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Copyright 2005 Full
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March 28, 2005
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Poker Lesson: Just A Few Things
When Playing Razz
Author: Jennifer Harman
The rules:
For those of you who aren't familiar with Razz,
it is a game played like 7-card
stud. The twist is that in Razz, the worst hand wins. Straights
and flushes don't count for anything, but pairs are bad. Aces
are always low cards. A five-high (or wheel -- remember that straights
don't count against you) is the worst -- or I should say the best
-- possible hand for this game. A-2-3-4-5.
Starting hands:
When playing this game, it's important that you
start with 3 little cards. You shouldn't play with any card bigger
than an eight in your hand. But there are two exceptions to this
rule.
1. You have a nine showing when the hand is dealt,
everyone else's up card is bigger than a nine, and you have two
low cards in the hole. In this case, you have the best starting
hand.
2. You are in steal position with a baby showing,
and the remaining player (or even the remaining two players) has
a big card showing. You can often raise in this spot to steal
the antes regardless of what your hole cards are. If somearticle
calls, you hope that their next card (fourth street) is a big
card and yours is a baby. If your opponent catches a baby and
you catch big, you should let it go. There's no point in continuing
with the bluff.
Tracking cards:
Are your cards dead? This is another important thing
to know when playing Razz. What do I mean by 'dead card'? A dead
card is a card that is no longer in the deck. You know this because
you have seen it in someone else's hand. Keeping track of the
dead cards allows you to know how many of the remaining cards
can hurt you, and how many will improve your hand. For example:
your first three cards are 2-5-8. There are seven other players
in the game, and their upcards are: 2, 5, 8, 8, 2, 7, J. Remember
that pairs are bad in Razz. Fortunately, many of the cards that
will pair you are in other players' hands, or 'dead'. Now suppose
your opponent is holding 7-3-A. He needs a lot of the cards that
are on the board (dead) to make his hand. The cards you need to
make your hand are still available. In this situation, you are
a little more than a 56% favorite. By tracking cards, you can
more accurately make decisions based on your real equity at any
given time.
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