Stud lowball

Razz

The lowest five-card hand wins. Board texture and dead cards are more important than hidden strength.

Razz mixed poker rules

Razz mixed poker games rules are lowball rules: the lowest five-card hand wins, aces are low, and straights or flushes do not hurt you. Exposed cards matter because every dead low card changes how often your draw improves.

  • Each player receives seven cards across the hand, with some exposed.
  • The lowest five-card hand wins.
  • Straights and flushes do not count against you in standard razz.

Rule tips

  • Begin with three unpaired low cards, ideally five or lower.
  • Compare your board to opponents' upcards before calling on later streets.
  • Track dead cards so you know whether your smooth low draw is still live.

Common rule mistakes

  • Continuing with a rough eight when an opponent shows a much smoother board.
  • Treating paired hidden cards as harmless; pairs reduce the five-card low you can make.
  • Ignoring door-card pressure from players who can represent stronger lows than you.

Hand values

  • A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible hand.
  • Pairs are bad because paired cards do not help the low.
  • Rough lows like 8-7 are vulnerable against smoother boards.

Starting hand advice

  • Three unpaired cards five or lower are excellent.
  • Three-card sevens are playable when live and position is favorable.
  • Avoid hands with duplicated ranks or dead low cards.

Common beginner mistakes

  • Chasing when opponents show much smoother boards.
  • Ignoring dead low cards.
  • Treating any made eight as automatically strong.

Razz starting hands

Razz starting hand chart by door card and live lows.

Razz position is built from the bring-in, the exposed boards, and how live your low cards are before fourth street.

3 starting cards, then exposed streets Bring-in, early act, steal seat, defense Make the smoothest live low
Early act Smooth and live

Open or complete

  • A-2-3 through A-4-6
  • Three unpaired cards six or lower
  • Seven-lows when key cards are live

Continue with

  • Best visible low board
  • Live wheel cards
  • Opponents showing bricks

Avoid

Rough eights, paired lows, and starts with dead improvement cards behind.

Drill: Deal 20 third-street starts and fold every hand with two dead wheel cards.

Middle act Board compare

Open or complete

  • Smooth three-card lows
  • Live seven-lows
  • Hands blocking better low boards

Continue with

  • Opponent boards that paired or bricked
  • Live catch-up cards
  • Door-card edge

Avoid

Calling with hidden strength while two cleaner boards still act behind.

Drill: Name the best visible board before looking at your hidden cards.

Late steal Pressure high doors

Open or complete

  • Best low door showing
  • Live smooth lows
  • Ace or deuce door against high boards

Continue with

  • Fold equity from board edge
  • Clean fourth-street improvement
  • Dead high cards

Avoid

Stealing into several lower, live boards.

Drill: Run 15 steal spots and decide from exposed boards first.

Bring-in defense Defend live only

Open or complete

  • Complete strong live lows
  • Call priced smooth lows
  • Raise when your board is clearly best

Continue with

  • Live wheel cards
  • Villain bricks
  • Clear board advantage

Avoid

Defending rough lows because you already posted the forced bet.

Drill: Mark every bring-in defense as live enough or forced-money trap.

Razz strategy

Core strategy before you sit in the game.

Use these decisions after the rules make sense. The goal is to know what the hand is trying to win, which starts are worth playing, and which mistake costs the most bets.

Primary objective

A-2-3 is the dream start

Starting point

Three unpaired cards five or lower are excellent.

Street plan

Three-card sevens are playable when live and position is favorable.

Main leak to avoid

Chasing when opponents show much smoother boards.

Five example hands

Play the hand all the way to the final street.

Each example shows the street-by-street line and why the decision changes as price, public information, draw count, opponent action, or pot objective changes.

Smooth seven pressure

Razz

You start Razz with three smooth low cards and opponents show higher doors.

Hand: A-3-5, catch 7, J, 2, K.

