How to Play

A Seven-Card Stud lowball variant where the lowest hand wins; the unbeatable holding is the wheel, 5-4-3-2-A.

Razz is a Seven-Card Stud lowball game where the worst poker hand wins. Each player is dealt seven cards over five betting rounds (third through seventh street), and at showdown selects the five cards that make the lowest possible hand. Aces always count as the lowest card, and straights and flushes are ignored, so the unbeatable holding is 5-4-3-2-A, known as the wheel or bicycle. Because every deal produces a mix of face-up and face-down cards, much of the skill comes from reading opponents' exposed board cards and judging which hidden holdings are still live.

Players

Two to eight players, each playing for themselves. Eight is the hard maximum because seven cards per player plus burn cards would otherwise exhaust the deck; when a full eight-handed table reaches seventh street the dealer turns one community card face up for all remaining players to use.

Card Deck

• One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• Suits are irrelevant for hand value (flushes do not count against you).
• Aces rank low (value 1), below the deuce.
• Ranks from low to high for lowball comparison: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K.A♠2♠3♠4♠5♠6♠7♠8♠9♠10♠J♠Q♠K♠

Objective

Win chips from the pot, either by forcing every opponent to fold during betting or by showing the lowest five-card hand at showdown. The target at showdown is five unpaired cards of the lowest possible combined ranks; ties are broken card by card from the highest card downward.

Setup and Deal

1. Agree on betting limits. Razz is traditionally played fixed-limit: a small bet on third and fourth street, and a big bet (double the small bet) from fifth street onward.
2. Every player posts an ante, a small forced bet that seeds the pot.
3. The dealer gives each player two cards face down (the hole cards) and one card face up (the door card).
4. Because Razz rewards low hands, the player showing the highest-ranking door card posts a bring-in (a forced opening bet, usually equal to the ante or a fraction of the small bet). If two players tie for highest door card, suit order (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs, high to low) breaks the tie.

Gameplay

1. Third street: After the bring-in, action moves clockwise. Each player in turn may fold, call the bring-in, or complete the bet up to the small-bet size, after which raises proceed in small-bet increments.
2. Fourth street: Each remaining player receives a second up-card. From this point on, the player whose face-up cards make the lowest visible hand acts first in every round.
3. Fifth street: A third up-card is dealt. Bets now double to the big-bet size.
4. Sixth street: A fourth up-card is dealt, followed by another big-bet round.
5. Seventh street: A seventh card is dealt face down, so each player ends with three hole cards and four up-cards. A final big-bet round precedes the showdown.
6. Showdown: Surviving players turn up their hole cards. Each selects the best (lowest) five of their seven cards. The lowest hand wins the pot; if two hands tie, the pot is split.

Hand Rankings

• Hands are ranked by the highest card first; the hand with the lower high card wins. If tied, compare the next highest, and so on.
• Pairs, trips, and full houses are the worst possible holdings because at least two of the five cards repeat a rank.
• The wheel (5-4-3-2-A) is the nut low; 6-4-3-2-A is the next best, then 6-5-3-2-A, 6-5-4-2-A, 6-5-4-3-A, 6-5-4-3-2, 7-4-3-2-A, and so on.
• Because straights and flushes are ignored for lowball, a hand like 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ 2♠ A♠ is still the wheel, not a straight flush.5♠4♠3♠2♠A♠

Betting Rules

• A player may fold (discard the hand), call (match the current bet), raise (increase the bet), or check (pass without betting, allowed only when no bet has been made in the current round).
• Typical fixed-limit Razz allows one bet and three raises per round unless only two players remain heads-up, in which case raises are uncapped.
• An all-in player contests only the portion of the pot they could match; side pots are built for players with remaining chips.

Winning

A hand is won either by being the last player who has not folded or by having the lowest five-card hand at showdown. Tournaments and cash games continue until players meet the format's chip or session goal; in tournaments the last player with chips wins overall.

Common Variations

• London Lowball: Uses ace-to-six low rankings where straights and flushes count against you, so the best hand is 6-4-3-2-A of mixed suits.
• Deuce-to-Seven (Kansas City) Lowball: Aces are high, straights and flushes count, so the nut low is 7-5-4-3-2 off-suit.
• No-Limit Razz: Replaces fixed-limit betting with no-limit, letting players bet any amount up to their stack on any street.
• H.O.R.S.E.: Razz is the R in this five-game rotation (Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Stud Eight-or-Better), with the game type changing each orbit.

Tips and Strategy

• Only enter pots with three cards to an eight-low or better; a playable starting hand is three unpaired cards all ranked 8 or lower, ideally with an ace.
• Watch the exposed up-cards of opponents before acting. If the low cards you need to improve are already showing in other players' hands, your draws are said to be dead.
• Steal antes and bring-ins aggressively when your door card is the lowest at the table and other players' door cards are face cards.
• Fold marginal hands that catch a high card (9 or above) on fourth street against opponents still showing low boards; the pot odds rarely justify chasing.
• Remember that a pair destroys a lowball hand. Even a perfect starting trio can be ruined by pairing on later streets, so plan bets around the chance of bricking.

Glossary

• Door card: The face-up card dealt on third street.
• Bring-in: The forced opening bet posted by the highest door card.
• Wheel: The hand 5-4-3-2-A, the best possible Razz hand.
• Brick: A high card or pair dealt on a later street that worsens the hand.
• Live card: A card not yet visible in an opponent's hand, still available to be drawn.
• Smooth low: A low hand whose secondary cards are also small (for example, 8-4-3-2-A is a smooth 8).
• Rough low: A low hand with high secondary cards (for example, 8-7-6-5-A).