Razz Poker Rules

Razz Poker is 7 Card Stud Poker where the best low hand wins. The rules of 7 Card Stud and Razz are basically the same. Each player will end up with a total of seven cards; three face down and four face up. The objective of Razz Poker is to make the lowest possible five-card poker hand. Aces are always low, and straights and flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand; thus 2-3-4-5-6 is a lower ranking hand than 9-4-5-3-10. The lowest possible hand is A-2-3-4-5.

Razz Rules

Razz Poker is usually played with an ante bet. The ante is often around 1/5 the low limit bet. After every player antes up, the play begins.

Player’s are initially dealt two cards face down and one card face up, Third Street. The player with the highest card begins the betting. Play proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player choosing to fold, call, or raise. During this round all bets are at the lower limit. A maximum of three raises are allowed per player during each betting round.

A forth card is now dealt face up to each player. The player with the lowest hand showing begins the betting for Forth Street, with the option of folding, checking, or betting. If two or more players have the same ranking hand, the player closest to the dealer’s left begins. All bets and raises must be equal to the low limit bet size.

For Fifth Street, another card is dealt face up to each player. The lowest showing hand again starts the betting, but bets are now fixed at the higher limit.

Another face up card is dealt to each player, Sixth Street. The betting proceeds as in Fifth Street.

The seventh and final card is dealt face down to each player. The betting proceeds in the same fashion as the previous two rounds. The last person to bet is the first to show their hand in the showdown. The action proceeds clockwise from there, with remaining players either choosing to show his hand, or muck it. Lowest ranking hand wins the pot.