PLAYING RAZZ POKER
THIRD STREET
VIABLE OPPONENTS
A viable
opponent, is one showing a playable
door card, that is still active in the hand.
NO VIABLE OPPONENTS
If there
are no viable opponents, you should immediately raise. This will either win you
the antes immediately, or help to build a pot in which you can proceed with a
clear advantage.
SINGLE VIABLE OPPONENT
If there
is only a single viable opponent, you should also raise. This time, as well as attempting
to steal the antes, you are looking to thin the playing-field; forcing unviable
opponents to fold, or to play imperfectly. In this spot, you can either win the
pot immediately, or get the hands heads-up against a single opponent, which
will simplify all of your decisions on later streets. Should your opponents without viable door cards call your
raise, you will be forced to play a multi-way pot (which is bad in Razz, with
only a three-card hand), but at least you will have a clear advantage on most
of your opponents.
UNVIABLE OPPONENTS
When
opponents with unviable door cards play their hands on Third Street, you should assume that they
hold almost perfect cards in the hole (certainly eights or lower – quite
probably two cards to a wheel). Although this will not always be the case, it
is a safe assumption lacking any further information about that player. Whilst
you should always take every
opportunity to learn how your opponents play whenever a showdown occurs; getting
the opportunity to view an opponent’s hole cards after they have proceeded with
an unviable door card, will enable you to accurately classify them as either a
loose player (if their hole cards are
babies), or a simply a weak player (if they are holding a nine-or-higher in the
hole after playing out in this spot).
MULTIPLE VIABLE OPPONENTS
If there
are several viable opponents on Third
Street, your decisions become less simple, and you
will need to consider your position at the table relative to your potential
opponents.
POSITION
When
playing against multiple opponents, your [betting] position on Third Street is
key – in particular, your position relative to the player that Brings-in, and
your position relative to opponents with playable door cards.
Clearly, having position on Third Street will provide you with a
significant advantage that you would not otherwise have. Many potentially-viable
opponents will simply fold due to the weakness of their three-card starting
hand, which may enable you to play heads-up against a single opponent, or fold
a marginal hand in the face of Third
Street aggression. If several opponents continue in the hand, knowing which are
playing, with what door cards, will enable you to make a key decision here – do
you continue in the hand cautiously, or aggressively? With a premium starting
hand, and favorable table conditions, raise to build a pot and place pressure
back on your opponents – many players advocate capping the betting in these
spots, and it certainly forces opponents with less stringent starting
requirements to commit chips unfavorably – building a pot geometrically in
these spots provides a buffer against the inherent variance on Third Street in
Razz. With a marginal starting hand (or a strong starting hand when the table
conditions are unfavorable) you may take a more cautious approach to continuing
in the hand. Having position provides you with the advantage of choosing
whether to fold a non-premium hand if forced to cold-call two bets or more; or
to call a single raise with the intention of considering the texture of the
board on Fourth Street.
Being out of position
on Third Street,
when facing multiple, viable, opponents is a very tricky spot, and you should
accept that you are quite likely to lose value when playing these positions,
regardless of the strength of your starting hand.
Consider your
potential strength – do you have a premium, or strong, starting hand? Is your
potential strength, relative to your opponents’ up-cards sufficient to
confidently proceed with the hand? Are any of your perfect cards already dead?
If so, you should proceed with more caution; on the other hand, if there are
cards that you already hold that are dead, and your perfect cards are live, you
may proceed with more confidence. Have any opponents called, or raised,
bring-in prior to your turn?
If a single opponent raises,
you may wish to re-raise and make later opponents face cold-calling two raises
on Third Street.
Be careful, as this can be a play of ambiguous value, forcing out opponents
with marginal hands that you would prefer
to play against, and building a pot for opponents with premium hands to play
back into. However, you will invariably increase your odds of winning a pot, by
facing a single, rather than multiple, opponents – even if you also increase
your single opponent’s already-favorable odds at the same time.
STEALING THE ANTES
We have
already discussed how to play a decent starting hand on Third Street, against no viable opponents
– you raise in order to win the pot immediately.
If you don’t have a decent starting hand on Third Street, but do have a decent up-card; there may
still an opportunity to use your apparent
strength to win the pot immediately.
