Razz is the lowball version of Seven Card Stud, following the same structure: seven cards per player, no community cards, and betting rounds named after the number of cards in play. The one key difference is that the lowest hand wins.
Razz is played regularly at the highest levels of the game. It's part of the prestigious World Series of Poker mixed-game schedule as the "R" in H.O.R.S.E., and it attracts a strong following among high-stakes players.
This guide covers everything needed to play Razz: hand rankings, game structure, street-by-street action, betting rules, and edge cases.
Razz Hand Rankings
Razz uses the Ace-to-Five lowball ranking system – the same system used in Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo, but different from the 2-7 system used in Triple Draw.
Three rules govern hand strength in Razz:
- Aces are always low – they're the best possible card.
- Straights and flushes are ignored – they don't count against a hand.
- Pairs count against a hand – unpaired hands always beat paired hands.
The best possible hand in Razz is A-2-3-4-5, known as "The Wheel". Although this combination forms a straight, straights are irrelevant in Razz.
How to compare low hands: The strength of a low hand is determined by its highest card, not its lowest. The lower the highest card, the stronger the hand.
Example:
- Player 1: 2-3-4-5-6 (highest card: Six)
- Player 2: A-2-5-7-8 (highest card: Eight)
Player 1 wins. Despite Player 2 holding an Ace, his highest card is an Eight, which makes his hand weaker.
Hands are described by their highest card. Player 1 holds a "Six-low"; Player 2 holds an "Eight-low". When two players share the same highest card, additional cards are used to break the tie – for example, "Eight-Seven low" versus "Eight-Six low".
Card Distribution in Razz
Razz is a Stud format, so there are no community cards. Each player receives seven cards dealt exclusively to them, and selects their best five to form a hand.
Cards are dealt in two categories:
- Downcards – face down, visible only to the player holding them. Each player receives three downcards.
- Upcards – face up, visible to all players at the table. Each player receives four upcards.
A player's upcards are referred to as their board. By the final betting round, four of each opponent's seven cards are visible. Reading the board and understanding what hands those upcards represent is a core skill in Razz.
The full card layout across the hand:
- Third Street: 2 downcards + 1 upcard
- Fourth Street: 2 downcards + 2 upcards
- Fifth Street: 2 downcards + 3 upcards
- Sixth Street: 2 downcards + 4 upcards
- Seventh Street: 3 downcards + 4 upcards
Game Structure: Antes, Small Bets, and Big Bets
Razz uses a fixed-limit betting structure with three components: the ante, the small bet, and the big bet.
Stakes in Razz are expressed as three values – for example, $1/$2/$0.15 – representing the small bet, the big bet, and the ante.
- Ante – A mandatory contribution paid by every player before each hand. Unlike blinds in Texas Hold'em, all players pay the ante every round.
- Small bet – The standard bet and raise size used on Third Street and Fourth Street.
- Big bet – The larger bet and raise size used on Fifth Street, Sixth Street, and Seventh Street. Typically double the small bet.
There's no dealer button in Razz. The order of action is determined by the strength of each player's upcards, and it changes on every street.
Third Street
Third Street is the first betting round. Each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard.
Who acts first: The player with the highest (worst) upcard is forced to act first and must pay the bring-in. Aces are low in Razz, so a King is the worst possible upcard. If two players share the same ranked upcard, suit rank determines who pays – suits rank from lowest to highest as Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and the player with the highest-ranked suit pays the bring-in.
The bring-in is a fixed amount between the ante and the small bet. In a $1/$2/$0.15 game, a typical bring-in might be $0.40.
Action options for the bring-in player:
- Check (post only) – Pay only the bring-in amount. Action moves clockwise; remaining players must match the bring-in or fold.
- Complete – Increase the bet to the full small bet size. Remaining players must match, raise, or fold.
All bets and raises on Third Street are in increments of the small bet.
Fourth Street
Each player receives a second upcard, bringing the total to four cards (two down, two up).
Who acts first: From Fourth Street onward, the player with the lowest (best) board acts first. Both upcards are evaluated together. If two players tie on the first card, the second upcard is used as a tiebreaker.
All bets and raises on Fourth Street are in increments of the small bet.
Fifth Street
Each player receives a third upcard, bringing the total to five cards (two down, three up).
Who acts first: The player with the lowest (best) board, evaluated across all three upcards.
From Fifth Street onward, all bets and raises are in increments of the big bet.
Sixth Street
Each player receives a fourth upcard, bringing the total to six cards (two down, four up).
Who acts first: The player with the lowest (best) board across all four upcards.
Bets and raises remain in increments of the big bet.
Seventh Street (The River)
Each player receives a seventh and final card, dealt face down. The total is now seven cards (three down, four up).
Who acts first: The player with the lowest (best) visible board – the four upcards only. The final downcard isn't visible to opponents.
A final round of betting takes place in increments of the big bet. If more than one player remains after betting, the hand goes to showdown. Players reveal their cards, select their best five, and the lowest hand wins the pot.
Betting Options
The betting options in Razz follow the same structure as most poker formats:
- Check – Pass the action without betting. Only available when no bet has been made in the current round.
- Bet – Make the first wager of the current round. Other players must call, raise, or fold.
- Call – Match the current bet exactly to continue in the hand.
- Raise – Increase the size of the current bet. The original bettor must then call, re-raise, or fold.
- Re-raise – Raise again after another player has already raised. Any raise following the initial raise is a re-raise.
- Fold – Surrender the hand and forfeit all right to the pot.
Since Razz is a fixed-limit game, all bets and raises must be in the exact increment required for that street – either the small bet or the big bet.
Fixed-Limit Betting Caps
Fixed-limit games cap the number of raises permitted per street. The standard cap in Razz is one bet plus three raises per betting round.
Example on Fourth Street:
- Player 1 bets
- Player 2 raises
- Player 1 re-raises
- Player 2 re-raises
Player 1 can now only call or fold – the cap has been reached. The cap resets at the start of each new street.
Additional Rules
Fourth Street tiebreaker: If two players share the same board rank on Fourth Street, the suit of the highest (worst) card determines who acts first. The player with the lower-ranked suit acts first – Clubs being the lowest, Spades the highest. Since the best hand acts first on Fourth Street, the lower suit is the tiebreaker advantage.
Running out of cards: Razz is typically played with a maximum of eight players. If all eight remain in the hand through Seventh Street, the deck may run out of cards (8 × 7 = 56 cards; a standard deck contains only 52). In this scenario, a single community card is dealt face up in the centre of the table, and all remaining players use it as their seventh card. This situation is rare in practice, as most players fold before the river.
Showdown ties: Suit rankings aren't used at Showdown. If two players make an identical five-card hand, the pot is split equally.
Razz Rules: Key Takeaways
- Razz is a lowball game – the lowest five-card hand wins.
- Aces are always low; straights and flushes are ignored; pairs count against the hand.
- The best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5 (The Wheel).
- Hand strength is judged by the highest card – lower is better.
- All players pay an ante before each hand; there's no dealer button.
- On Third Street, the player with the highest (worst) upcard pays the bring-in.
- From Fourth Street onward, the player with the lowest (best) board acts first.
- Small bet applies on Third and Fourth Street; big bet applies from Fifth Street onward.
- The betting cap is one bet plus three raises per street.
- Each player receives seven cards: three downcards (private) and four upcards (visible to all).
- Players choose their best five cards from seven to form a final hand.
