Razz Poker Strategy: Master Lowball Stud in 2025

What Is Razz Poker?

Razz is a Seven-Card Stud Lowball game where the lowest five-card hand wins the pot. Each player is dealt seven cards (three down, four up), and there are no community cards.

Unlike Hold’em or Omaha, straights and flushes don’t count against you. The best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A, known as the Wheel.

How a Hand of Razz Works:

1. Players post antes.
2. Each receives three cards (two face-down, one up).
3. The player with the highest upcard posts the bring-in.
4. Betting rounds follow on Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Street.

Basic Rules and Hand Rankings

In Razz, your goal is to make the lowest five-card combination. Because straights and flushes don’t count, the best hand is always a “Wheel.”

Starting Hand Selection in Razz

Strong starting hands in Razz are built on three low cards, 8 or better. Anything higher (especially paired or with face cards) is a fold in most cases.

Premium Razz Starting Hands:

• A-2-3 (the best start in Razz)
• A-2-4, A-3-4, 2-3-5

Any three unpaired cards 8 or lower, with an Ace or Deuce preferred.

Avoid:

• Hands containing a Ten or higher.
• Paired starting cards (e.g. 2-2-7).
• Hands where your low cards are “dead” — visible in opponents’ upcards.

If you start with A-2-3 and opponents show a King or Queen up, it’s an automatic steal attempt — your visible advantage matters more than your hole cards.

Reading Razz Boards

Razz is as much about what your opponents show as what you hold. Since most of the deck is visible, great Razz players make better folds and steals by reading board texture.

3 Key Concepts:

1. When your opponent catches high (paint or a pair), apply pressure.
2. When you catch bad (high) cards yourself, check or fold to strength.
3. Always count “dead” cards — if multiple low cards are gone, your draw worsens.

3 Advanced Razz Strategy

Once you’ve mastered fundamentals, Razz becomes about timing and pressure. The best players don’t just play their own boards — they play yours.

1. Stealing Antes: If your upcard is an Ace, 2, or 3, open-raise when high cards show behind you. Opponents hate defending when they appear beaten before seeing a fourth card.
2. Trapping: If you catch a pair early, check-call and disguise strength. On later streets, when your board looks smooth, value bet into capped ranges.
3. Sixth and Seventh Street Play: Many players under-bet or miss value here. If your opponent bricks twice (catches high twice in a row), value bet your 8-low confidently. Conversely, don’t call down light with 9-lows or rough 8s — reverse implied odds are brutal.

Key Takeaways:

• Control the pot when your board roughens up.
• Don’t over-defend the bring-in.
• Observe catching patterns — the cards tell the story.

David Sklansky’s Razz Masterclass

David Sklansky’s approach to Razz poker, as expressed in the Super System 2 chapter and in various strategy discussions, emphasizes fundamentals that include:

Aggression and Stealing Antes

Sklansky highlights the importance of playing aggressively to steal the antes and forced bets early in the hand. He notes that the fight for the antes sets the stage for the hand’s outcome, and stealing through one low card can often be a profitable play when the odds are favorable.

“All poker starts as a struggle for the ante. This struggle for the antes is what determines all future action.”

Starting Hand Selection

He advises focusing on strong starting hands, especially those with three cards to a seven low or better, shifting to slightly looser criteria based on table dynamics.

Observing Visible Cards

Sklansky stresses meticulously watching opponents’ upcards because Razz is a game of incomplete information and visible tells. Knowing what cards are dead or live shapes your drawing decisions.

Attack Checks

When an opponent checks after showing a low card, it often signals that they have paired or weakened their hand. Sklansky advocates for capitalizing on these moments by betting aggressively to seize control.

“Attack checks! When a player catches a low card and then checks, that’s often a sign you can leverage by stepping up pressure.”

Avoiding Spewy Aggression

Although aggression is crucial in Razz, careless or stubborn play, especially continuing past fifth street when the stakes double, can lead to losses. Good players use discipline and patience, folding when draws become unfavorable.

“Stay out of trouble… while aggression is important in Razz, careless-aggression is spewy and will make the difference between a winning and a losing Razz player.”

Playing Made Hands with Caution

Even made hands can be vulnerable if the second cards favor opponents’ potential improvements. Sklansky recommends considering pot odds and likelihood of improvement before overcommitting.

Common Razz Mistakes to Avoid

Even strong Hold’em or Stud players fall into Razz traps by misjudging visible information.

Typical Errors:

• Playing rough lows out of position. Always prefer smooth combinations (like 8-5-4 vs. 8-7-6).
• Ignoring dead cards. If most Aces and Twos are visible, your draw equity collapses.
• Overvaluing weak made hands. A 9-low isn’t a monster; treat it like middle pair in Hold’em.
• Calling down when paired. Paired boards are poison — fold early and save bets.

Razz Tournament and Mixed Game Adjustments

Razz plays differently when antes and stack sizes change.

Cash Game: Play tight, pick premium spots, and exploit loose bring-ins.
Tournaments: With antes climbing, stealing matters more than ever. Upcard advantage is leverage.

Mixed Games (HORSE, 8-Game):

Specialists crush Razz rotations by paying attention while others “zone out.”

When you enter Razz after Hold’em or Omaha, reset your mindset — small pots win long-term.

Daniel Negreanu’s Approach to Razz Poker — Key Concepts

Daniel Negreanu, one of poker’s most renowned professionals, shares fundamental insights into Razz that highlight the game’s unique strategic elements and emphasize aggressive, position-aware play.

Key Strategic Razz Points from Negreanu:

• Stealing and Re-stealing are Crucial: Negreanu stresses that the core of Razz strategy revolves around “stealing and re-stealing” pots. Unlike many poker variants where strong made hands dominate, in Razz, aggressive attempts to capture pots early by applying pressure and controlling pot dynamics are critical to long-term success.
• Understanding the Hand Rankings: Winning in Razz means making the lowest possible five-card hand, with straights, flushes, and pairs not counting against you. The ace is always low, valued as 1. This fundamental difference causes major shifts in starting hand value and drawing considerations compared to traditional games.
• Bringing Pressure From the Start: The player forced to bring in the first bet is the one with the highest upcard, unlike Seven Card Stud, where it’s the lowest. This dynamic shapes positional strategy significantly because the “bring-in” player operates at a disadvantage initially, encouraging others to “steal” pots early.
• Study: While Negreanu shares basic tips in his videos, he emphasizes that deeper strategic components require dedicated study and experience. The advanced layers of Razz are nuanced and demand attention to opponents’ tendencies, card removal, and spot aggression.

Final Thoughts on Razz Poker

Razz isn’t about luck — it’s about survival through discipline. Great players remember every card, every upcard, and every fold. Learn to release marginal hands early, steal when the board says you should, and value bet when the table fears your board. That’s how real profit is made in lowball poker.