Razz

It is said Razz is played by poker players with a death wish. It is the heartbreaker game of all poker games, because seventh street can ruin a player's most carefully laid plans. Since Razz requires the ability to calculate odds in a backwards fashion, it is also considered one of the most complicated poker games one can play.

Razz could best be described as Seven Card Stud Low. It is like playing stud poker in the Bizarro universe. The game plays like Seven Card Stud, except the players are trying to build the worst hand possible.

The Deal

Like standard seven-card stud, the deal begins with three cards for each player.

The first two cards are face down. Third street is face up. There is a "give up" bet in this game, with one major difference. The player with the worst card showing is forced to place the give up bet, which is a small, mandatory bet placed to drive the action.

Betting continues around the table in a clockwise fashion from here.

The Ace In Razz

It should be noted that aces always have the rank of "one" in Razz. Therefore, you cannot have it count as an Ace. Of course, this still makes aces the best cards to hold in Razz.

Fourth Street

The fourth card dealt is called fourth street. A round of betting occurs after this deal. The player with the lowest hand showing starts the betting after fourth street.

Fifth Street

The dealer deals another card to each of the remaining players. This is called fifth street, and is dealt face up for all to see. As with 4th street, the player with the lowest hand showing starts the betting on 5th street.

Sixth Street

This is another round of betting, identical to the previous two rounds. The sixth card, called 6th street, is dealt, with the player holding the lowest ranked hand showing initiates the betting once more.

Seventh Street

The final card dealt in Razz is Seventh Street. Unlike the previous four cards, 7th street is dealt face up. Betting is once again started by the player who bet first in sixth street, or if that player is no longer in the hand, the player with the lowest ranked card hand showing.

If there are two or more players remaining in the hand after all of the betting rounds have occured, then a showdown is in order. Players show their cards and a winner is assessed.