Razz

Razz is the same thing as seven card stud low. The basic thing to remember is that there is no qualifying hand (as in seven card stud hi-lo) and straights and flushes do not count as high hands. Thus the “nuts” in Razz is A-5 with no pairs. Razz is the “R” game in the mixed poker routine called “HORSE.” The basics of the game are found in the articles on this page.

The name of this game is said to be a short form of “Razzle Dazzle.” Razz is a variation of seven-card stud in which the winning hand is not the highest ranking hand, but the lowest hand. It differs from Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo and conventional Seven-card stud Hi-Lo in that there is no requirement of 8’s or lower. That is to say, no rule compels a “qualified hand.” A difference from other low games (like Omaha Lo) is that the low hand is comprised of the player’s best (most favorable) five-card combination, counting both the hole cards and board cards, without a requirement to use a specific number of hole cards. Straights and flushes are ignored in judging how low a hand is. Thus, the lowest hand is the Ace-to-five “wheel” (where the ace comes in low).