Poker Tip
Jennifer Harman
March 28, 2005
The rules:
For those of you who aren't familiar with Razz Poker, it is a
game played like 7-card stud. The twist is that in Razz,
the worst hand wins. Straights and flushes don't count
for anything, but pairs are bad. Aces are always low
cards. A five-high (or wheel -- remember that straights
don't count against you) is the worst -- or I should say
the best -- possible hand for this game. A-2-3-4-5.
Starting hands:
When playing razz poker, it's important that you start
with 3 little cards. You shouldn't play with any card
bigger than an eight in your hand. But there are two
exceptions to this rule.
1. You have a nine showing when the hand is dealt,
everyone else's up card is bigger than a nine, and you
have two low cards in the hole. In this case, you have
the best starting hand.
2. You are in steal position with a baby showing, and
the remaining player (or even the remaining two players)
has a big card showing. You can often raise in this spot
to steal the antes regardless of what your hole cards
are. If somearticle calls, you hope that their next card
(fourth street) is a big card and yours is a baby. If
your opponent catches a baby and you catch big, you
should let it go. There's no point in continuing with
the bluff.
Tracking cards:
Are your cards dead? This is another important thing to
know when playing Razz. What do I mean by 'dead card'? A
dead card is a card that is no longer in the deck. You
know this because you have seen it in someone else's
hand. Keeping track of the dead cards allows you to know
how many of the remaining cards can hurt you, and how
many will improve your hand. For example: your first
three cards are 2-5-8. There are seven other players in
the game, and their upcards are: 2, 5, 8, 8, 2, 7, J.
Remember that pairs are bad in Razz. Fortunately, many
of the cards that will pair you are in other players'
hands, or 'dead'. Now suppose your opponent is holding
7-3-A. He needs a lot of the cards that are on the board
(dead) to make his hand. The cards you need to make your
hand are still available. In this situation, you are a
little more than a 56% favorite. By tracking cards, you
can more accurately make decisions based on your real
equity at any given time.
Jennifer Harman
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