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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

April 26, 2008

Is Razz in Your Plans?

Chances are if you're a poker player or a fan who knows how the poker world works, you understand that the journeymen players can always get an edge when they start hustling a new version of poker.

We've covered this phenomenon before, starting with the introduction of hold'em to public cardrooms and then with the arrival of Omaha. In both cases, top players took the amateurs on a downward slope of a ride. Not that there's anything wrong with that because poker's a game of advantages. As it exists, anyone who willingly gambles at a game without a foundational understanding of the rules and at least a grasp of the subtleties deserves to learn the hard way. As it's always been with poker, you take a lot of punches even when you go to the tables with knowledge; going there with nothing but a desire for action, well, that doesn't need an ending point. We know where that leads.

So why is this game of razz suddenly getting publicity? After all, it's been around as ace-to-five for some time, and it's just a form of stud, isn't it? (Remember when they said that about hold'em?)

Razz is one of the events comprising the HORSE tournaments (and cash games) that the high-limit players like to play. HORSE is a combination of hold'em, Omaha, razz, and stud/stud high-low eight or better that is supposed to answer the question of who is the best poker player in the world. That's what was said of the late Chip Reese when he collected his last World Series of Poker bracelet in that event, and to a limited extent was said about Sam Farha when he took the title the following year.

Of all the games in the HORSE lineup, razz gets the least amount of coverage, yet it's the game that is experiencing quite a bit of casino action.

And no wonder! The game seems ever so simple. In fact, in his Rules of Poker, Bob Ciaffone lists only five rules for the game:

1. All seven-card stud rules apply in razz except as otherwise noted.
2. The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces are low, and straights and flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand. The best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A.
3. The highest card by suit starts the action with a forced bet. The low hand acts first on all subsequent rounds. If the low hand is tied, the first player clockwise from the dealer starts the action.
4. Fixed-limit games use the lower limit on third and fourth streets and the upper limit on subsequent streets. An open pair does not affect the limit.
5. The dealer announces all pairs the first time they occur, except pairs of face cards, which are never announced.

Surely sounds simple, doesn't it?

Well, that's what they say about seven-card stud.

Truth is, the game is very simple indeed. All you need to know are the rules and that the ace is the lowest card in the deck. You'll need a good head on your shoulders so you can remember every card that's been revealed. Those are the cards that can help or hurt you. And you have to understand that while this can be a game of action, it's not necessarily a game that lets you haul in monster pots.

You don't have to look very hard for tells because the focus is on cards, low ones at that. With four upcards per player, you can readily see who's in trouble and who might hold the nuts.

Razz is the kind of game you want to play when you can't seem to win at stud, hold'em or Omaha, the games where you get garbage hand after garbage hand. While it's probably never going to overtake hold'em or Omaha, this game that should be part of a repertoire.

Just remember: in razz, any pair will kill you.