Play Razz Poker To Win: New Strategies For Razz And Horse Poker Players That Are Proven To Work!

5 Comments

1. Dennis Littrell says:

   July 14, 2010 at 5:43 pm

   Famed poker theorist David Sklansky wrote a short book entitled “Sklansky on Razz” that was published in 1983. It is now out of print, although I understand it has been incorporated into “Sklansky on Poker” Second Edition, 1994. Aside from that book Mitchell Cogert’s “Play Razz Poker to Win” (2008) is the only book ever published devoted exclusively to the game of razz.

   This is not surprising since there are not that many people who play razz. However razz is the “R” component in “HORSE” (Hold’em, Omaha hilo, Razz, seven card Stud, stud Eight or better) which is the most prestigious poker competition at the annual World Series of Poker, a tournament that all the top poker pros would love to win because the winner can lay claim to being the best all-around poker player. Incidentally last year it cost $50,000 just to enter that tournament.

   Having watched a bit of the WSOP competition on TV, and witnessed some curious play, I can say that even the top pros could use a little guidance in razz. Whether this book and Mr. Cogert can provide that guidance is the question. Cogert himself, while not a top pro, is an accomplished poker player who has placed in a number of tournaments and even won one, the Northern California Championship for no-limit hold’em in 2002. His book, while a bit on the thin side, offers a practical approach to the game which should be of value to most players. Whether it will be required reading for the entrants in this year’s WSOP competition is unclear. I can assure you, however, that it will be discussed!

   Probably the most interesting and debatable aspect of Cogert’s guidance is his point count system for starting hands on third street. (p. 24) I have never seen a point count system for poker that is any more than a rough guide; yet even a rough guide is valuable as a learning device. Cogert’s system is relatively sophisticated in that he not only gives points for the various three-card starting hands, he adds and subtracts points based on position, up cards, and whether the pot has been called or raised. The only problem with this (aside from whether his grasp of values is correct or not) is that it may take a while to memorize and implement the system.

   Cogert gives tips on when to steal and when not to, how to play on the various streets with examples from his play at the $5 and $10 level on the Internet. He includes an index on some fifth street simulations, e.g., a made 9-6 low versus a 6-5 draw, etc., giving the winning percentages for each hand.

   I am not going to presume to evaluate or second guess Cogert’s recommendations on how to play since my experience at razz is modest. However I do want to question one bit of advice on a situation that comes up again and again in razz. You bring it in with 7-9 in the hole with a jack showing. Two players call, one with a 6 and the other with an 8. On fourth street, both players hit queens and you catch a 5. Cogert says not to bet “since your opponents will not fold. Wait to see what happens on fifth street.” (p. 21)

   What is curious about this bit of advice is that you have the best hand! Personally I would not want to let them draw for free. However–and this is one of the peculiarities of razz–even though you know you have the best hand, if you catch bad on fifth street and one or both of your opponents catches good, you are in trouble. A similar situation arises when you catch a king to go with your three-card 7- low on fourth street while your lone opponent pairs his door seven. Again you are in the lead, and again Cogert advises you to wait until fifth street to bet. He remarks, “if he hits good on fifth street and you hit bad, you have wasted a bet.” (p. 37) If this happens you will have to fold since your opponent will have a one-card draw to a made hand while you will have a two-card draw to a similar hand with two cards to go.

   However if you hit good and he hits bad, you have probably gained a bet! Furthermore, I must emphasize that in both examples, you are ahead. Consequently, over the long run as the cards that fall even out, you will gain by betting. And as a practical matter, the player that gives free cards, even supposing that mathematically he is not hurting himself, is easier to play against than the player who makes you pay. Psychologically, if people know you are going to make them pay the max on every card, they are going to avoid playing against you in marginal situations, which will mean better results for you.

   Bottom line: if you play razz or HORSE this is definitely a book you will want to read if only for the reason that some of your opponents will be reading it. (And that goes for you, Phil Hellmuth!)

