Razz Pointers: 3rd & 4th Street

This is the first in a series of posts related to heads-up razz.

THIRD STREET:

As in any stud game, proper starting hands is a key to winning. However, when you are heads up, you will play a wide variety of hands. Razz is a game in which I rarely three bet unless I have a lock on my opponent. When you play heads-up razz, most pots are won on 3rd street. Here is a list of situations when you should complete the bet.

• Complete if your 3 cards are lower than your opponents door card. This one should require no explanation. However, be careful if you are playing 3 medium cards and your opponent catches good on 4th.
• Complete if opponent is showing a door card of 10 or higher and you are showing a door card of 9 or lower. In these situations you want to win the pot on 3rd. You might have (K-10)-3 against an 8. You probably have the worst of it on 3rd, but you can easily get away from your hand on 4th if you hit a brick and your opponent catches good. The only exception to this are hands where you hold two paint cards in the hole and your opponent's door card is only one rank higher than yours. You may want to proceed a bit more cautiously with this kind of hand.
• When you are starting with the higher card, call with 3 to an 8 or better if your opponent is showing 8 or lower in the door. Normally, when you have the high card, it is best to simply fold (or take the free card). Don't call a completion with a paint door card (even if you have A-2 in the hole)--it simply invites your opponent to continue betting and you can wait for a better spot. You want to take control of the betting, not your opponent. Of course, I am talking about heads-up play, so you may want to call with hands like (A-3)-Q or (A-2)-J and hope your opponent has a marginal hand. Adding this little bit of variety in your play will keep your opponents guessing about whether or not you have a hand. It can also allow you to see a free fourth street if your opponent does not complete.

FOURTH STREET:

The ideal situation for 4th street is for you to improve your hand by catching another low card in addition to your low door card while your opponent catches a bad card. Obviously this doesn't happen all of the time, but 4th street play is pretty simple in my opinion. I think people over value marginal draws on 4th street that can get them in trouble on the expensive rounds.

• If you are showing the best hand, bet. If not, fold to a bet unless you have a good drawing hand (8 or better). As simple as this sounds, I find many players misplaying hands on 4th street. If you were trying to steal with a hand like (10-9)-4 and you catch an 8 against an opponents board of 2-4, just fold when your opponent leads out. You may have the best hand, but wouldn't you want to get your money in the middle in a better spot than this? I would. Razz is a game where you will often throw away the best hand. Remember that you are trying to get your opponent to lay down the best hand too. As long as your opponent lays down the best hand more often than you do, you will be a winner.
• If both you and your opponent improve, and you get raised on 4th street, you should fold "continuation bet hands" like (K-9)-2-3. As I stated earlier, I don't like three betting in this game. Even with (A-2)-3-4, you don' t have a made hand. You are a clear favorite, but wait and see what develops on 5th street before going crazy. Against a maniac style player, I would advise raising with a wheel draw on 4th. I would also raise with a draw to a 6 or smooth 7 or 8 against an opponent raising with a higher card on board.