Intermediate Razz Poker Strategy

Razz Poker strategies for the intermediate player

February, 2012 - An intermediate Razz poker strategy is meant to be applied by relatively experienced Razz Poker players who already have a good deal of practice playing the game. If you read our previous article, beginner Razz poker strategy, you should have already learned how important low stakes play is at this skill level. You should also be applying strict Starting Hand and Street Betting tactics. With each of these beginner strategies in place, and a consistently profiting bankroll as a result, it is now time to move up to an Intermediate Razz poker strategy. In this poker strategy, we will discuss the importance of noting the face up cards on the table, and how to use this technique to avoid drawing for dead cards. Here are some links to related Razz poker strategy and general Stud strategy articles.

Intermediate Razz Poker Strategy - Watch Open Cards

A moderately experienced Razz Poker player should be aware of all face up cards on the table. There is a lot of information to be gained from knowing what cards the deck lacks. First and foremost is determining whether your opponents have you beat.

Let’s say, for example, that you have a great hand, but want to know your odds of winning against an opponent. If you have a 9-high hand, take a look at the face up cards your opponent has. If he is showing 3 cards higher than 9, you are guaranteed 100% to win. If he is showing a 9, plus two higher cards, you will at least tie for the win. But what if he’s showing A-3-4-6? Let’s say you have A-2-2-5-7-7-9. In order for the opponent to beat you, he must have a 2, 5, 7 or 8. Now let’s check the board. We know that two 2s and two 7s are gone (they’re in your hand). Can we find the other 2s and 7s, along with the 5s and 8s? The more you see on the table, the less chance this guy has of beating you.

Another very important aspect of watching the board is being able to remember what cards were folded. As you become more in tune with watching the board, it will become easier to keep a count of all important (Low) cards that were showing, but later folded.