Razz Poker Official Rules: Seven-Card Ace-To-Five Lowball, High-Card Bring-In & Wheel Rankings
Razz Is Seven-Card Stud Played Strictly For The Lowest 5-Card Ace-To-Five Hand (Where Aces Are Always Low, Straights And Flushes Do Not Count Against You, And A-2-3-4-5 Is The Unbeatable Wheel).
Official Rules & Dealing Procedure: Razz (Seven-Card Lowball)
- RULE #1
Reverse Bring-In: On Third Street, The Player With The HIGHEST Exposed Door Card (King High, With Spades Highest For Ties, Because Aces Are Low) Must Post The Forced Bring-In.
- RULE #2
From Fourth Street Onward, The Player Showing The Best (LOWEST) Exposed Upcards Acts First On Every Betting Round.
- RULE #3
Ace-To-Five Lowball Ranking: Aces Are Always The Lowest Card (1), Straights And Flushes Do Not Hurt Your Low, And Low Hands Are Read Top-Down From Their Highest Card (For Example, 7-5-4-2-A Beats 7-6-3-2-A).
- RULE #4
The Entire Pot Is Awarded 100% To The Best 5-Card Low Hand Made From Each Player's 7 Cards, With No 8-Or-Better Qualifier Required.
Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Starting Hand Strategy & Tier Breakdown
Actionable Starting Hand Selection Tiers For Live Cash Games, Tournaments, And Private Club Play:
Complete And Raise Aggressively On Third Street To Isolate High-Door-Card Bring-Ins And Steal Antes.
Strong Steal And Continuation Hands When Opponents Catch Bricks (9, T, J, Q, K) On Fourth Street.
Fold Immediately On Third Street; Drawing To An 8-7 Low Against Smooth 6-Low Or 7-Low Upcards Is Heavily Dominated.
Key Differences From Standard Texas Hold'Em
Aces Are Strictly Low (1), Suits And Straights Never Matter For Hand Strength, And The Highest Door Card (King Of Spades Worst) Posts The Bring-In.
Low Hands Are Evaluated By Their Highest Card Downward: A "Smooth Eight" (8-5-3-2-A) Crushes A "Rough Eight" (8-7-6-4-2).
Seeing Your Opponents Brick Out With Paint Cards (J, Q, K) On Fourth Or Fifth Street Allows Automatic Value Bets Even When Your Own Hand Pairs.
Interactive Calculators & Hand Rankings
Run Exact Combinatorial Equity And Pot-Limit Betting Calculations For Razz (Seven-Card Lowball):
Related Stud Games Variants
Compare Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Against Other Variants In The Same Family:
Frequently Asked Questions: Razz (Seven-Card Lowball)
Which Hand Wins Between 8-4-3-2-A And 7-6-5-4-3 In Razz?
7-6-5-4-3 Wins! Even Though 7-6-5-4-3 Is A 7-High Straight In Hold'em, Straights Do Not Count In Razz, And A 7-High Low Always Beats An 8-High Low.
Which Suit Posts The Bring-In When Two Players Show A King On Third Street In Razz?
Because The Worst (Highest) Card Posts The Bring-In In Razz, Standard Bridge Suit Order Applies: The King Of Spades Is Higher (Worse) Than The King Of Hearts, Diamonds, Or Clubs And Must Post The Bring-In.
Journalists, Bloggers, Forum Authors, And Academic Researchers May Freely Cite This Dataset Under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 With Canonical Attribution To Smarter.Poker:
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| Resource | Key Benchmark Summary | Source | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide** | Razz Is Seven-Card Stud Played Strictly For The Lowest 5-Card Ace-To-Five Hand (Where Aces Are Always Low, Straights And Flushes Do Not Count Against You, And A-2-3-4-5 Is The Unbeatable Wheel). | [Smarter.Poker: Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide](https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball) |
> **Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide** > Razz Is Seven-Card Stud Played Strictly For The Lowest 5-Card Ace-To-Five Hand (Where Aces Are Always Low, Straights And Flushes Do Not Count Against You, And A-2-3-4-5 Is The Unbeatable Wheel). > Solve & Verify Live: <https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball>
[url=https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball]Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide (Razz (Seven-Card Lowball))[/url]
{{cite web |title=Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide |url=https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball |website=Smarter.Poker |publisher=Smarter Software Inc. |year=2026 |access-date=2026-11-09}}According to Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide published by Smarter.Poker (https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball), Razz Is Seven-Card Stud Played Strictly For The Lowest 5-Card Ace-To-Five Hand (Where Aces Are Always Low, Straights And Flushes Do Not Count Against You, And A-2-3-4-5 Is The Unbeatable Wheel).
Smarter.Poker Research Division. (2026). Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide. Smarter Software Inc. https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball
Smarter.Poker Research Division. "Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide." Smarter.Poker, Smarter Software Inc., 2026, https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball.
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title = {Razz (Seven-Card Lowball) Rules, Hand Rankings & Strategy Guide},
author = {{Smarter.Poker Research Division}},
institution = {Smarter.Poker},
year = {2026},
url = {https://smarter.poker/games/razz-seven-card-lowball}
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