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

Playing Strong Boards In Razz Poker

I started playing live professional tournaments in 2006.  The second set of tournaments I played was at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California.  The casino is also known as The Bike.  The day of the Omaha Hi-Lo event, I went to my table and I saw a very familiar face at the table.  It happened to be Hall of Fame poker player Barbara Enright, and she was sitting in the seat to my right.

I decided to strike up a conversation with Barbara and she was very gracious and very friendly.  I told her how that I was new to poker tournaments etc, and we got into a discussion about Las Vegas etc.  I knew from what I had read about her that she was a fantastic stud player and as a result, I decided to try and get her advice on Razz.   I had never played the game and I knew it was offered at the World Series.  I asked for her advice on the game and it was a very helpful piece of advice.  She said, “Play your boards strong.  Razz is a game of strong boards.”  As I started playing the game, I discovered that she was correct.  Today, I am going to talk a bit about playing your board in a Razz game.

As we all know, Razz is a game where the worst hand wins.  There are many times in this game that you can force a person out of a hand based on what you are showing on your board.  Of course, part of this requires that your opponent is astute enough to be able to put you on a better hand, and if they are willing to fold.  You cannot bluff a calling station, so if you are against one, don’t try.

For others, there are many times where you can force them off of a hand based on what you are showing.  For example, let’s say you are on fifth street showing 9-8-7.  You right now at best could have a made nine.  If you catch perfect, you may be able to draw to a seven, assuming your hold cards are good.  Now let’s look at your opponent’s board.  They are showing 8-8-J.  What is the best they can hope to draw to?  An eight is the best hand they can make, and right now they are still drawing.  In this type of situation, you will want to bet to force them out of the pot.

Part of being able to bet someone off of a hand is showing a hand that has looks strong compared to theirs.  The other part is determining what they could draw to?  When on Fourth Street, what can they draw to if they catch three cards perfect?  If on fifth, what can they catch?  You need to be able to put them on potential hands.

Did you notice in the examples above that I did not involve my hole cards?  There is a reason.  In the case of playing your board, you are betting based on your perceived strength and not on the actual strength of your hand.  It is another form of bluffing, and a very profitable form for this game.

Tags:
Barbara Enright, Bicycle Casino, Razz, Razz Poker, Seven Card Razz, World Series of Poker, WSOP