Why Hold'em is For Losers

Everyone plays Texas Hold'em. I mean EVERYONE. You could fill a library on the books that are out there on Hold'em. The other games...not so much. There are probably a good deal of books on Omaha since it is so popular in Europe and you can maybe find some books on Stud games, though most of those are probably out of print. In the US (and most of the rest of the world), Hold'em is King. However, there is some big profit to be made in learning other games, especially the stud games. In Omaha, there are really only post flop mistakes, but Stud is great because you can make major mistakes on the first card. The fact that there is an ante means more people will chase with their 479 rainbow because, well, they're chasing their anted money (I think I just used every form of "there" [their and they're] in the previous sentance properly. I just blew my mind)

This Blog, though, about a form of Seven Card Stud called Razz, where the worst hand wins (flushes and straights don't count). It was late and I scoured Full Tilt for any games I really felt like playing and I saw a 20/40 Razz game going. I witnessed the following hand when I opened up the table:

Everyone antes $3
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to Arar [Kd]
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad]
Arar brings in for $6
yuvee04 completes it to $20
ifishharder raises to $40
Arar folds
yuvee04 raises to $60
ifishharder calls $20
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s] [Td]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad] [Ah]
yuvee04 bets $20
ifishharder calls $20
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s Td] [9d]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad Ah] [Ac]
yuvee04 bets $40
ifishharder calls $4
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to yuvee04 [5s Td 9d] [Js]
Dealt to ifishharder [Ad Ah Ac] [5d]
yuvee04 bets $40
ifishharder calls $40
*** 7TH STREET ***
yuvee04 checks
ifishharder checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
yuvee04 shows [Qd 4d 5s Td 9d Js As] (T,9,5,4,A)
ifishharder shows [Ts 4s Ad Ah Ac 5d 3h] (T,5,4,3,A)
ifishharder wins the pot ($347) with T,5,4,3,A


How does anyone call anything with AAA showing? For my hapless reader, that meant this guy needed 2 running cards lower than a T to win based on the other guy's board. This is like chasing a running straight, you just don't do it. Seeing this I pulled up a chair. For Stud games, playing tight usually works, especially at Razz and H/L. Most players have no idea what they are doing and are just playing because they can. After seeing that last hand, that is the approach I took.

Unluckily for me, my connection decided to crap out after I had lost a "small" $370 pot to not a bad beat, but just one of those hands that plays out like it did. Here's the hand and I'll point out my decision process at the end of it.

Everyone antes $3
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s] [2h]
Dealt to DOUGIE POOR [Jh]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c]
Dealt to Arar [6c]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d]
Dealt to yuvee04 [7c]
Dealt to ifishharder [3d]
Dealt to vengven [Ah]
DOUGIE POOR is high with [Jh]
DOUGIE POOR brings in for $6
PearlJammed calls $6
Arar calls $6
relentless1958 calls $6
yuvee04 folds
ifishharder folds
vengven completes it to $20
XA_kid calls $20
DOUGIE POOR folds
PearlJammed calls $14
Arar calls $14
relentless1958 calls $14
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h] [3s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c] [6d]
Dealt to Arar [6c] [Qh]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d] [Ts]
Dealt to vengven [Ah] [Js]
XA_kid checks
PearlJammed checks
Arar checks
relentless1958 checks
vengven checks
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s] [9s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c 6d] [9c]
Dealt to Arar [6c Qh] [3c]
Dealt to relentless1958 [9d Ts] [7h]
Dealt to vengven [Ah Js] [5s]
XA_kid bets $40
PearlJammed calls $40
Arar calls $40
relentless1958 folds
vengven calls $40
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s] [8s]
Dealt to PearlJammed [2c 6d 9c] [Jd]
Dealt to Arar [6c Qh 3c] [8d]
Dealt to vengven [Ah Js 5s] [Tc]
XA_kid bets $40
PearlJammed folds
Arar calls $40
vengven folds
*** 7TH STREET ***
Dealt to XA_kid [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s] [2s]
XA_kid checks
Arar checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
XA_kid shows [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s 2s] (9,8,7,3,2)
Arar shows [Jc 7d 6c Qh 3c 8d 4h] (8,7,6,4,3)
Arar wins the pot ($367) with 8,7,6,4,3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $370 | Rake $3
Seat 1: XA_kid showed [8c 7s 2h 3s 9s 8s 2s] and lost with 9,8,7,3,2
Seat 4: Arar showed [Jc 7d 6c Qh 3c 8d 4h] and won ($367) with 8,7,6,4,3

3rd Street: There was a lot of money in the pot, so I decided to take a shot with an 8, that being my highest card. I'm not quite sure if this was correct, but it is akin to calling a raise in Hold'em with a small pair or suited connectors when it looks like it might be a big pot. A lot of small cards were also out, so if I make my low, people will be drawing slim. Anyways, I wanted to see the next card.

4rth Street: I Caught good, someone who showed no preflop aggresion caught good and everyone else caught bad. I decided to check because everyone is going to call a bet and I sometimes like to wait for 5th Street before betting and see what develops. This might be a mistake, but it's how I like to play what I consider a marginal hand.

5th Street: I bet with what is the current best hand. One caller with a Q showing and 2 low cards.

6th Street: This is tricky. He could've made a better hand than me, or he could still be drawing. If he made a hand, any card lower than a 7 makes me a better low. I decide to bet just in case he still has a draw and if I'm beat, I have a good amount of outs.

7th Street: I check because the only thing that can call me is something beats me. I like his check because I do show a board that if I caught, I could beat him and be going for the check raise. If you know me, I very rarely go for the check raise on the river, he should've bet.

I had to try relogging a hand after that, and after a few tries, I did and I ended making a profit before I was done from constant disconnects. The big hand I won with wasn't that interesting, just me playing tight and aggresive and a guy paying me off big time.

Ok, this has gone on long enough, so I am going to end this with some advice for those looking to play other games. Read up on them, study them, and start off playing low stakes. The bit on Razz I've read was from "Play Poker Like the Pros" by Helmuth which overall isn't the greatest book, but his advice on Razz ends up being solid. Go to Barnes and Noble and leaf through it. I would also recommend Super System II as it has a lot on other games that are not Hold'em. It's not the end-all-be-all, but it is a good start.