APPARENT STRENGTH
Apparent
strength is based on the up-cards that you have showing; therefore, on Third Street, your
apparent strength is simply the rank of your door-card. In the following
examples, all of the hands have an
apparent strength of 3-high.
Apparent
strength is exerted to steal the antes, when your opponents’ relative strength
is low, and [usually] when you are the first player after the bring-in to make
a non-mucking action.
Identifying
the most appropriate spots for stealing the antes is an essential element of a
winning Razz strategy. Consider the pot odds, looking at two of the most common
betting structures used in Razz:-
|
1:2:4:8 Betting Structure
8 x
Antes (1) = 8
1 x
Bring-in = 2
Pot = 10
Your Raise
= 4
Pot Odds
10 to 4
= 2.5 to 1
|
2:5:10:20 Betting Structure
8 x
Antes (2) = 16
1 x
Bring-in = 5
Pot = 21
Your Raise
= 10
Pot Odds
21 to 10
= 2.1 to 1
|
At a full
table of eight players, if you are the first player (after the Bring-in) to bet
on Third Street, the pot will be giving you odds of over 2:1 on your raise. This means that you need only be successful
one time in every three attempts, for it to be profitable in the long term.
Those odds assume that successfully stealing the antes on Third Street, is the only way your hand can win the pot; in fact, if a Steal attempt is
not immediately successful, there are stills ways in which your hand may win
the pot (see Fourth Street
– Continuing with a Failed Steal).
Of course,
you would like your steals to be successful more
often than one time in three, and so it is crucial to use your position and
apparent strength subtly, to best manipulate your opponents. If you are in a
later position, all the players between the bring-in and you have folded, and
any players left to act after you are showing tens or above; you will [obviously]
want to raise with a wheel card 100% of the time. With more players left to act
behind you, and a less significant advantage between your apparent strength and
those opponents’ relative strength, your stealing frequency should decrease
commensurately.
There can
be no hard and fast rule about absolute stealing frequency, and you will always
need to temper your attempts to the table you are playing at – increasing the
frequency when playing into tight opponents, and decreasing the frequency when
playing into looser opponents. Try to steal sufficiently often that your
opponents are tempted to incorrectly call your value raises on Third Street; yet
infrequently enough that your steals maintain a healthy profit over the course
of a session.
DEFENDING THE BRING-IN
When is it
correct to defend your bring-in against a possible ante steal?
If you are
only required to complete your bring-in to a single small bet; are facing no
more than two opponents; have two wheel cards in the hole (preferably including
an Ace); and the number of exposed wheel cards that do not match those in your hand, does not exceed the number that do match.
These are
fairly strict requirements. Against a single opponent that you have observed
opening light, or routinely stealing the antes; it is correct to loosen these a
little – playing hole cards that include a six or a seven, for example; or defending
if there is a small net reduction in your modulated strength.
Consider
the pot odds, looking at two of the most common betting structures used in Razz.
Against a single opponent:-
|
1:2:4:8 Betting Structure
8 x
Antes (1) = 8
Your
bring-in = 2
First
Raise = 4
Pot = 14
Your
call = 2
Pot Odds
14 to 2
= 7 to 1
|
2:5:10:20 Betting Structure
8 x
Antes (2) = 16
Your
bring-in = 5
First
Raise = 10
Pot = 31
Your call
= 5
Pot Odds
31 to 5
= 6.2 to 1
|
Against a
single opponent, you will be getting between 6 and 7 to 1 to complete your
bring-in. Against two opponents, you would be getting between 8 and 9 to 1 to
complete your bring-in. Defending
your bring-in against three or more opponents, is generally incorrect, as the
likelihood of at least one opponent catching perfect, or apparently perfect, cards is too great to countenance continuing
with a two-card starting hand.
If you are
holding A-2-K, your odds of improving to an 8-high or better by the river are
4.1 to 1. These are certainly enough, given the pot odds offered, to justify
taking a card on Fourth Street, and seeing if you can catch an eight or lower
that doesn’t pair your hand.
