Razz Poker Rules

Does the name of this game sound complicated? Well it really isn’t…if you know Seven Card you already have a basis for this game. In this game, the low hand wins, however.

Anyone who has ever experienced a Hi Lo game of any form knows what composes a low hand already. A straight or a flush does not matter in this game. The cards ranked aces are no longer the highest card available, but rather the lowest.

Unlike a Hi Lo game, there will never be a split pot in Razz. The low hand will always win the entire pot. This means that unlike Hi Lo games, as well, there is no reason to have qualifying low hands. Every card in the deck can count or be used towards making a low hand. Even those ranked higher than eight.

The Game:
The basic structure of Razz is exactly the same as Seven Card.

• Instead of having a small or big blind, each player will ante a certain amount of set money to get their first three cards.
• After anteing, players receive their first three cards. The first two are face down and only known to you. The last card is face up. This card, the face-up one, is called the door card.
• The player with the lowest door card will bet first, and a typical round of betting will take place.
• Another face-up card is dealt to each player.
• Another round of betting occurs.
• Yet another face-up card is given to each player.
• The same as usual, another round of betting occurs.
• One more face-up card is given to each player.
• Yet another round of betting occurs.
• A final card, the seventh one, is dealt to each player face down like the first two.
• A final round of betting, finally, occurs and finished the hand.

When betting ends, each player shows the hand that they were betting with. The player who assembles the lowest five cards wins the hand and the pot. The best Razz hand is Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five.

The Betting Rounds
As with any other type of poker, a player has four choices in betting rounds.

Fold – You fold hands which you no longer wish to invest money into and play.
Check – If there are no prior raises to call, a player can opt to check and see the next card without betting any additional money.
Call – If a bet was made, any amount, a player has to call this exact amount before he can opt to see another card.
Raise – If you would like to invest more money into a pot, a raise will allow you to do so by increasing the amount of a bet made.

As usual, betting only ends if all players but one fold or everyone calls or checks to the same amounts. Then the next sequence in the order above occurs.