RAZZ tactics

Any experienced Razz players out there got any tips/styles/plays they wanna share?

Hi there, I hope I can help you with your razz game.

Tight and agressive play is what works for me and you should play 3 cards 8 or lower in most cases.

Razz players generally go on tilt because they start off with 3 low cards like A23 and expect to win no matter what other cards they get after 3rd street.

Also players go on tilit because they get 4 low cards and 6th and 7th street turn up pair cards or Kings.

One way to avoid this (well maybe "reduce" is a better word) is to look at your 3 low cards and then look around at the other players upside card.

and what you want is for the other players to have the same cards that you do. This will mean there is less chance of pairing your cards.


now for the best bit!

For example if you have a hand of:

A37


You need to look around at the other players cards for 2 things:

1) If you see any, A's, 3's, or 7's that's a good thing (less chance of pairing)
2) You also need to think that cards will better your hand. This is critical to avoid bad beats. In our case 2,4,5, 6 will all better our hand. If you dont see those cards around, than that means they are still most likely in the deck and we should catch some of them on later streets.

So even if you are "behind" on 4th or 5th street if we calculate the right odds and play a good hand we should be on the "good end" of a so called "bad beat" and win most of our showdowns. (showdowns are when you and a player play all the way to 7th street)

Many players play razz the wrong way, I'm guilty of this too, but if you want to be a winning razz player, you need to follow the above advice instead of playing any low 3 cards. it may shock you, but in some cases it would be right in folding an A23 or only seeing 4th street at most.

Good luck with your game

Ernster86 has given you very good advice to follow. One thing that I have found when playing Razz on the Internet, dont multitask. Its important to see what cards are hitting the other players so you must pay attention

At least don't multitask with stud in another window, that will get really confusing, and lead to mistakes in both games.

(been there done it folded trip Kings)

1. Stay smooth
2. Account for dead cards
3. Know your opponents playing styles and adjust accordingly
4. When in doubt, raise
5. Loose wild players go on your right

I play plenty of Razz,
got 7th in the micro Razz game on pokerstars couple nights ago,
and realized a huge mistake in my game.
I oftentimes would blame luck when I had a draw to an 8 low and didn't hit against a player who I saw to have at best a 9 low.
I looked at hand history afterwards, and saw she had something like
four to a 7 low and a 9 showing for her 5th card to a low,
so while I was thinking I had the draw to beat her, she had
an even better draw to improve to a 7 low with an already made 9.

------------------------
^^ gibberish above.
but one good piece of advice is to note the cards showing in the chat box of the game, before draws, and as draws hit.
other's comments are quite good so I wont attempt to explain strategy.

Thanks everyone, only a few responses but every one pure gold

Putting it into practise and it's paying in spades.

this is some great advice clearly from a razz vetran. Like stated you sohuld only go into the pot with 8 high, as it is a cardinal rule for razz players. Recently i came 29th in the full tilt razz freeroll, so i can consider myself a decent player. many people get pissed off when they miss after 4 good cards. Finally try and read your opponents, see if they are experienced playing tight or loose as it is hard to bluff in razz and other limit games.

just me two cents

this is in another thread, just something to thing about

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Expert Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Waterloo
Plays at: PokerStars
Game: Razz, NLHE
Posts: 222


Razz, success and TILT!
This is my first real post on here outside of my introduction thread. Basically I've been playing RAZZ quite a bit lately and am really enjoying it. I finished 22nd in the 1800 person Razz freeroll that FT hosts every night at 9:40pm and won a whopping $2
I took that $2 and have played 4 RAZZ SnG's and 1 HORSE SnG at $1.00 + 0.25. I have won 2 RAZZ, 2nd in 1 RAZZ and the HORSE and 3rd in one RAZZ. So 5 out of 5 times I have been in the money. This doesn't give me a pile of money or anything, but I'm proud of myself all the same

So I have a general approach that I use and I was wondering if anyone had any comments on it.

