I just finished about an hour of razz on PokerStars, playing my usual $0.50/$1 table, starting with $20. I played clean, in that I never even once deviated from a starting hand selection of three unpaired cards 8 or lower. I was a very good boy, in other words.
I got precisely seven such starting hands in that hour. Here are the results of the first six:
2-A-6...2-10-Q-6 (two pairs, Q-10)
4-7-A...J-A (aborted)
6-3-A...3-10-J-5 (10-6)
3-A-7...8-Q-A-8 (two pairs, Q-8)
5-3-6...3-5-2-K (two pairs, K-6)
A-3-4...K-Q-Q-8 (Q-8)
The ones I played all the way out were not because I was being unduly stubborn, but because an opponent was giving me free cards in the right spots and/or the opponent's hand was looking equally crummy.
I lost every one of them. Every one. 100%. Batting zero for six. Six good starting hands, and the best hand I had made at the end was a lousy 10-6, with not a dime made off of any of them.
Finally, FINALLY, with my last $3.50 or so, I managed to turn one starting hand into a rough 8:
7-2-8...5-4-K-7 (8-7)
I lost this one to a guy holding A-2-9-7-4-3-T.
What a stupid, stupid game. I don't see why anybody plays it.
Harumph!
I got precisely seven such starting hands in that hour. Here are the results of the first six:
2-A-6...2-10-Q-6 (two pairs, Q-10)
4-7-A...J-A (aborted)
6-3-A...3-10-J-5 (10-6)
3-A-7...8-Q-A-8 (two pairs, Q-8)
5-3-6...3-5-2-K (two pairs, K-6)
A-3-4...K-Q-Q-8 (Q-8)
The ones I played all the way out were not because I was being unduly stubborn, but because an opponent was giving me free cards in the right spots and/or the opponent's hand was looking equally crummy.
I lost every one of them. Every one. 100%. Batting zero for six. Six good starting hands, and the best hand I had made at the end was a lousy 10-6, with not a dime made off of any of them.
Finally, FINALLY, with my last $3.50 or so, I managed to turn one starting hand into a rough 8:
7-2-8...5-4-K-7 (8-7)
I lost this one to a guy holding A-2-9-7-4-3-T.
What a stupid, stupid game. I don't see why anybody plays it.
Harumph!
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4 comments:
Be careful getting involved with 8s, and especially 8,7,x and 8,6,x if there a number of other good cards showing.
It's hard to bet those into another guy's x,x,4,2 even if you get a good 4th, but if they have a crap card behind you're giving them a free draw. If you do bet and both hands catch you end up screwed.
Maybe I just got particularly unlucky, I'm still learning the game myself, but I'm no longer a big fan of "any 3 cards 8 & under".
On the other hand, I'm a bit looser when it comes to trying to steal the antes. I always steal if I'm the last good card showing, and sometimes even if there's only one good card or 2 marginal cards between me and the bring-in.
Although it does seem like Razz is a game that just like to hand you brutal beats in bunches. I don't think it actually does so more than other poker games, but the ease with which one can normally out-play the low limits with (seemingly) little risk, and the large amount of information confirming that you were, indeed, favored on every street until 7th makes the beats feel worse.
Razz and 2-7 Draw Lowball are the games that really get me frustrated sometimes, but I always find myself going back for more.
Be glad you ran like that at a 0.50/1 table. When you run like that in the WSOP razz event it stings a little worse.
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