Introduction
Razz Poker is a low variation of Seven Card Stud which is a popular game at Nigerian online casinos. It is a game where the lowest or worst poker hand possible wins the pot.
Playing Razz Poker
At the start of a Razz Poker game, the dealer deals two cards face down in the specified sequence to each player, starting with the player seated to the left. He then deals one face-up card, known as the “Door” Card, in sequence to each player.
Once all the players have their two down cards and one “door” card, it’s time for one player to bring it to the Razz Game or place the first bet in layman’s terms. As in Stud, the player to place the first bet gets decided by the value of their “door” card. Unlike Stud Poker, the player in Razz with the highest value door card places the first bet. The “door” cards get ranked according to the face value from lowest to highest (J, Q AND K), whereas Aces get rated as low; therefore, the King is the highest-ranked card in Razz Poker. If two players tie for a high card, their “door” card suits break the tie. The suits are ordered alphabetically from worst to best, clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
Razz Poker Rules
Once the final betting round is complete, the players still in hand enter a showdown where they make the best, then make the best five-card hand out of their seven cards. The remaining two cards, the “dead” cards, do not contribute towards the hand and play no part in evaluating the strength of a hand.
The last bettor shows their cards first, and if there was no bet in the final round, player 1 shows first with more hands shown in a clockwise direction. The round winner is the player with the best five-card low hand with no qualifying hand required. Below are the Rules:
- When playing Razz Poker, the player with the lowest exposed hand leads the betting.
- A Round wins by the player with the worst hand.
- Straights and Flushes do not count, therefore the best hand in a Razz Poker game is the lowest straight, this is the “Wheel” (A-2-3-4-5)
- Razz Poker requires no qualifier for the winning hand; the winner is the player with the lowest hand even if the player has two pairs or higher
- In Razz Poker the hand A-2-3-4-5-7 beats A-2-3-4-5-8.
- If two players have the same hand, the pot is split 50/50
Final Thoughts
Razz Poker is a popular lowball game. It’s been an event at WSOP since 1971. Some of the most famous players globally have won WSOP Razz bracelets, including Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson and Huck Seed.
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