Razz players must form the lowest hand possible with their cards, rather than the best. This quirky variant of 7 card stud therefore sees players hoping to avoid picture cards and pairs, and it’s loved by players around the world.
Flushes and straights don’t count, and aces are always low – so 5-4-3-2-A is therefore the best hand you can have in Razz.
As a variation on seven-card stud – until the rise of Hold’em the dominant form of poker in the US – Razz has been a feature of the prestigious World Series of Poker from its beginnings at the end of the 1960s, and is still played in the championships today.
The game is also the R in the WSOP’s H.O.R.S.E tournament – a competition that tests players’ skills in five different variants of poker. So you’d better brush up on your Razz if you want to be considered a true poker master.
