Razz
Until the 2004 World Series of Poker, Razz was not very popular to many poker game players. Today though, it is now gaining popularity especially among high-stakes poker players and because simply it can be a lot of fun game to play. In a way, Razz is the same as Seven-card stud with the one crucial difference: lowest hand wins.
Things to remember before starting a game of Razz:
* The Ace is the lowest card and the King as the leader
* Straight and Flush does not count.
* There is no restriction for a qualifying hand. Players must simply develop the lowest possible hand to win.
The lowest possible hand in Razz would be A2345. It is often played with a fixed limit betting structure although there might be some occasion when one can stumble a no limit or pot limit game. Fixed limit means that no player may bet more or less that what is at stake.
In a game of Razz, there are five rounds of betting with the first and second rounds have bets leveling to the low-end stakes. The last three betting rounds must have bets and raises equal to high-end stakes. Unlike Texas Holdem, Razz do not require blind bets instead it uses Ante bet and Bring-In. Betting options are explained below:
*Ante is a small bet placed by all players prior to the distribution of the card usually 10-25% the low bet.
*Bring-In is placed by the highest door card (the sole card facing up after the initial deal). It is a forced bet half the small bet. For instance, in a $2-$4 game, bring-in would be $1.
Game will begins with a small ante placed by all players to create the pot. Each player is dealt three cards, two of which are facing down. The bring-in bet is placed by the worst third street (card dealt face up). Players now have the choice to bring in bet or raise the bet to the full amount. The fourth card is now given to the rest of the players. The best hand opens the round of bets. The fifth and sixth cards will be received face up and one final hole card with betting allowed after each. The lowest five-card hand wins the pot.