Razz Poker

Common mistakes in Razz

Razz, or “Razzle-Dazzle” as it used to be called, is a variant of seven-card stud. While many players may not have heard of the game, it has been a permanent fixture at the World Series of Poker since 1971. Jimmy Casella won the first-ever razz event at the WSOP for $10,000.

Thanks in part to the rise in popularity of mixed games such as H.O.R.S.E. Razz (the R in H.O.R.S.E) is now more commonly spread by online poker rooms and as a result new players are trying out this fun, yet sometimes frustrating, game.

One of the most common mistakes made by new and experienced players alike is slowplaying a good starting hand. Since the best possible hand, or nuts, is 5-4-3-2-A, players often decide to slowplay a starting hand such as A-2-3 in order to try and win a large pot. This is wrong for a number of reasons, including the fact they are just begging to be outdrawn over the next four streets of action with the majority of the deck still to be dealt. The only time it would be correct to slowplay would be if you had the nuts and nobody else was showing a card lower than a six.

Impatience is another flaw many Razz players possess, especially as it is quite common to fold a large percentage of your starting hands. In Razz you have to post an ante regardless of if you want to continue with your hand or not and this can become very frustrating if you see your chip stack dwindling while you are receiving unplayable cards. However, sitting tight and waiting is much better than playing sub-standard hands and potentially losing even more money.

The biggest mistake any Razz player can make, regardless of their skill level, is failing to follow correct bankroll management. The game itself is naturally high in variance and there will be periods of time where you are simply paying the antes or bring-in bets and then folding your hand. In order to be able to outlast these barren spells you should make sure you sit at the table with at least 50 big bets and have at least 500 big bets in your overall bankroll. This means to sit at a table with $1/$2 blinds you should sit down with at least $100 (and be prepared to re-buy) and if you plan on staying at these stakes you should have around $1,000 at your disposal.

To a beginner, Razz hands can be as confusing as the Omaha poker rules are to those used to playing Hold’em.

However, if you stick with it you’ll find Razz makes a nice change from the more commonly found forms of the game.

Tags:
Poker Rooms, Razz, Razzle-Dazzle, Seven Card Stud, Slowplaying, World Series of Poker, WSOP

Pacific Poker

	Basic Details
	Country of Origin	:	Gibraltar
	License	:	Gibraltar
	Year of Foundation	:	2002
	Software	:	888
	Size	:
	Audited By	:	PWC
	Language	:	English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Estonian
	Accepts USA Players	:	No
	Bonus	:	$400

Pacific Poker Review

Pacific Poker is a part of the 888.com network, which is also the creator of Casino-on-net, one of the largest casino gaming sites available online. It offers players all the standard online casino games that are offered at Poker gaming sites and some wonderful bonuses to avail themselves of. The website has had some recent modifications that have perked up the appearance of the earlier dull looking lobby and unstable software.

If you are looking for soft game play, Pacific Poker is the site for you as games here can tend to be very exciting and can also earn you some great profits. It is an equally entertaining poker playing site for both the experienced player as well as the novice.

Software:

The Pacific Poker software has certainly improved after the update. It now has better graphics, is clearer and much more stable and upgrading of these factors has led to an increasing amount of traffic to the website. Players have begun to appreciate its new look and as it offers more features now, it has become popular with the poker playing community. The addition of new 3-D avatars have improved graphics to a great extent and the menus are now customizable allowing you to set them as per your requirement.

You can watch a graphical representation of the hands played, which helps you improve your gaming strategies. Special hot keys are available for fold, check and raise. The software is easy to use and the menus are simple to navigate. A non-downloadable version of the software is also available that allows Linux and Mac players to enjoy Pacific Poker too.

A multi-table playing option is also available that permits players to play at multiple tables simultaneously without any distraction. This new inclusion has led to some heated competition at the poker tables. You can even view the flop percentages and the average pot size that helps you determine which games you would like to play.

Games offered on Pacific Poker:

You will find all the regular poker games on the website, namely Texas Holdem in Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit versions, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo in Pot Limit and Fixed Limit, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo also in Pot Limit and Fixed Limit and Five Card Stud.

The most popular games played at Pacific Poker are those of Texas Holdem. Wagers for Fixed Limit Texas Holdem can begin as low as $0.05/$0.10 and can go as high as $30/$60 while No Limit and Pot limit bets can start from $0.05/$0.10 and go up to $3/$6. Games are loose and therefore easy and profitable.

Apart from table games there are various multi table and sit and go tournaments to be played as well, with lucrative weekly tournaments carrying huge cash prizes. Players can also switch over from one website to the other on the 888.com network, giving players a wider choice of entertainment.

Rakes:

Rakes are exceptionally higher than most of the other poker websites. Instead of the standard 5% up to $3 rake, they charge $4 for stakes starting at $3/$6 and upwards. Similarly the pot is capped at $2.50 in place of the normal $2 cap that is applied by other poker rooms.

Bonuses and Promotions:

Players at Pacific Poker are entitled to a welcome bonus of 100% of up to $400 when they sign up for a new account. However you have to wager enough to be able to avail yourself of this bonus. Also available are weekly freeroll tournaments and guaranteed tournaments with up to $100,000 as cash rewards. You can collect comp points with every game played, which can then be cashed or used to play more games.