  1. Third street Complete the smooth start.

    Each player receives seven cards across the hand, with some exposed. means low cards create immediate board pressure.

  2. Fourth street Bet after catching the 7.

    Your board remains smoother than high-door opponents.

  3. Fifth street Continue through one brick if opponents also brick.

    The jack hurts, but board comparison matters.

  4. River Value bet a made seven or strong eight; check rough lows.

    The river hand is judged by smoothness, not just being made.

Takeaway: Razz aggression comes from visible board advantage and live low cards.

Rough eight slowdown

Razz

You make a rough low while a smoother opponent keeps improving in Razz.

Hand: 8-7-4-3-A against opponent showing A-2-5-6.

  1. Third/Fourth Start only if your low cards are live.

    Rough lows need live improvement.

  2. Fifth Slow down against smoother boards.

    The opponent can already be drawing to better lows.

  3. Sixth Fold to pressure when your board is visibly worse.

    Calling big bets with a rough eight is a common leak.

  4. River Call only if the opponent bricks or bluffs too often.

    Your made low may still be second-best.

Takeaway: Made does not mean strong when the visible board says you are rough.

Paired hidden card trap

Razz

Your board looks clean in Razz, but a hidden pair weakens the final low.

Hand: A-2-4-4-7-9-K.

  1. Third street Complete A-2-4 when live.

    The start is premium before pairing.

  2. Fourth street Recount after pairing a hidden rank.

    The pair does not help your five-card low.

  3. Fifth/Sixth Continue only if the visible board still beats opponents.

    You need enough clean cards to replace the pair.

  4. River Do not value bet a hand that only looked smooth before the pair.

    The actual five-card low is worse than the board suggests.

Takeaway: Razz mistakes often come from forgetting paired ranks inside the hand.

Dead-card catch-up problem

Razz

Your catch-up cards in Razz are dead around the table.

Hand: You need a 2, 3, or 4, but several are exposed and folded.

  1. Third street Track folded low cards immediately.

    Every dead low card reduces future improvement.

  2. Fourth Continue only with live catch-up cards.

    A good price is not enough when outs are dead.

  3. Fifth Fold when bets double and your live draw is thin.

    Big bets punish low-card memory mistakes.

  4. River Bluff only if your board credibly improved.

    Opponents can see many of the same dead cards.

Takeaway: Dead cards decide whether a weak board can catch up.

Bring-in steal with board edge

Razz

In Razz, you show the lowest door card and the bring-in has a rough card.

Hand: You show 3; bring-in shows K; two medium cards behind.

  1. Third street Complete when your hidden cards support the steal.

    Door-card advantage creates fold equity.

  2. Fourth Keep pressure if your board remains low.

    Visible low cards make the story believable.

  3. Fifth Stop if you brick and callers improve.

    Board advantage can disappear quickly.

  4. River Show down made lows; avoid hopeless bluffs into improved boards.

    The final action must match visible card history.

Takeaway: Steals need hidden support and continued board advantage.

Advanced Razz strategy

Move from rules into pressure points.

Advanced play is less about memorizing the format and more about finding the exact spot where fixed bets, split-pot pressure, live cards, draw counts, or house rules change the best line.

Pressure point

Begin with three unpaired low cards, ideally five or lower.

Range adjustment

Compare your board to opponents' upcards before calling on later streets.

Exploit target

Treating paired hidden cards as harmless; pairs reduce the five-card low you can make.

Review question

After each Razz hand, ask whether the final action matched the hand value, pot type, and visible information.

Razz drills

Practice the decisions on this page.

This page includes 20 Razz drills. Work through the drills tied to this game before moving to another variant so the rule, starting-hand, and mistake patterns become automatic.

Name the winning condition

Rule recognition

Deal 20 Razz examples and state the core rule before checking the result: Each player receives seven cards across the hand, with some exposed.

Score one point only when the rule is named before the hand is solved.