   Rating: 4 / 5

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2. V. White says:

   July 14, 2010 at 7:53 pm

   I didn’t know what to think when I saw this book dedicated to Razz..happy there’s a new book showing all the angles to win but also concerned that Razz is gaining in popularity, so much so that books are coming out on this subject alone! One of my best stategies before reading this, was winning by default…the other players at the table knew less how to play than I did.

   Razz is sort of the opposite of poker (pairs are bad, low hand wins the pot, etc.) but like all poker games it still takes lots of patience. I really found this book to be key in giving me the confidence to take my time to know exactly what I’m doing. It gave my brain the poker re-training necessary to win.

   I have to admit the author was right, it is the perfect time to break into Razz. Most players don’t know the strategies and rules that were in this book (and it always helps when your opponents aren’t as well versed). That’s the winning edge that sort of makes Razz more addicting than frustrating. When I can’t play it’s become my favorite book to flip through to keep my mind sharp. I’m giving it 4 out 5 starts because I sort of hope you don’t read it if I’m up against you next year at the WSOP!
   Rating: 4 / 5

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3. K. Matschke says:

   July 14, 2010 at 10:43 pm

   I have been playing Razz for a few years now and have done pretty well at it. I was hoping this book would fill major holes in my game. After reading it, I can’t say there was much I took away from it.

   The most useful parts to me were the point system and who’s the favorite in drawing hands vs. made 9 low hands after 5 cards. But I think I’ve already been playing close to these guidelines so it’s not a huge help. A new player would likely find this very useful though to get a good idea of how good their first 3 cards need to be to play.

   The author often emphasized the need to try to get heads up when you do play a hand, but basically didn’t even address hands where you couldn’t get heads up. I can only recall one example where the hand was 3-handed. All other examples were 2-handed, which is typically pretty straight forward how to play. 3 or more-handed is where it can really get tricky.

   He also discussed the importance of live and dead cards relative to your starting hand, but rarely mentioned the need to remember or notice them once 4th street is dealt. This is actually one area I think I do need improvement myself and was hoping to get some insight on how this can affect how you play a hand on later streets, but it wasn’t discussed. I think you can play later streets fairly straight forward, but would have expected dead cards to be a discussion in one of the advanced concepts sections.

   If you’re already a good Razz player, I would pass on this book, but if you’re new to the game or you’ve played and haven’t had any success I would recommend it. It’s a very easy read (I finished it in 2 days) since it is rather short and there are a lot of example hands including illustrations which take up quite a bit of room.
   Rating: 3 / 5

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4. Bill Shephard says:

   July 14, 2010 at 11:51 pm

   The first part of this book is probably worth the price of admission. Cogert has developed a really usefull system of ranking starting hands that is accurate and will be very usefull especially if the reader doesn’t have a good idea of what his opposition is holding due to his door card and actions. But I feel that the book falls short in the area of reading your opponents board cards and the interaction that comes from his board and his actions. As with any stud game (or most games of any type) it is essential in Razz to beable to read your opponents cards and actions to be able to project what his total hand is so that you know what to do with your hand. The book is worth reading (if only for the starting hand ranking system) but will not make a complete player out of anyone.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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5. V. Calicchia says:

   July 15, 2010 at 1:49 am

   The game of razz has always fascinated me in what i think is the best game if you know how to count cards and read your opponents very well. Fortunately for me, most players have not mastered the strategies of this game and this book is the introduction and more of every basic rule and strategy that razz should be played with. The simplicity and the explanations given in this book make you want to read it all together and then take on the pros in a high stakes cash game. The creativity shown by Mr Cogert will have many players talking about how this book has enhanced their razz play greatly. I am very happy i am one of the first ones to read it and i will take every opportunity to take advantage of the players that have not got a hold of this book. Thank you very much Mr cogert for taking your time to make this amazing book.
   Rating: 5 / 5

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