RAZZ Poker Strategy
Razz is an exciting spin off of seven card stud low that most poker players (at least those who enjoy a challenge) absolutely love. Razz poker is played similarly to seven card stud low, although there are a few twists and different rules during certain points of the game. Learning razz can be complicated but worthwhile. Some razz poker strategy tips to help improve your razz poker game or get your started on the road to winning the big razz poker pots include:
Starting Hand Strategy in Razz Poker
Learning what constitutes a great razz poker starting hand. The starting hand in razz is pretty indicative of how the game will turn out. Although the best possible razz poker hand is the lowest and consequently worst traditional poker hand, ace/two/three/four/five, a great razz starting hand is typically ace/two/three. However, a good razz starting hand is any three cards lower than five – and if you go into third street with five to a low, then you have a good chance at winning. A mediocre starting hand in razz is three cards under six, although three cards under seven or eight is decent to start with. Three cards under eight or nine are usually never winners, but there are certain circumstances that might cause you to stay in at least until fourth street with these types of hands.
Watching Your Opponents’ Porch Cards in Razz Poker
Keep a watchful eye on the porch cards of your opponents in razz poker. What are you looking for? Well, logically speaking, anything that you see on your opponents’ porches is not in the deck. Look for dead cards that might give you more confidence in your own hand – if a card is dead and that dead card pairs with a card in your hand, you are not worried about pairing your low card and killing your razz hand.
Razz Poker Pot Jamming Strategy
Although razz poker is not typically played or thought of as a slow playing poker game, with exceptions of course, if you have a good razz poker hand, you naturally want to jam the pot to the most extent possible. When jamming the razz poker pot, you can raise a big enough pot by third street action alone to allow you to call on fourth street if you need to because you catch an unwanted card. This gives you the time needed to catch a good card on fifth street and keep the pot nice and fat, waiting for you to swoop in and collect your chips.
Ante Stealing Razz Poker Strategy
Ante stealing in razz poker can be especially important, even more so when limits are raised. There are some situations and circumstances in razz poker that create a great opportunity for ante stealing, such as when the “bring in” player is seated to your left and folded up to you – you should take the chance to complete the bet, stealing the bring in and the ante. Although this won’t work one hundred percent of the time, it will work enough to be profitable.
Practice Strategy in Razz Poker
Perhaps the best strategy that you will ever develop in razz poker is the art of practicing. Although it is definitely more exciting to play razz poker in real time with real money on the line, the smart razz poker player understands the need for practice to hone their razz poker skills and be the big breadwinner most of the time when playing razz.
