"Razz Strategies: Make Winning Decisions"One of your first razz strategies: the first three cards you play. Since razz is played for low hands only, the ideal starting hand is (Ac-2d)3s. Your starting hand also depends on your opponents up cards as well. Say the lowest up card showing is a nine and you have (7c-5d)2h, your hand is very playable unless you catch BAD CARDS (face cards or pairing your hole cards) on fourth and fifth streets. You're in a great spot to win the pot. You can even come into the pot with a nine if all your opponents up cards are face cards. The only time you want to fold three low cards is when all of your opponents up cards are all low cards as well. Say you have (7c-6s)3h and your opponents up cards are 5c, 4s, Ac, As, 6d, 8d, 4c, and there is a lot of action on the first round of betting, it is best to fold your hand and wait for a better situation. It's very possible that a lot of the cards you need to catch, are in your opponents hands. It's also possible that your hand is WAY behind, so wait for a better spot.
Razz strategies for fourth and fifth streets are if you have the best hand you should bet or raise as much as possible. Make people with worse hands, pay to catch up. On fourth street you want catch another low card that doesn't pair ANY of your cards. If you have (7d-4c)Ad you want to catch a two, three, five, six maybe an eight if your against one or two opponents and they have weak up cards. On fifth street you want another low card. If you end up catching a face card or a card that pairs your cards SLOW DOWN. When players start betting and raising muck your cards. On fifth street the bet amount doubles and it can be hard to come from behind and expensive.
Razz strategies for sixth and seventh street are pretty simple. Feel you have the best hand? BET! If you know you have the best hand you should be raising! Here is an example of how you would know you had the best hand. Say you have (Ac-2d)6s-4h-9h-kd(kd) and your opponents hand looks like this: (X-X)8d-9d-10d-8s(X). The best hand your opponent can make is a 9-8-X-X-X while your best hand is 9-6-4-2-A. There is no way your opponent can beat you. Be willing to bet your life on this hand, that's a little extreme, but you get the point. Always read your low hands from the highest card to the lowest card, so if you have 9-6-4-2-A, you have a 9 6 low. I hope some of these strategies help you out. Good luck! |