Traffic:

Peak hour traffic can go up to 9000 players simultaneously playing live games and tournaments. As is common at all poker playing sites, Pacific Poker too has a greater number of players attempting only tournaments.

Customer Support:

Customer Support is available via email and telephone and though they are prompt to answer basic queries, it is rather difficult to get a quick response for major problems.

Modes of Payment:

You can make deposits via credit cards, NETeller, PaySafeCard, Wire Transfers, Citadel, Cheque, Prepaid ATM, FirePay and Bank Transfer.

Withdrawals can be made through Credit/Debit cards, Prepaid ATM, NETeller, Wire Transfer, Bank Transfer and FirePay.

Tags:
Linux, Mac players, No Limit Poker, Omaha Poker, Pacific Poker, Pacific Poker Reviews, Poker Tournaments, Pot Limit Poker, Seven Card Stud, Texas Holdem

Razz Poker Tips for Beginners

Razz Poker is a variation of seven card stud poker that is played for low only. It can be thought of as playing stud in reverse. The worst hand wins. Straights and flushes do not count against your hand. Aces are always low in Razz. In fact, a pair of aces is actually lower than a pair of deuces. The card rank is the only thing that matters in razz. Suits are irrelevant. The best hand in Razz is the wheel, or an A-2-3-4-5. Unlike stud eight or better, there is no qualifier in razz; therefore if you hold 4-4-8-7-5 and someone holds A-2-3-6-6, you win.

There are a couple of rule changes in regards to betting that make stud eight different than other stud game. First, the highest card showing on third street is the bring-in. Next, from fourth through seventh street, the lowest showing hand opens the betting. Otherwise, the game is dealt as a normal stud game.

As a beginning player you will want to start with a very tight strategy in regards to playing razz. You really want to start with three cards eight and lower. Preference should be for hands that include an ace and a deuce or a three. The lower your starting hand is in razz poker, the better off you are. If your hand contains a card higher than nine, abandon the hand, especially if the door card is higher than 9. There are times where you can actually play hands that contain a card above an eight, but starting out, you need to start off with a solid strategy. The only time I would recommend playing a hand with a card above an eight is if you are holding a three card nine and your opponents are showing a nine or higher. In this case, you can play a nine low. Otherwise, wait until you get a better grasp of the game. There are many players that will play a high card with an A-2 or an A-3, hoping that they can catch a couple of low cards to make a good draw. First, if you call a bring-in or a completion with a card higher than a nine showing, you are telegraphing that you have a couple of solid low cards as hole cards. Player will punish you at the tables with extra bets when you make this play. Also, if you don’t catch immediately, you have to almost always abandon the hand.

If you do not improve your hand by fifth street, in most cases it is time to abandon the hand. Betting limits double and you must catch both cards perfect to make a hand. There may be times that you will want to abandon your hand at fourth street. For example, if you start with a three card eight and on fourth, you opponent catches a 7 to go with a low card, then you are very likely against a seven low draw. You will have to catch every card perfect to outdraw a seven. In this case it’s time to fold.

Learn how to recognize a boardlocked situation. When a player is boardlocked, they are locked into a certain hand and cannot improve to beat you. For example, let’s say you have a 7-6-5-4-A low on fifth street and your opponent is showing 9-10-8 as their board. Even if both are their down cards are perfect, such as A-2, there is no possible way they can outdraw you with two cards remaining. You have the nuts and need to bet like mad. This is also a helpful thing to know if you are drawing to a hand. If you have four cards to a six low on sixth street and your opponent is boardlocked into an eight low, you can usually call a bet in most cases because you can catch many cards to beat his hand. Recognizing boardlock situations requires you to pay careful attention to not only what your opponent is showing, but keeping in mind what the best possible hand is that he or she can draw to. Doing this will win you bets or over time.

Play your board aggressively. Razz is a game where you need to play a strong looking board aggressively to push drawing hands out. If you are sitting on fifth street with a three card seven and your opponent is showing a couple of high cards then you need to bet. The same is true when your opponent pairs up on his board or catches high cards that leave him drawing lower than you. In some cases it does not matter what your hole cards are. Lets say you call a bring in with a deuce up and a A-4 in the hole. You immediately catch a 4. Your opponent has a 10-8 showing. While you are technically behind right now, it’s hard for your opponent to know this. You might have started with A-2-3 and just now picked up a wheel draw as far as he knows. Betting will likely cause him to fold. If he does not fold, you may be able to push him out depending on how the board falls as right now, he has a four card ten at best. Remember, bet scary boards aggressively.

Now that mixed games are picking up popularity, it is important that you stay versed in all forms of poker. Razz is a game that you will likely see only played in either tournament or at higher levels at a casino. You can easily find it in most of the larger poker rooms online. Like stud eight or better, many people do not play this game well so building a solid foundation for the game will prove profitable over the long haul. With the above tips, you should be able to win in most lower level Razz cash games. Being a solid razz player will also help you when you play mixed poker games and in H.O.R.S.E. tournaments. Good luck and I hope to see you around the tables.

Tags:
Betting, Poker, Razz, Razz Poker, Seven Card Stud, Stud, stud eight or better