If you’ve read our Razz Starting Hands chapter, you already know the first and foremost important element of any good Razz Strategy. If you have not yet read this chapter, please refer to the “Starting Hands” button, found on the menu on the left.
Avoiding
Pairs
Once a player has developed a strong Starting Hand, it
is time to evaluate the opposition. This will help you to determine how likely
you are to pair your cards before the hand is over.
For example, should your Razz starting hand consists of A-3-5, count the number of Aces, 3’s and 5’s on the board. If your opponents are showing a combined total of A-3-5-5, you know your chances of pairing these cards are greatly decreased.
For more information regarding pot odds, please refer to our Texas Holdem Poker School: "Odds" found here.
Analyze The
Table
A skilled Razz player always keeps a close eye on all
face-up cards on the table. This is essential for determining the strength of
your own hand, as well as that of the opposition. If you can tell just by a
player’s face-up cards that you have him beat, you’ve gained a major advantage
already.
Know The
“Nuts”
This falls under the category
‘Analyze The Table’, but is so important that is deserves its own section. The
“Nuts” refers to the best possible hand a player can have. By analyzing a
player’s face-up cards, you can determine his best possible hand. For example,
if a player has 3-8-9-J face-up, you must assume his face-down cards are better
(lower) than his highest face-up, Jack, resulting in his best possible hand
being 8-High.
Now apply this equation to each opponent’s hand and you’ll come up with the “Nuts” – the best possible hand on the table. If you can match or beat the Nuts, go for the gold!
Don’t Slow Play A Good Starting Hand
Because it is most often played in Fixed Limit format, it is unwise to slow-play a
good starting hand. In order to build a decent pot by the Seventh Street, you
must start drawing in the chips immediately. You have to realize that not every
player is going to go on to the Showdown. Every time a player Folds, you are
losing an opportunity to amplify the pot.
Once 5 cards have been dealt, your hand can only get better, not worse. If you like what you see, keep the pot rising with the doubled bet sizes (betting increments rise to the high-end stakes hereafter). If your hand has sunk at this point, Fold and take the loss before losing twice as many chips in the pot.
Please refer to the left menu buttn labeled "Starting Hands" for more information ragerding good Razz starting hands.
Player
Position
Players should always take advantage of player position, but in Razz,
being in a late position is all about stealing the Antes. Razz poker, like all
Stud games, is a game of frequent Folding. Rarely will all players stay in the
game on the first betting round. In fact, it is not uncommon for every player to
Fold. If you are in a late betting position with a fairly decent hand – meaning
not a good Starting Hand, but not terrible either, like pair plus high card, or
all face cards – it would be wise to stay in the pot in hopes of everyone else
Folding. This higher the stakes, the more valuable stealing Antes can be. In the
same token, low stakes games make it very hard to steal Antes, as players don’t
mind tossing a small bet to see the next cards.
Another benefit of player position is reading your opponents. While played in Fixed Limit, the size of the bet is not what you are looking for, as in most No Limit poker games. What you are looking for is behavioral patterns – nervous fidgeting, scratching or touching of the face, raised eyebrows, etc – any consistent clues you can associate with a player’s hand. If in a late position, you are given the opportunity to read your opponents before deciding whether or not to throw chips in the pot or Fold.
More
Strategy
While it is our goal to provide the most proven Razz Strategies, we
strongly encourage beginner poker players to read Razz Poker Strategy books,
especially those written by successful poker pros and expert analysts, further
developing the best Razz strategy to suit your preferred style of play.
Pokerbeginner your pokerguide.
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