Razzberry-flavored poker

I got several comments on my post about last night's mixed game, wherein I tried several new (to me) poker variations.

I forgot to mention that I found Razz to be a particularly intriguing game. It is conceptually the simplest form of poker I've ever come across: no pairs, trips, straights, flushes, full houses, or quads to deal with. Whoever has the five lowest unpaired cards wins, period. That's all there is to it. Nothing could be simpler. But I also learned why some describe it as the most frustrating game to play: you get four great cards to begin with (e.g., A-3-4-6), then as you hit the big-bet rounds the damn dealer throws you a king, a queen, and another king. ARGH!

Anyway, one of the commenters mentioned that he has a poker blog, too. That will always cause me to go check it out. His name is Mitchell Cogert, and his blog is dedicated exclusively to Razz poker, which makes it unique, as far as I know. See http://therazzchallenge.blogspot.com/. He also just published a book on the subject. Although Razz is covered as part of several other poker books, he claims, plausibly, that this is the first one dealing with Razz exclusively. You can order it through amazon.com or here: http://www.createspace.com/3338178.

I just put it on my Amazon wish list. I'm curious to learn more about this strangest of the poker games.

Addendum, March 17, 2008

It was pointed out to me in a private email that David Sklansky did a book on Razz way back when, titled, oddly enough, Sklansky on Razz. That book is now out of print, but its contents are incorporated into the still-available Sklansky on Poker, available here: http://www.twoplustwostore.com/twoplustwo/IP.php?type=Author&ID=2&productID=26.