A basic Razz strategy

This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
It's been a while since I've been able to play HORSE or even solo Razz for a long time, but here is a very basic strategy I created a while ago for playing Razz.
First, assume every hand will have at least one 8-high or better hand. That means, if you're looking at only having 9 high or above, it's best to fold away. Anything over 8 should be considered a non-playable card.
When deciding if you are going to play a hand, it's best to only play hands where your three cards are all 8 and under (and not paired). So you're starting out with 3 playable cards because they are all 8 or lower. If you have A29, just fold and wait for a better hand.
I almost never bet pre-flop. Even A23 turns to crap if you get runner runner high cards. Or worse, you land a couple paired low cards.
Assuming you're playing 3 cards below 8, if your 4th card is also low, you can start raising on the hand.
If you're 4th card is high (or paired), stay in the hand, assuming you can do so cheaply.
By the time you hit card 5, you want 4 of the 5 cards to be 8 or lower. Think about it this way, you're two highest cards get thrown out so if after 5 cards you already have 2 high cards, you have to hit runner-runner low cards in order to make a hand (without pairing).
Always keep in mind, it takes 5 out of 7 cards to be low. It's a question of how many low cards do you have, and not how many high cards do you not have, if that makes sense.
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
RAZZ: Luring in players with bad hands showing

In Razz, when your opponents obviously have bad hands, instead of betting after the 4th or 5th card, just check instead of bet. If you bet when they have bad cards showing, they’ll probably fold. But if you check down to the river, sometimes it tricks them into thinking you have bad hole cards, such as pairs, and you may be able to get them to call one last bet on the river. This sometimes puts them in a position where they may call a bet, hoping they got lucky by you catching pairs or high hole cards.
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
RAZZ: Single high-card playing styles

In Razz, something to learn about an opponent is, if they have 1 high card (and presumably 3 low cards) on the fourth card, will they fold to a bet? Or will they take a gamble? If they are someone who calls when they have 1 high card showing then you need to be careful betting against them. Remember, you don’t get to bet more than 1 bet, so these players tend to believe it is in their best interest to call down to the river, almost no matter what. So, for players who call with a bad card showing, or even two, there are two ways of playing against them. You can either just check it down to the river and hope they don’t hit, or if you have a good hand yourself, you can lure them into calling you down to the river and pick up a bunch of chips.
On the other hand, if someone folds whenever they have 1 or 2 bad cards showing, then bluff this player a lot. It’s very hard to bluff a player in Razz, unless they are a folder when they only have 1 bad card showing. Of course, in order to do this you have to have all good cards showing, otherwise they may think they are actually ahead if they can see a bad card in your hand.
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
RAZZ: Small pairs don't automatically kill a hand

In Razz, always remember, if someone has a pair showing one of those cards can still be played. For instance, if someone has a Pair of 2’s, even though a pair of anything is extremely bad, they still get to use one of those 2’s in making their hand. So if you see 2, 2, 3, 4, remember they can still have A, 2, 3, 4, 5 for all you know. Because they get to use one of the 2’s and discard the other. Don’t assume their hand is dead just because someone’s showing a pair, especially a small pair.
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
RAZZ: Bidding wars

In Razz, try to avoid being in a "bidding war" hand between two other players. Basically, you’ve got two people who are going to re-raise each other until someone is all-in. Unless you have a super hand, go ahead and fold because if you’ve only got 3 or 4 good cards there’s still a big risk the 5th won’t come an you'll be dumping a ton of chips into this pot. If you’ve got a totally killer hand, enjoy the free chips, but if you don't then just back out and let the two hotheads fight it out.
 
bablovod

bablovod

stupid parody of the game
Bronze Level
Joined
May 31, 2017
Total posts
3,369
Awards
13
RU
Chips
302
good guide, but are there any Freeroll tournaments in Razz? I like this game, would love to play
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Total posts
822
Chips
0
good guide, but are there any Freeroll tournaments in Razz? I like this game, would love to play

That I don't know. ACR doesn't have Razz. I don't know about other sites.
 
Top