Razz Poker Strategy Advice

Razz Poker Strategy

Razz is a great action game. You will find many loose, gambling oriented players at these tables along with many inexperienced players. Furthermore, due to the very straightforward nature of the game, you will be able to very quickly identify the good players and avoid them when you are not holding a strong hand.

Razz is a lot of fun and very simple to learn. It is also an important game to know as it is a component of H.O.R.S.E. which is rapidly gaining popularity. You can play Horse and Hose as well as Razz at PokerStars. They even offer these games at low stakes which is great because previously these mixed games were only played at the highest limits at the biggest casinos.

Razz Starting Hand Requirements

Once you have learned the basic rules of playing Razz its time to start focusing on winning strategy. Razz is a poker game that demands Strong Starting hands. Since razz is a lowball game the lower your starting cards the stronger your hand. To be a winning player it is necessary to pay good attention to the up-cards of your opponents. Like all forms of Stud, razz is primarily a board game, where the strength of an opponents up-cards can be more important then the true strength of there hand. Generally only starting with 3 cards to a 7 low is a good strategy for any multi-way pot. As a rule you want to draw from the bottom up, so 237 is a much stronger hand then 567. It is important to realize is that if you had to play a 567 you would much rather have the 5 face up then the 7 as this would put a lot more pressure on your opponents on later betting rounds. In Razz any time you have the best upcard (with decent hole cards) and there are no opponents behind you with a better low card showing a raise is a good strategy. You don't need a great hand to play aggressively when you are heads up (or are the the last player facing the bring-in) you just need a better hand then the other player.

Examples of some common Razz starting hand situations

You	Opponent 1	Opponent 2	Opponent 3
A situation where a call may be better then a raise, particularly if your opponents play poorly on later streets. You are substantially ahead of all of your opponents and want them to play the hand with you. At the same time if you catch bad on fourth and fifth you may be forced out of the hand, once you catch a good card or two you may have a complete lock here. By not playing aggressively early you will disguise your hand.
You	Opponent 1	Opponent 2	Opponent 3
Another situation where you have the best hand. In this case you may want to play somewhat more aggressively. Chances are at least one of your opponents has a hand they will play. By getting a few extra bets in early they may feel more inclined to chase the pot farther in then they should, and if the make a second best hand they will have a hard time letting it go.
You	Opponent 1	Opponent 2	Opponent 3
Even though you have the best upcard showing this is not a situation to attempt a raise. It is two easy for either the seven or the 5 to have a playable hand. This is the type of hand that should be folded.
You	Opponent 1	Opponent 2	Opponent 3
If you are the bring in you would play this hand for free or for one bet, if another high card card was the bring in and you still faced the same other opponents this hand would be a definite fold. Too many of the cards you need to improve your hand have already been dealt out. Furthermore you are probably significantly behind at least one, if not more of your opponents at this point in the hand, especially if they are raising and re-raising each other.

Where to Play Razz Online Razz is fast gaining popularity and is being offered on the biggest sites online. You can play razz at both PokerStars and FullTilt and both of these sites offer HORSE games where razz is mixed in with the other big poker games.