Razz Poker is another popular type of Stud Poker in which the object for you, the player, is to build the lowest 5-card Poker hand possible using the 7 cards dealt to you. In other words, whichever player has the weakest hand is declared the winner. Unlike traditional 5-card Stud, in Razz Poker, the aces are always low. Your best possible Razz Poker hand is 5-4-3-2-A, or five high, also known as "the bicycle" or "the wheel."

Razz Poker game play resembles that of 7-card Stud and is generally played as a ‘limit' game, as opposed to a ‘No Limit' game whereby no fixed betting maximums are set. In No Limit Poker games, players are free to bet as much as they want (and can afford) in each round of play.

How to Play Razz Poker
Game play starts with each contestant entering his or her antes into the pot. Then each player is dealt 2 cards face down - which are known as his or her ‘hole cards.' A third card is also dealt to each player face up, which is also often called the "door card."

Next, the player with the highest door card must "bring in" - that is, to place the first bet, which typically ranges from 1/3 to 1/2 the value of the regular bet. Whenever two Razz Poker players have door cards of the same ranking, the suit then determines the ‘Bring in.' The order of suit rankings begins with Spades as the highest followed by Hearts, Diamonds and finally Clubs. Aside from the ‘Bring in,' suits are of zero significance.

Following the first betting round, each Razz Poker player remaining in the hand is dealt another card facing up. The player with the weakest hand showing is required to bet first. The game continues like this until the 5th and 6th cards are dealt, at which time the size of the bets double. The 7th card is dealt face down, and the playing commences with the same player that opened on the sixth card. Just like most types of Poker, after every hand the deal rotates clockwise.

Razz Poker & the World Series of Poker
As early as 1973 the game of Razz Poker has been featured as one of the events at the ever-popular World Series of Poker (WSP). Though the game is not nearly as popular as Texas Holdem and Omaha hi/lo, Razz Poker is still has its loyal devotees and is growing regularly, especially among the multitude online Poker rooms.

Professional Poker players often refer to Razz as being one of the most challenging of all the Poker games played today. Also, if tournaments and ring games are your thing, you certainly ought to give Razz Poker a try.