Razz Poker

Last Updated on October 6, 2026 by Bala Kumar

What Is Razz Poker?

Razz is a form of seven-card stud where the lowest hand wins. Each player gets seven cards over the course of the hand, some face down and some face up, and makes the best five-card low hand from them.

Three things make Razz different from most poker games:

•           Aces are always low. An ace is the best card you can have.

•           Straights and flushes don’t count. A-2-3-4-5 of hearts is still the perfect low hand.

•           Pairs are bad. Any paired card hurts your hand.

The best possible Razz hand is A-2-3-4-5, often called “the wheel”.

Razz is the “R” in H.O.R.S.E. (Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo), so mixed-game players need to know it. It’s also a good second game for Hold’em players, because most of your opponents’ cards are face up and you can practise reading boards.

Who is Razz for? Patient players who like logic and card counting. In Razz you see most of your opponents’ cards, so careful observation is often worth more than bluffing.

Razz at a Glance

How to Play Razz Poker

A Razz hand has five betting rounds, named after how many cards each player holds.

Step by step

1.         Ante. Every player puts a small ante into the pot.

2.         Third Street. Each player gets two cards face down and one face up (the “door card”). The player with the highest door card must post the bring-in, a small forced bet. A king is the worst card, so a king showing usually brings it in. Action then moves clockwise. Players can call the bring-in, “complete” to a full small bet, or fold.

3.         Fourth Street. Each remaining player gets another face-up card. From now on, the player whose face-up cards make the lowest hand acts first.

4.         Fifth Street. Another face-up card. Bets double to the big bet.

5.         Sixth Street. Another face-up card, with big bets.

6.         Seventh Street. The last card is dealt face down. There’s a final round of big bets.

7.         Showdown. Each player makes their best five-card low from seven cards, and the lowest hand wins.

Example hand (illustrative):

•           You: (A-3) 5 — a strong start. Your opponent shows a K, so they post the bring-in, and you complete.

•           Fourth Street: you catch a 7, so your board shows 5-7. Your opponent catches a 9.

•           Fifth Street: you catch a J (a “brick”). Your opponent catches a 2.

•           Sixth Street: you catch a 2. Your best low is now 7-5-3-2-A.

•           Seventh Street: you catch a Q face down, but you already have your 7-low.

•           Showdown: your 7-5-3-2-A beats your opponent’s 8-6-4-2-A.

Razz Poker Rules

Cards and hands

•           Each player receives seven cards: two face down, then four face up, then one face down.

•           You use your best five cards to make a low hand. The other two are ignored.

•           Aces are always low.

•           Straights and flushes don’t count against you. 5-4-3-2-A is a perfect 5-low, even if it’s suited or in sequence.

•           Pairs count against you. If you can’t make five different ranks, a paired hand loses to any unpaired hand.

Bring-in

•           The player with the highest face-up card on Third Street posts the bring-in.

•           If two players show the same highest rank, suit decides. Under standard stud rules, the higher suit brings in (spades > hearts > diamonds > clubs). House rules can differ, so check your room.

•           The bring-in player can post the minimum or complete the bet.

Betting order

•           On Third Street, action starts with the bring-in.

•           From Fourth Street onwards, the player with the lowest showing board acts first.

Betting limits (fixed limit)

•           Third and Fourth Streets use the small bet.

•           Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Streets use the big bet, usually twice the small bet.

•           Most rooms cap betting at one bet plus three or four raises per round in multi-way pots. Check your room’s rules.

Running out of cards

With eight players and seven cards each, the deck can run short. If there aren’t enough cards for everyone on Seventh Street, a single community card is dealt face up in the middle and all players use it.

Razz Hand Rankings

To compare two Razz hands, look at the highest card first. The lower top card wins. If the top cards match, compare the next card down, and so on.

How to compare two hands

•           8-5-4-2-A vs 8-6-3-2-A: Both are 8-lows. Next card: 5 beats 6, so 8-5-4-2-A wins.

•           7-6-5-4-3 vs 8-3-2-A-4: The 7-low wins because 7 is lower than 8, even though the 8-low has smaller cards further down.

•           A-2-3-4-5 vs A-2-3-4-6: The wheel wins. Its top card is 5, which is lower than 6.

Real example from the 2026 WSOP

Calvin Anderson won the 2026 WSOP $10,000 Razz Championship with seven cards of Q-9-8-7-5-4-A. Discard the queen and the nine, and his best low was 8-7-5-4-A: an 8-low. Big tournaments are often won with hands that look ordinary, because every player is fighting the same bad cards.

Razz Starting Hands

Your first three cards (Third Street) decide most of your Razz results. The general rule: play three different low cards, ideally 8 or lower.

How often you get good starting hands

These figures are calculated from a standard 52-card deck:

What this means: You’ll get a three-card 8-low only about once every six hands. If you’re playing far more often than that, you’re probably playing too many hands.

Why exposed cards matter

A hand’s strength depends on which cards are still available. If you hold (A-3) 5 and three opponents show 2s, 4s and 6s, many of the cards you need are already gone. These are called dead cards. Count them before you commit.