First things first, when playing RAZZ the most important thing by far IMO is patience and avoiding going on tilt. There will be times when you draw 20+ unplayable hands in a row, or when you draw A,2,3,4 as your first 4 cards and then make three pairs on 5th, 6th and 7th If you aren't patient and can't control tilt RAZZ is gonna be a tough game to play.

Starting Hands: I like to go with the general rule of playing any 3 cards 8 and under, or 2 cards under 5. I decide 90% of my starting hands this way, if it doesn't meet this criteria I would normally fold.
Exceptions:
1. 2 cards under 5, but your big card is showing. In this case I usually check the strength of the board. If a lot of people are showing small cards it is likely a good idea to fold, people are going to draw against you and the more people drawing the more likely someone hits a nice hand.
2. 3 cards 8 and under, with your cards being between 4-8 adn the board with a lot of low cards showing. Other people with low cards means they could have good hands and also there are less low cards still available to draw. I would often fold int his situation.
3. 1 low card showing, weak board. This often is only useful if you are down to 5 or less people. Even if you have two face cards in the hole but an Ace showing, that Ace can often be enough to scare off your opponents and you can pick up blinds and the bring in.
4 One more thing I like to do, though again normally only when it is shorthanded (5 or less). If I draw 3 really nice cards, Ace, 2, 3 for example. Just flat call the bring in and downplay the strength of your hand. This can be a double edge sword thoughso be prepared to fold some good cards sometimes if you do this.

4th Street.

If you have 4 cards 8 or under here, normally I like to call any bet there is a good chance you have to best hand. Also if I have 4 cards 6 and under I sometimes like to put in a raise and try to get a bit more money int he pot. You need to be careful raising on 4th IMO because it is still very possible to hit 3 bricks on 5th 6th and 7th.

If you have 3 good low cards the decision becomes tougher, if there is a lot of betting going on, and others are showing 2 low cards, this is likely a good time to get out of the pot. Personally I think this is where people make the most mistakes playing RAZZ trying to draw cards against a lot of betting from people who likely have better hands.

If you have only 2 good low cards on 4th I would fold to any bet, except perhaps if the person betting into you hase poor cards showing as well. Either way, not gonna want to bet here much.

5th Street.

Fairly similar to 4th street mentality, if you have a made hand you are likely betting this street. If you high card is 8 calling may be a good idea, or maybe a single raise. If you manage to get 5 cards 7 or lower by 5th street I would try to cram the pot as much as you can, unless one of your opponents has really really good cards showing.

4 out of 5 good cards here and calling bets to try and draw another card is a fairly good idea, but if someone is raising a lot, they likely have a made hand and it is tie to cut your losses and fold.

3 out of 5 good cards (or less) more often than not is going to lead to a fold, it is just to much to expect to draw the 2 cards that you need on 6th and 7th.

6th and 7th Street

If more than one player is still in the hand at this point then the game changes a little. At this point all players should realize that thier opponents wither have a made hand or are one card away.

It becomes a game of reading the cards that others have facing up and deciding if you have the better hand. One very important thing to remember is that you have to use 2 of your up cards so if your opponent has 2,9,J,K showing and you have a made 7 and under hand htere is no way you can lose.... bet bet bet bet!!!!

Often times though it just isn't that simple, then it becomes a grey area where you may or may not have the best hand. This, to me, often comes down to a feel you have for the player(s) that you are up against. If you are going to play a lot of RAZZ make copious notes on you opponents. Not a terribly large amount of people play RAZZ so knowing what type of hands your opponent is willing to play right to the end is very very helpful.

I hope this may help some people just learning RAZZ and hopefully there will be some constructive criticism ( or even just general taunting and heckling )

Remember in RAZZ tilt and reckless play will sometimes win you some chips, but 90% of the time you are gonna get nailed doin this. Patience is everything.

EDIT I just realized how long this is.... hope some people still read it ....

Awesome post, thanks.
when I first started plying Razz I had a similar method, any 3 cards 8 and under was a raise, 2 cards 8 and under was a 1 bet call, and anything else was fold. This worked pretty well in tourneys, but only before the blinds became an issue.

All this good advice, I feel myself becoming Razzier by the minute...