Razz Beginners Guide

[kompressaur]

I've fell in love with this game. I played it a bit before as some of the threads in this forum will testify but it's only since giving up caring a shit a bout ths place that ihave been able to enjoy it properly. Friday night i had my first play money stt's and it made me want to play it in a 'proper' way. First mtt i am pleased to say went well.


Im The aadvark (wrongspelling, add your poker names here) Alli did was play any 3 cards 7 or under and iplyed them aggressively too. Pairs and high cards are killers - keep an eye on the board. thats all you seem to need to know from my dealings. anyhow i played that one and i won and i thought 'was it just beginners luck?' so i went to coutch (sofa?) happy for a change and i dreamt of the wsop 2010. I woke up just in time for a razz tournie on absolute Poker but that might have been due to me setting my alarm to get me up a kettle's breath away from the next razz tournie. man i was so looking forward to it. I soon reaised that if i didnt have 3 cards under 7 and just a good 'showing card' i could raise it v over showing cards and just play the flop. if it suited me then good and if not i woul put the breaks on when beat. From being a very simple game it took on a lot of 'levels' and things to think about. I was the longest clock timer in the place. they just raised or folded and i really finally had something to think about. In Holdem im a bit lostinmy reading but with razz i feel ive go a touch. anyhow this is the result of MTT no2


down to begin hilst i tried my new thoughts on the game etc. Brilliant game i love it. Just had an orgasm then when i went to Ful Tilt. what a fcuking razz emporium of joy and splendor. I cant wait to get my teeth into them

for more razz related talk please see TDP forums and kompressaur's blog which you can all do via the BIG POST button
http://thedailypunt.com/blog/5

WHATCH OUT FOR razz videos and razz talk here on TDP

[kompressaur]

Im trying to sort the screncast videos out but them and beer dont mix. Ive nearly just pissed all over my computer in answer to the problems ive just been having. I think tha they will look good. POSITION is most important in razz. If your middle to late raise it up there with even a K and a pair in the hole if youve a lesser showing card to the ones on show (well thats what ive found. any razz expert out there? dont get me wrong if there is yu'll soon comment on my vids.

[kompressaur]

If your in the Uk you can find online razz tournaments at-

Absolute Poker
4:45am
(and 1:45am i think - need to double check that)

Fulll Tilt (where i havent played but they say its got the softest razz opponents due to the RAZZ button being on the front slap bang slight right of centre of their software and encouraging folks with no razz startegy at all)

I wil turn this into data at a later date (ah)

[kompressaur]

On Absolute Poker there is nothing bar these 2 tournies . I couldnt belive my eyes when i saw th coca cola of poker Full Tilt's razz STT's at the mo



Man Full Tilt are the end all and be all of my poker. im signing p and im never going nowhere else

[kompressaur]

I'll get some good videos in here when i can. My mic doesnt seem to be working. I need to comment live really. I'll try some with no sound. supposed to be in my bed about 17hrs ago I stayed up. I can't afford to stay up it would seem these days. I managed to lose 90% of my bankroll in the last 17hrs played like a cnut. Taking too much in and trying to be fancy. check raising with fcuk all and trying to boss the tables. Razz has made me ultra aggressive on the holdem tables ive found. I dont know how to harness it. Im finding im trying to squeeze every inch of value out of every single hand and i dont think i know holdem well enough to get away with it. Its all lessons to be learnt though. Anyhow this aint about holdem its about Razz. Im only up as the next razz mtt is in 15 minutes I got drunk hours ago but i stayed up for it. I dont care if im tired and i dont care if ive spent everything ive won the last 2 days. im for a razz mtt and thats all that matters. Im on absolute poker for now btw. I had to laugh earlier. 3 of my ex women women on bebo and the like are all into 'beat domestic violence' groups. all 3 of them kicked fcuk out of me for months before i decided to slap them. Nah it was never a slap. Just a wee punch in the guts to calm them down. we're all as mad as each other.

[kompressaur]

looks like i never added much of a guide. Quickly all you need to know is that you should only play when you have 3 cards 7 or lower (8 and lower is a looser type of play) you need to make the lowest

2,3,4,5,7 (7 low)

beats

1,2,3,4,5,9 (9 low)

your 5 lowest cards in your hand. If you get a pair then thats bad for you as it will only count as one card and remeber you need to use 5 from your 7. A pair would mean you having to use at least 6 of your cards to make up your lowest hand.

you need to look at what cards you can see in others hand. If you have 4,3,A for instance and you see a couple of 4's out there then thats good as it means you have less chance of getting a paired card. Also if you see no 5's out there (cards that you need) then thats good too. It's a simple enough wee game but one thats really captured my imagination. As i said just with the knowledge of what i posted i won my first 2 mtt's at this. What would it be like if we could play the game? money for old rope possibly

[kompressaur]

Razz: Starting hands - 3 to a wheel is great, 3 to a 6 is good, 3 to a 7 is decent, 3 to an 8 is ok but usually not vs. a raise. Catch well on fourth and fifth or get out. Catch well on sixth and seventh or stab yourself in the eye because razz sucks. Weaker hands become stronger if you see a lot of your cards on board (i.e. 842 with two 8s two 4s and a 2 dead); stronger hands become weaker when the cards you need are dead (i.e. 742 with two 3s, two 5s, and an A dead.)