WHEN THE BRING-IN COMPLETES OR RAISES
When the
bring-in makes a full small bet amount, or raises a bet from another player;
you should assume that they hold almost perfect cards in the hole, generally
A-2, or an Ace with another Wheel Card.
When the
bring-in completes their bet, you should assume that they hold two wheel cards
in the hole or, if they are a loose player, two cards seven or lower.
These
generalisations will not always be correct and, as with any poker heuristics,
you should observe your opponents, and refine future decisions accordingly.
However, beginning with these assumptions should enable you to play correctly
against an unknown opponent in this situation.
READING THE BOARD ON THIRD STREET
It is important to consider the
board fully on Third Street, from the moment the cards are dealt, to the last
betting action; and use all the available information to develop a coherent
picture of where you stand in relation to your opponents.
Keep
track of all the exposed low cards, and consider how these relate to your hand,
and those of your opponents
If cards in your hand were dealt as
door cards on Third Street,
were they dealt to players that have mucked, or players that are continuing in
the hand? Your advantage will be shared with your opponent, if they also
continue in the hand. It’s also useful to keep track of all matching [low] door
cards, as these will confer an advantage on your opponents’, if they play their
hands.
Is
your hand strong relative to your opponents' and, if so, will your opponents be
able to discern this clearly?
Remember, with a strong relative
hand, you are unambiguously ahead on Third Street and
should raise to take the pot, or force your opponents to call incorrectly.
Do
you hold a premium starting hand, or a strong starting hand with a smooth
kicker?
Premium starting hands, and strong
starting hands with smooth kickers, will draw to optimum hands, and will have the
best redraws, if they make less optimum hands on Fifth or Sixth Street. Consider the following
examples:-
On Third Street, both Hero and
Villain, hold 8-highs with an Ace in the hole – both catch a 3 on Fourth Street
and a 4 on Fifth Street – giving both players a made 8-high with two cards to
go. If Hero catches perfectly on the Turn or River a 5 would make a Wheel; but
if Villain catches perfectly, their 2 will only make a Seven-Four; If Hero
catches their second best redraw, a 6 would make a Six-high; but if Villain
catches their second best redraw, a 5 would make a Seven-Five. Finally, if Hero
catches their worst redraw, a 7 would make a Seven-Four; if Villain catches
their worst redraw, a 6 would make a rough Seven.
Use
Apparent Strength to overcome Relative Weakness
Look for opportunities to
[correctly] steal the antes. Use Third
Street position and apparent strength to force opponents out of the hand, or to put
them onto the defensive during Fourth
Street.
Think
about future position
Consider what position you are
likely to hold on later streets if you catch a good card, or if you don’t - begin
to plan how you will respond in both situations.
Think
about betting actions in the context of the board
Has an opponent indicated the
strength of their hole cards by defending their bring-in, or continuing despite
a clearly weak door card? Likewise, has an opponent indicated a possible steal
attempt by open-raising the bring-in with a premium door card?
Continue
to RE-Evaluate
Make sure that you continue to
consider these factors, as hands develop - in particular, when opponents
subsequently show down. Use every opportunity to develop your understanding of
how your opponents are playing on Third
Street.
PROBABILITIES ON THIRD STREET
Final Hand strength when holding:-
|
|
Probability
|
Odds
|
|
Wheel (5-high)
|
7.15%
|
13.0 to 1
|
|
6high, or better
|
18.95%
|
4.28 to 1
|
|
7-high, or better
|
33.25%
|
2.01 to 1
|
|
8-high, or better
|
48.27%
|
1.07 to 1
|
Final Hand strength when holding:-
|
|
Probability
|
Odds
|
|
Wheel (5-high)
|
1.25%
|
78.8 to 1
|
|
6high, or better
|
4.85%
|
20.5 to 1
|
|
7-high, or better
|
10.73%
|
8.33 to 1
|
|
8-high, or better
|
19.63%
|
4.09 to 1
|
Final Hand strength when holding:-
|
|
Probability
|
Odds
|
|
Wheel (5-high)
|
0.12%
|
827 to 1
|
|
6high, or better
|
0.60%
|
165 to 1
|
|
7-high, or better
|
1.81%
|
54.2 to 1
|
|
8-high, or better
|
4.23%
|
22.6 to 1
|
