by every player the dealer can start dealing out 3 cards to each player. The 1st two cards are dealt face down, but the 3rd card is dealt face up in Razz poker.

» Razz Poker Rules - After the Deal

• When the 1st three cards have been dealt in Razz poker there is a betting round. The betting round starts with the player that has been dealt the highest card (Ace is always low). The player needs to put a forced bet that's half of the full bet or full bet depending upon their hand. When the forced bet has been made the action continues around the table in a clockwise motion until everyone has called or folded. You can also raise the pot up to 3 times each betting round and players will need to call the raise or fold.


• After the 1st betting round is complete players are dealt a 4th face up card, which is followed by a betting round. This betting round starts with the player that has the lowest hand and so do the rest of the betting rounds. When the betting is complete the dealer is dealt a 5th face up card, which is followed by a betting round. Players then receive a 6th face up card, which is followed by a betting round.


• At this point in Razz poker players are dealt one final card that's face down this time. There is one final betting round using the same format as the betting above and then the players left in the hand flip their hands over to see who wins the money in the pot.

In Razz poker the goal is to have the lowest possible poker hand, which means that the lowest hand in Razz is A-2-3-4-5. You don't want to have any pairs in your hand because they don't help you win the lowest hand. Straights and flushes don't count in Razz poker because the goal is to have the lowest possible poker hand. You only need to use 5 of the 7 cards that you were dealt in order to make the lowest poker hand. Generally your highest card should be about an 8 if you expect to win most pots if you're playing a game of Razz with 4+ players.