Razz Strategy

1.         Start with three low cards. Most profit comes from simply playing better starting hands than your opponents.

2.         Watch every upcard. Track which low cards are dead. A good-looking hand with dead cards is worse than it looks.

3.         Compare boards, not just hands. If your board looks lower than your opponent’s, you can often bet even when your hidden cards are weak.

4.         Steal the antes. When you show a low card and everyone after you shows high cards, completing the bet often wins the antes right away.

5.         Respect the bring-in. The bring-in player has a high card showing, so they’re often weak. Don’t let them see cheap cards with a good hand.

6.         Fold when you fall behind. If your opponent’s board is clearly better and you just caught a high card, folding early saves big bets later.

7.         Draw to better lows when the pot justifies it. A five-card draw with live cards can be worth calling. One with dead cards usually isn’t.

8.         Value bet strong made lows. A made 7-low or better on Sixth Street is often worth betting for value.

9.         Remember that betting order changes. The lowest board acts first from Fourth Street, so your position changes from street to street.

Razz Strategy by Street

Fourth Street example: You have (A-2) 4 and catch a 6, while your opponent shows 7 and catches a K. Your board (4-6) is clearly lower than theirs (7-K), so bet. They’ll often fold.

Razz Starting Hand Chart

A quick chart for beginners. Adjust it based on dead cards and how many opponents are in the pot.

What Is a Good Razz Hand?

Rule of thumb: In heads-up pots, a smooth 8-low is often good enough to win. In multi-way pots, you usually need a 7-low or better.

Razz vs Other Poker Games

Razz vs Seven Card Stud

The deal and the betting rounds are the same. The goal is reversed.

Razz vs Texas Hold’em

Hold’em uses shared community cards, while Razz gives each player their own seven cards. Hold’em is usually played no-limit and Razz fixed-limit. In Razz you see four of every opponent’s cards, so card reading is more visual. In Hold’em you see none of them.

Razz Betting Structure

Example structure: In a 10/20 game, bets and raises are $10 on Third and Fourth Streets and $20 from Fifth Street onwards. The ante and bring-in amounts vary by room, so check the table’s details.

Unlike Seven Card Stud, Razz has no option to bet the big bet on Fourth Street when a pair shows, because a pair is a bad thing in Razz.

Razz Terms & Glossary

Common Razz Mistakes

1.         Playing too many starting hands. Strong three-card starts come only about once every six hands.

2.         Ignoring exposed cards. Dead cards turn a good-looking hand into a poor one.

3.         Chasing with dead draws. If the cards you need are gone, fold.

4.         Overvaluing one good card. An ace with two high cards isn’t a Razz hand.

5.         Ignoring your opponent’s board. Their visible cards tell you a lot about their likely hand.

6.         Calling too much on Fifth Street and later. The bets double, so marginal calls cost much more.

7.         Misreading the showdown. Remember to drop pairs and high cards. Many beginners read their hand wrong.

Razz Tournament Strategy

Razz Cash Game Strategy

•           Bankroll: Fixed-limit games still swing. A common guideline is to keep several hundred big bets for the stakes you play.

•           Table selection: Look for tables where players see many Fourth Streets. That usually means looser opponents.

•           Discipline: Most Razz profit comes from folding marginal starts. Don’t let boredom push you into weak hands.

•           Track dead cards every hand: It’s tiring, but it’s the biggest edge you have over casual players.

Razz Tournaments

Razz is played mostly in mixed-game series and as part of rotation games such as H.O.R.S.E. and 8-Game.

WSOP Razz results (2026)

$10,000 WSOP Razz Championship history

2026 highlights: Anderson became the first player to win the $10,000 Razz Championship twice. His $357,026 was reported by Pokerology as the largest first prize ever in the event. Field size also grew, from 134 to 155. Eric Rodawig was runner-up, and Tobias Leknes finished fifth for $82,171. The $1,500 Razz event was won with 6-4-3-2-A, a near-perfect hand.

Online Razz tournaments

PokerStars’ WCOOP 2026 included a $1,050 Razz World Championship on September 10, and online series such as WCOOP and SCOOP usually include Razz in their mixed-game schedules. Live festivals include Razz too: OlyBet’s Kings of Tallinn Autumn 2026 schedule has a €250 Pot-Limit Razz Progressive Bounty on October 11.

Where to Play Razz Online

Razz is offered by fewer poker rooms than Hold’em or Omaha, and traffic is lower, so games often run at set times or in series events.

Availability depends on your country. Online poker rules vary and can change, so check whether a site is licensed where you live before you play. Readers in India should check the current rules for their state.

A Short History of Razz

Razz grew out of seven-card stud, which was the most popular form of poker in the United States for much of the 20th century. As stud players looked for variety, the lowball version became a fixture of mixed games. Today Razz survives mainly through mixed-game rotations like H.O.R.S.E. and 8-Game, and through dedicated championship events such as the WSOP’s $10,000 Razz Championship.

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