Razz Poker Rules
Razz is Seven Card Stud played exclusively for low. The goal is to make the lowest five-card hand, and the lowest hand always wins the whole pot. There is no high hand, no qualifying requirement, and no split pot. Razz is one of the games in mixed rotations like HORSE, where it is the "R", and in Eight-Game.
The objective
You are trying to make the worst hand by ordinary poker standards from your seven cards. The single lowest five-card hand at the table takes the entire pot. Because low is the only way to win, every high pair or big card that lands on your board is bad news, and the players who show the smallest cards hold the advantage on every street.
The ace-to-five low
The best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A, called the wheel. It is the number-one Razz hand. Aces always play low.
Straights and flushes do not count against you. Only the ranks of your five cards matter, so the wheel is a five-high, not a losing straight.
Pairs are bad. Unpaired low cards are good, and a paired card is often the difference between a strong low and a hand you must fold. You use your best five of seven cards, so the two highest or paired cards can simply be discarded.
The deal and the streets
There are no community cards and no button. Each player antes, then play moves through five streets, and the betting order is set by the cards showing on the table:
- Third Street: Two down cards and one up card to each player. The highest up card pays the bring-in and betting opens.
- Fourth Street: A second up card. From here on, the lowest hand showing acts first.
- Fifth Street: A third up card. Betting limits double from this street onward.
- Sixth Street: A fourth up card, so each player now shows four cards and hides three.
- Seventh Street: A final card dealt face down, followed by the last betting round. Every player now holds seven cards, and the best five make the low.
Bring-in and betting
Razz is played with fixed limits and uses the same bring-in structure as Seven Card Stud, but with one inversion: the player showing the highest up card on Third Street posts the bring-in, because high cards are the bad cards in Razz. On every street after Third, the player with the best (lowest) hand showing acts first. Betting proceeds in small-bet increments through Fourth Street, then in big-bet increments from Fifth Street to the end.
How to read a low hand
Read a low from its highest card down, then compare rank by rank. The hand whose highest card is lower wins; if the highest cards tie, move to the next card down.
For example, 8-6-4-3-2 beats 8-7-2-... : both are eight-lows, so you compare the second card, where the six beats the seven. A useful shorthand is to name the two highest cards: an "eight-six" beats an "eight-seven," and any "seven" beats any "eight." A hand that contains a pair is very weak, because the pair forces a high card into your best five and almost always loses to any unpaired low.
Best and worst starting cards
The strongest Third Street holdings are three unpaired cards eight or lower, and the very best is three small unpaired cards like A-2-3. Three "babies" (wheel cards) give you a made low draw with two streets still to fill. The worst starts are high cards, pairs, and cards that already duplicate one another, since a pair on Third Street means you are drawing from behind and must catch small, unpaired cards just to stay alive. A single high card in the hole is survivable if your two other cards are small; two high cards usually means folding for the price of the ante.
A worked example
Two players reach the showdown. Alice holds A♠ 2♣ 4♦ 6♥ 7♠ 9♦ K♣. Bob holds 3♦ 4♠ 5♥ 8♣ 8♦ J♥ Q♠.
Alice discards her two highest cards, the king and the nine, and makes 7-6-4-2-A, a seven-low.
Bob has a pair of eights, so his best five unpaired cards are 8-5-4-3-A, an eight-low. The paired eight cannot help him.
Reading from the top, Alice’s seven-low beats Bob’s eight-low: her highest card is a seven, his is an eight. Alice wins the whole pot. Had Bob not been paired, his 8-5-4-3-A still loses to any seven-low, which shows how much a single pair costs you in Razz.
Where Razz fits
Razz is the pure-low cousin of Seven Card Stud, sharing its deal and streets but inverting the goal. It teaches the same low-reading skill used in the low half of Stud Hi-Lo, where an eight-or-better qualifier and a split pot are added on top. Razz is the "R" in HORSE and one of the rotating games in Eight-Game, so it is a required skill for anyone who plays mixed games.
On SPN
SPN Razz tables use fixed-limit betting. The platform automatically inverts the bring-in so the highest up card opens the action, marks each street clearly, and evaluates the winning low hand at showdown so the lowest hand takes the pot. There is no rake taken from the pot thanks to the SPN tick-fee model, dealing is provably fair, and the tables are bot-free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best possible hand in Razz?
The best Razz hand is 5-4-3-2-A, known as the wheel or the number-one. Because aces play low and straights and flushes do not count against you, five unpaired cards with the smallest possible ranks make the strongest low. Any pair in your five cards weakens the hand badly.
Do straights and flushes hurt me in Razz?
No. Razz uses the ace-to-five low, so straights and flushes are simply ignored and aces are always low. Only the ranks of your five cards matter, which is why the five-high straight 5-4-3-2-A is the best hand rather than a liability.
Who posts the bring-in in Razz?
The player showing the highest up card on Third Street posts the bring-in. This is the opposite of high Seven Card Stud, where the lowest card brings it in. Because high cards are bad in Razz, the worst card showing is forced to open the betting.
How do I compare two low hands in Razz?
Read each hand from its highest card downward and compare rank by rank. 8-6-4-3-2 beats 8-7-2-... because after the shared eight, the six beats the seven. The hand whose highest card is lower wins; if those tie, move to the next card down.
Is Razz part of mixed games like HORSE?
Yes. Razz is the "R" in HORSE and is one of the games rotated in Eight-Game. Learning to read lows in Razz carries directly into the low half of Stud Hi-Lo and Omaha Hi-Lo, which is why it is a staple of mixed rotations.