Great post, I've recently started to played a few Razz MTT's and find them very fun. I've also been looking around the internet for any articles or tutorials. Anyway, here's how I play Razz:

- In the start of the tourney I never play any hands with cards higher than 7 from the start. If there's alot of people behind you I prefer 6high.

- It seems like there's a lot of players that don't have any clue at all and call with mostly anything in the start. I see people all the time keep betting to the river with T or J high with several players in the pot calling. Attacking their chips also helps me alot.

- In any point of the tournament I never check if I think I have the winning hand, unless the opponent is drawing dead and I'm certain he will bet.

- If I hit the last 2 tables with a decent stack (average or higher) I play very aggressive. In this stage I feel that people fold a whole lot more, and they are even easier to bluff.

- Last thing: observe how players play when they have an open Ace, some people raise no matter what they have, and are easy to push away on 4th street, others only play them if they have good pocket cards aswell.

Razz is one of my favorite games to play. A few standard practices I use are:

- Never complete the bring in bet. If you have strong hole cards, raise after someone else completes.

- Be very aggressive when you have the best of it. Just because you have the best hand on 4th street, doesn't mean you will have the best on 5th. Tied to this, I rarely will give free cards.

- My starting hands depend greatly on what the rest of the table is showing as their door cards. A23, while the theoretical best you can have, becomes a lot less strong when all the 4s and 5s are dead. Likewise, 876 becomes much stronger if everyone else is showing paint cards. In general, I like to start with no more than 8 high, and even then I will dump it if I catch bad on 4th.

- Bluffing in this game is very dependent on your door card vs the other players' door cards. Simply put, you're better off bluffing when you have an Ace or 2 showing vs other players paint cards. Also, pay attention to who you are trying to bluff. Some morons will call down with anything hoping to catch lucky.

- As Aalgaard said, watch how people play their Ace doorcards. To a lesser extent their 2s as well. This can be very helpful in the later stages of a tourney when trying to figure out if they are stealing or have a legit hand.

http://www.cardschat.com/f11/razz-strategy-98813/

[kompressaur]

that last post is good advice.

[kompressaur]

Basher just to reiterate the bit about playing low cards. Play tight as fcuk. Just play when you have 3 cards 7 or lower. If you have a pair to start then its probably not worth playing either even if its a low pair. When you have 3 cards 7 or lower check out what cards folks have showing. If theyre the ones that you need to fill in some gaps in your 7 or lower LOW then that aint great. If you see cards that you already have then thats good. Play your hands aggressively. remember your opponent might have pairded his board too especially if his board has low cards and he's a tight player only playing low cards. Dont draw to 8 or 9 low unless your on the last street as a crying call really.

its all quite simple the basic mechanics. Much simplier than Holdem. Like holdem though its easy to learn but hard to master.

[kompressaur]

the left two cards and the right most card are my three 'down cards'. As i said play only cards 7 or under for now but like the above situations would arrise for you to take a shot at the hand. Position is quite important in Razz especially for stealing later in tourniements when the blinds go up. I had an Ace showing and eveyone to my left had not great hole cards (actually they seem a better now than they did then) anyhow i raised it up saying 'ive got an Ace and some other low cards and your gonna have to beat me this hand'. All four fold to my raise and the 2 early callers stay in and now im in effect heads up with the man with the 2. that was my plan. The Jack man shouldnt even have been there. My hand was a hand that i was never gonna win with unless i got a bit of luck on the early streets.

by 4th street it is heads up and to the fella ive got A3 to his 52 so im still in the lead. His board pairs on 5th street so if he was calling me with 2, something shitey and something wee he was struggling to even make whatever was his worst card to begin with ion the next two streets. any card above his card is what he will make and it's a full deck of cards with Kings and Queens in it.

Just looking at it i bet you the fella with the jack in the hole called me with JAx I could presume that any ace hitting him later in the hand could pair his board.

[kompressaur]

Razz stt record P1 W1 Only a 2 buck game granted but i was needing to see where i stood. Remember ive only played about 7 hours of Razz.

Vanowen was a nice fella. It's nice meeting Razz mates. They seem a lot more civilised than Holdem players. Actually maybe that aint true as Razz isa abit easier. Girls play Razz