Practice Trainer

Explain the betting or draw structure

Rule recognition

Pause before each action and say how this rule changes the decision: The lowest five-card hand wins.

Write the decision change in one sentence.

Practice Trainer

Confirm the hand-building rule

Rule recognition

Run 15 quick hand checks where the first question is: Straights and flushes do not count against you in standard razz.

Mark every missed rule as a review spot.

Practice Trainer

Rank the hand class

Hand value

Sort 20 sample holdings by strength using this standard: A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible hand.

Group each hand as premium, playable, marginal, or fold.

Practice Trainer

Find the fragile value hand

Hand value

Choose five hands that look playable, then explain when this warning matters: Pairs are bad because paired cards do not help the low.

Keep only hands with a clear improvement or showdown plan.

Practice Trainer

Build a premium-start list

Starting hands

Write ten Razz starts that fit this rule: Three unpaired cards five or lower are excellent.

Reject any start that cannot explain its main way to win.

Practice Trainer

Separate playable from speculative

Starting hands

Sort 25 starts using this checkpoint: Three-card sevens are playable when live and position is favorable.

Tag each speculative hand with the exact card, board, or street it needs.

Practice Trainer

Fold the pretty trap

Starting hands

Find ten attractive-looking hands that fail this warning: Avoid hands with duplicated ranks or dead low cards.

Write the fold reason before looking at the result.

Practice Trainer

Pick the next-card plan

Street plan

Before every continue, name the cards or streets that improve the hand in Razz.

Use this cue as the standard: Begin with three unpaired low cards, ideally five or lower.

Practice Trainer

Pressure or pot-control decision

Street plan

Run 12 spots where the only decision is whether to apply pressure or keep the pot controlled.

Anchor the answer to: Compare your board to opponents' upcards before calling on later streets.

Practice Trainer

Opponent range check

Street plan

Before calling down, name the opponent hands that continue worse and the hands that punish you.

Use this adjustment: Track dead cards so you know whether your smooth low draw is still live.

Practice Trainer

Fix the most common mistake

Leak repair

Replay 15 hands where the leak is: Chasing when opponents show much smoother boards.

Write the prevention rule before choosing an action.

Practice Trainer

Catch the second leak

Leak repair

Build a mini-drill around this mistake: Ignoring dead low cards.

Stop the hand on the street where the mistake first appears.

Practice Trainer

Repair the expensive habit

Leak repair

Find five examples where this mistake becomes costly: Treating any made eight as automatically strong.

Name the cheaper action and the reason it is better.

Practice Trainer

A-2-3 is the dream start

Decision cue

Turn this Razz cue into ten flashcards with one correct action and one trap action.

A flashcard passes only when the reason is specific to this game.

Practice Trainer

Pairs are bad

Decision cue

Run a five-minute warmup focused only on this cue before playing Razz.

Record the first hand where the cue changes your choice.

Practice Trainer

Visible cards shape every call

Decision cue

Create 12 close spots where this cue decides between call, raise, draw, pat, or fold.

Keep the decision explanation under two sentences.

Practice Trainer

Rough eights lose value fast

Decision cue

Use this cue as the review label for your next Razz session.

Tag at least three hands that prove whether the habit is improving.

Practice Trainer

One-orbit review drill

Full-hand review

Review one full Razz orbit and write the objective, hand value, pressure point, and mistake risk for each hand.

The drill is complete when each hand has one next-session adjustment.

Practice Trainer

Teach the game back

Full-hand review

Explain Razz to another player using the rules, starting hands, mistakes, and example on this page.

Any rule you cannot explain becomes tomorrow's first drill.

Practice Trainer

Example hand

How to think through it

If you show 8-6 and an opponent shows 4-7, your hidden cards matter, but their visible board can still apply pressure because they represent smoother lows.

Quick quiz

Check the first concept.

Razz

Before you play this game, what is the first rule or hand-value adjustment you need to remember?

Show a good answer

A-2-3 is the dream start.

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