Razz is one of the several variations of stud poker that are commonly played today. Stud poker is generally defined as a game in which a combination of face up and face down cards are dealt to each player in multiple betting rounds. While there are some rules that are consistent throughout all stud poker games, some details are modified depending on the variation of stud that is being played. The most common form of stud poker is seven-card stud and Razz is a version of that.

In Razz poker, there are between two and eight players. Each player is dealt a total of seven cards. Three of the cards are dealt face down and the other four are face up. The goal of seven-card stud is to make the worst or lowest five card hand you can, using any combination of the seven cards.

In Razz, like seven card stud, all players are forced to ante. The ante is usually one-fifth the low limit bet size. In this game, there are five betting rounds. The ante does not count towards any future bets.

After the deal when every one has one card showing, the person with the highest card has to bring in. Bringing in means placing the low limit bet size in the pot. If two players are tied with the highest card, then the player to the dealers left will be required to bring in. This bet will count toward you first round of wagering. This means that unless someone raises the bet you won’t have to put any more money in the pot until you see the next card.

There are five rounds of betting in a game of Razz. In a game with fixed limits, all of the bets and raises have to be equal to the low limit bet size or the high limit bet size depending on which round it is. In rounds one and two, it should be equal to the low limit. In rounds three, four and five it should be equal to the high limit.

In a game of Razz straights and flushes don’t count against a hand. In addition, aces are considered low.

In the game of Razz, the highest card by suit begins the action with a forced bet. In the following rounds the low hand will act first. If more then one player has the lowest hand then the player who is clockwise from the dealer will start.

Another Razz rule is that the dealers announce a pair the first time that they occur. However, the dealer will never announce pairs of face cards.

One rule that Razz does not incorporate, unlike some other hi-low poker games, is the eight or better rule. Some poker games define a low hand as a hand in which all of the cards are less than eight. Most of the games that require that a player meet this low condition have split pots. However, Razz is a game where only the player with the lowest hand wins. This includes hands with cards that are higher than eight. Players can even win with high pairs though it is unlikely.

Any player still in the game after the last round of betting will show their hand, hoping to win the pot. The best possible low hand is often called the bike or the wheel. It is comprised of an ace to five straight. The next best hand is an ace, two, three, four, and six, followed by and ace, two, three, five, six. The forth-best hand is an ace, two, four, five, six, followed by an ace, three, four, five six.