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Razz Poker Hand

Razz Poker is becoming more popular in the word of online poker and now can be played at several of the top online casino poker rooms. This online casino game is an exciting fast paced game, with its great variations and turns.

Razz poker is a variation of seven card stud. It is very much the same to 7 card stud hi-lo but with a couple differences. Razz Poker is a true lowball game that only pays the player with the lowest hand and there is no requirement for the low hand. The rules of razz poker are quite simple to understand, especially if you are familiar with 7 card stud.

How to Play Razz Poker?

The goal in razz poker is to get the lowest possible hand. Razz can accommodate up to six players, but as few as two can play at a time. Before the dealer deals in the game of Razz, all of the players are required to place the bets $1 in this case, that is contributed to the pot.

After all the bets have been collected, the dealer can go on. Starting to the dealers left, each player is dealt 3 cards. One of these cards is face-up, and the other 2 are face-down “hole cards”.

Each player will then be dealt 2 down cards, also known as hole cards, and one up card. The player with the highest ranking up card will be forced to put in a “Bring In”. The “Bring In” in addition to the initial bet that usually add up to 1/2 of the lower stake, lets say for a $5/$10 the lower stake would be $5. After the “bring in” the other places have the option to fold, call or raise.

In a clockwise style, each player is dealt a card until all players have 3 cards. The first 2 cards are dealt face down as Hole Cards, then the third face up, called the Door Card. From this point in the hand forward the player with the lowest up cards will bet first. Each player will be dealt a total of 4 up cards and there will be a bet after each is dealt. A final down card will be dealt along with one final bet. The player with the lowest 5 card hand will win the pot.

There are a few definite rules of hand development that are observed in Razz Poker:

- Aces are the lowest card
- Straights and Flushes do not count against you
- Best possible Razz Hand: A-2-3-4-5

Razz Poker Betting Structures

Check: If no player has Bet in the current round, you can Check, choosing not to Bet, but not to Fold.

Bet: The first chips placed in the pot in a single betting round is called the Bet.

Call: To place chips in the pot equal to the current Bet.

Raise: To place more chips in the pot than the current Bet.

Fold: Throw in your cards and forfeit the hand.

All-In: To bet all remaining chips. Even if you don’t have enough chips to Call the current Bet, you go push All-In, but you can only win as much from each player as your All-In bet.